Steam Technology with Significant Energy and Water Savings.

Clean Manufacturing

What is saturated steam? When water molecules exist in a gaseous state, at a temperature above the boiling temperature of the water, it is called the superheated steam state. The boiling temperature depends on the pressure (e.g., 100°C for 1 atmosphere, 134°C for 3 atmospheres, and so on). Steam only at the boiling temperature is called saturated steam. 

What is the difference between saturated steam and superheated steam? Saturated steam is always steam at the boiling point, whereas superheated steam is at a higher temperature than the boiling point (at that pressure). The main difference between saturated and superheated steam is that the saturated steam is at a two-phase (liquid and gas) equilibrium temperature. So it could contain water droplets,  whereas the higher-temperature superheated steam is a high enthalpy gas (called high-quality steam as there are no water droplets in it). Superheated steam has a higher work potential compared to saturated steam. Work-potential enables mechanical work and chemical reactions. On the other hand, Saturated steam is often classified as low-quality steam.

What is high-temperature superheated steam? Steam above the boiling point at any pressure is broadly classified as high-temperature superheated steam*. Practically the temperature should be at least a few degrees centigrade above the boiling point to be classified as superheated steam. However, for many modern steam applications, the steam temperature has to be much higher than the boiling temperature (well into the superheated steam temperature range).

How is highly superheated steam made? Superheated steam is made with modern rapid steam generators like the OAB^® and HGA. Current steam generators avoid high pressures, unlike the older traditional-boiler technology for a high steam temperature. The temperature for most combinatoric-steam applications should be higher than the inversion temperature (typically above 200°C) for reaping the benefits of superheated-steam-enhanced processes like drying, bio-energy production, high-level microbial and viral cleaning, energy production, antimicrobial, bio-digestion, chemical reactions, fuel production, syn-gas, methane reduction, and many others.   A new area of research is the combinatory steam area for energy reduction. * MHI definition is invoked. The temperature of good superheated steam is above any inversion temperature and much higher than the equilibrium saturation temperature. The equilibrium saturation temperature is the temperature (at a given pressure) where water or water droplets can coexist with steam-gas, i.e.,  the boiling point. Saturation temperatures depend on pressure, e.g., ~100°C at 1 Bar or 121°C at 2 Bar, etc. Instant high quality-clean steam with high temperatures ranging from 300°C to 1300°C is now readily available for steam applications. Such applications are multiplying. OAB^®  and 4DSintering^® are registered MHI Trademarks.

In contrast to conventional pressure-boilers, steam generators produce steam quickly on start-up, produce high-quality steam, and have fewer restrictions for piping. Where is high-temperature steam typically used? Fuel Production,  Antimicrobial Use, Comfort Humidity Addition, Oxidation and Erosion Studies, Food Industry, Packaging, Chemicals, Cleaning, Materials. Bio-processes, Energy, Hydrolysis, Process Heating, Flavors, Drying, Textiles, and even the Simulation of Martian Atmospheres (Nature, December 2017). Several more applications are listed here.

What is the inversion temperature of steam? The inversion temperature is most commonly known as the temperature at which the evaporation rates into pure superheated steam and completely dry air are equal. Typically ~200°C with some dependence on the surface.   The inversion temperature is the temperature for rapid antimicrobial action and rapid drying of ceramics.

Multipliers to process efficiencies. High-grade, high-quality superheated steam offers a good multiplier to process efficiencies – i.e. it is SmartSteam™. The temperature of the MHI steam models reflects the actual steam temperature. The savings efficiencies reported are from an On to Off condition (in contrast, please note that several boiler efficiencies are reported only at a steady-state). No requirement to heat any tubes or nozzles to produce steam. Several US and International Patents protect MHI steam generators. 

Resources:  Steam Energy Calculator. Videos and Media Gallery.

Sustainability: Superheated steam enhances sustainability by reducing climate risk, accelerating energy transitions, increasing food security, and advancing better health outcomes.

What superheated steam is not? It is not mist nor fog. Mist and fog have some water droplets in the gas, and thus the name fog. View the comparison pictures of the difference between mist/fog-steam and a high-temperature steam-gas even when produced such that the nozzle area has no mist. In the picture, please note that MHI steam generators produce mist-free gas.

Why are these devices only possible from MHI? MHI uses patented nano-structured surfaces and other novel materials which have only recently become available commercially for use with active steam. MHI engineers have combined decades of thermal know-how and recent patented technologies with well-accepted/reliable MHI control systems for high power and high-temperature steam delivery. It is a part of MHI’s overall development strategy for intelligent power in modern thermal applications. Substantial energy savings result from OAB® steam use compared to combustion heating of boilers.

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For many facilities, steam is critical to keep processes and procedures operating within normal parameters and expectations. With this in mind, it’s essential to choose a steam generation system that offers high reliability and exceptional safety while reducing energy costs and maximizing operational efficiency.

