When water is heated in a steam boiler, bubbles formed during boiling can carry fine water droplets into the steam as they rise and break the surface. Without the use of a superheater, this moisture remains in the flow, resulting in wet steam.  

This means that boilers can never generate 100% saturated, dry steam.  

The wetter the steam, the lower its specific enthalpy, which means reduced heat transfer efficiency, longer processing times and possible product defects.  

So, how dry is your steam, and how well does it heat your product? To quantify the amount of water entrained within steam, use the “steam dryness fraction.” Read on to learn how to use the steam dryness fraction to calculate the total heat content of wet steam:

Combat wet steam with       
TLV’s Cyclone Separator

Remove nearly all water droplets entrained in steam to improve heat quality and prevent issues like low efficiency, product defects, and equipment erosion. The DC Cyclone Separators can be installed on steam lines and at the inlet side of equipment.

• Specific enthalpy of saturated water is the energy required to heat water from 0°C to its boiling point.
• Specific enthalpy of saturated steam is the total energy required to generate steam from water at 0°C.