How the Energy of Steam Is Used

The uses for steam are many and varied. All of the above items illustrate how important steam is to our everyday lives. From the plastic and vinyl components of our automobiles to the paints and stains we use on our homes to the preparation and presentation of the food we eat, steam is used in a variety of ways to make our lives more comfortable and convenient.

Since fuel is consumed to heat the water that becomes steam, the gas has value. It contains valuable and useful heat that can be used for a variety of purposes. In fact, steam is used in the manufacture of more than 80% of the products produced by American industry. In addition, steam is used for comfort heating and power production. Steam has several physical properties that make it particularly suitable and economically advantageous for these purposes.

First, we'll examine producing steam under atmospheric pressure. Then we'll learn how steam behaves in pressurized systems and look at how various factors and properties of steam are related. We'll continue our explanation of steam under pressure by investigating what happens in a change from a high-pressure environment to a low-pressure situation.