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Condensers and Cooling Towers in Power Plants

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Condensers and Cooling Towers in Power Plants

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary purpose of a condenser in a steam power plant?

To reduce backpressure on steam turbines
To remove air and non-condensable gases from the steam/condensate
To improve the overall efficiency of the plant (correct)
To convert steam back to water for re-use in the boiler

Why is condensing the steam at the lowest practical pressure important in a steam power plant?

To remove air and non-condensable gases from the steam/condensate
To extract the maximum amount of work from the steam (correct)
To minimize heat loss in the steam cycle
To reduce the demand on the feedwater treatment processes

What is a distinct disadvantage of direct contact condensers?

They are not capable of maintaining a vacuum at the turbine exhaust
They require chemically treated cooling water (correct)
They are less efficient than surface condensers
They have a barrier to prevent contact between exhaust steam and cooling medium

What are surface condensers designed to prevent?

Contact between exhaust steam and the cooling medium (D) Signup and view all the answers

Why does adding a condenser increase the efficiency of a turbine by 50%?

By recovering more heat energy from the steam (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the secondary purposes of a condenser in a steam power plant?

To convert steam to condensate for use as feedwater in the boiler (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is an important factor for efficiently using cooling water in a condenser?

Minimizing the difference between its exit temperature and the steam inlet temperature (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of condensers?

To reject latent heat by converting a fluid from its gaseous to its liquid state (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of cooling towers?

To evaporate a portion of recirculated cooling water and reject heat to the atmosphere (A) Signup and view all the answers

In what way do condensers and cooling towers differ in their heat rejection methods?

Cooling towers reject heat to the atmosphere by evaporating a portion of recirculated cooling water (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a common application of cooling towers?

To cool internal combustion engines and lubricating oil (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is a common application of condensers?

To convert a fluid from its liquid to its gaseous state (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of rejecting heat in the context of power plant processes?

To remove heat from the source of heat production, and reject it to a large heat sink (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of condensers in the operation of cooling towers?

Condensers convert a fluid from its gaseous to its liquid state before rejecting it to the atmosphere (D) Signup and view all the answers