In industrial settings, steam is often used for heating liquids. The heat is delivered to the liquid either through a heat exchanger or by direct injection of steam.

The process of injecting steam directly into the liquid is called steam sparging. The design and productivity levels of the steam sparger affect the end result.

The process

When water is heated, it boils and turns into a vapor called ‘wet’ steam. When heated further, all the water evaporates and leaves behind saturated vapor. When the vapor is heated more it becomes super heated steam.

When steam is super heated, the water molecules are at very high energy levels. As a result, superheated steam is often used to create mechanical energy (this is done in submarines – the nuclear energy heats the sea water creating steam). This explains why superheated steam is so essential in the power generation industry.

What is steam sparging?

Sparging can have different meanings. It is basically a technical term for injecting gas into a liquid or even for spraying a liquid onto a solid. Spargers are tubular equipment, also known as bubblers, carbonators, aerators, or diffusers. A very common example of sparging is air being bubbled into the tank in an aquarium.

This is done to maintain the level of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Spargers are also often used to carbonate beverages, and also for extending the shelf life of foods and beverages by reducing the oxygen content.

Steam sparging involves injecting steam into water for industrial purposes. A steam sparger is a type of direct contact heating device. Steam sparging is considered a traditional heating method, where the input temperature is much higher than the process temperature.

Although steam injection is considered more efficient, steam spargers are also used in several industries.

Some of the most important benefits of the steam sparger are:

• High velocity steam to facilitate smooth operations and energy savings
• Easy to switch on and off
• Also comes in tank mount design for heating tanks of all sizes
• Can also be designed as pipe mount for inline heating
• Can be used on oversized pipes
• Comes with winter freeze protection
• Single or multiple jet sparger designs
• Simple integration with existing temperature control
• Auto or manual designs
• Ideal for tanks with high fluid turnover
• Designed large volumes of high temperature heating

Komax rises to the top

Given how important steam is in an industrial setting, a steam sparger is an essential tool in any factory. Get in touch with Komax for a custom designed steam sparger.