Easy Fit to Industrial Production Machines and Tunnels

Energy Saving Tunnels

Industries where superheated steam is used:  Energy, Cleaning, Textile Processing, Pulp and Paper, Cooking, Drying, Disinfection and Sterilization, Cleaning and Recycling, Drying Paint, Drying Machine Parts, Re-forming Surfaces.  Food and storage products, Tobacco Products, Textile Mill Products, Apparel, and Other Textile Products, Lumber and Wood Products, Bio mass-energy, BioPharma, Oxidation studies (inorganic and organic), Paper and Allied Products, Steam spray in the hospital uses, greenhouse, soil, Printing and Publishing, Chemicals and Allied Products, Petroleum and Coal Products, Petroleum Refining, Rubber and polymers, steam injection, emulsification, Plastics Products, Steam Chest Molding, Leather and Leather Products, Stone, Clay and Glass Products, Cement, Grain, Canola, Alfa-alfa.  How to specify an OAB tunnel. Antimicrobial use industries are Chemical, Hospitals, Paper/Corrugating, Power Generation, Tobacco, General Manufacturing, Animal Feed, Dairy, Hotels, Petroleum Production., Rubber, Wire and Cable, Oil & Gas, Automotive, Food Processing, Marine & Offshore, Pharmaceutical, Steel, Mining, Beverage and similar.

Steam Plasma

Industries where continuous steam is used: Hydraulic, Primary Metal Industries, Blast Furnace and Basic Steel Products, Fabricated Metal Products, Industrial Machinery and Equipment, Electronic and Other Electric Equipment, Transportation Equipment, Instruments and Related Products, Chemicals/Petrochemicals, Electronics, Oil and Gas, Ethanol, pre-treatment of biomass, Pyrolysis, Oil, herbs, Steam Reforming, Complex Methane Ammonia Producing Reactions, Hydrogen reforming, Biodiesel fuels, Finishing, Food, Packaging, Printing, Paper, Pulp, Converting, Forest Products, Comfort Steam, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, Rubber, Batteries, Electrode drying, Vinyl, Bio-solids, Sanitation, Disinfection, WGSR reactions, Low oxygen content H2O gas, so dry and could sometimes even be for sterilization, Soil re mediation, steam stripping of Volatile, industrial propane dehydrogenation processes, Pulp, hog/animal-fuel, clean or emulsify bark sludges, Reverse water gas-shift reactions and flavor reactions, Lumber and/or efficient Paper-drying, peat/jute drying, Gasification-reactor, Consider for vacuum production steam in ejector nozzles with steam or steam air mixes with over 50m/s steam exit velocity, Textile-drying, Drying. Swelling Starch, Starch Granules, Starch Gelatinization. Cleaning with MightySteam • Humidification for Dry and Humid Atmospheres in Ceramic, Paper Rolls and Comfort Processing, Work and Propulsion by Steam, Heating, and Sterilization, Vacuum, Oven-use. Atomization of Fluids, Motorization, and modification. Waste to Fuel Prototype and Simulation.  Ask MHI for Sample Catalytic Surfaces Quasi R or for ceramic substrates that can take catalysts.

While several applications offer down-the-line energy efficiencies with high temperature superheated steam use, one typical application is to make hydrogen with steam reforming of methane or organic materials, here the higher temperatures give rise to considerably better efficiencies of reactions. Food Safety Use. Food Security. Vertical Farming.  Dryer Configurations: Batch/Cabinet, Can/Drum, Continuous/Conveyor, Deck, Loop, Loft, Paddle, Ring, Roll/Cylinder, Rotary, Shelf/Tray/Truck, Skin (both artificial and inorganic), Tensionless, Frame, Tower, Tunnel, Warp, Web, Wicket.  Dryer Types Possible: Centrifugal, Combination Infrared/Convection, Attenuate CFC and HCFC Conduction, Convection – Counterflow, Convection – Impingement, Convection -Flotation, Convection, -Through-Air, Dehumidifying, Flash, Fluid-Bed, Infrared – catalytic, Infrared – Longwave, Infrared – Medium-wave, Infrared – Short -wave, Microwave, Radio Frequency, Spray, Steam, Vacuum.  Energy Source: Dual Fuel, Electricity, Steam.  Materials Dried, Food, Paste/Mixes, Powders, Slurries, Solids, Solvent-based Materials, Water-based Materials.  Manufacturing Process:  Calcining, Curing, Dehydrating, Drying, Dry sand and investment molds, Finishing, Fusing, Granulating, Heat Setting, Acoustics, Research, Heat Shrinking, Laminating, Moisture Profiling, Pasteurizing, Pre-and Post-Drying. Industries Served: Chemicals/Petrochemicals, Electronics, Alternatives to Waste Heat Boilers Augmented,  Oil and Gas, biotic and abiotic cleaning, Ethanol, Biodiesel Fuels, Hydrolysis, Finishing, Food, Packaging, Printing, Paper, Pulp, Converting, Forest Products, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, Rubber, functionalize graphite, graphene, Boron nitride, Vinyl. Biosolids, include Sterilization, Soil remediation-steam stripping of volatile, pulp, hog-fuel, bark sludges, Paper Drying, Peat/Jute Drying gasification reactor, Textile drying, salt drying, and reclamation.  Should you be using steam, steam, water, and steam air mixes in de-Superheaters, a better control could be direct with OAB® or HGA-M models.  Steam Tunnels.

MHI systems are used for Fuel Production whether in Gasification, Pyrolysis, Combustion, Digestion or even Fermentation -kinetics enhancement.

Have you considered Flash removal with Steam or Cascade e-ion (de-Flashing)?