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Evapration Chamber

Operation
Prefab Hash	-1429782576
Prefab Name	StructureEvaporationChamber
Construction
Placed with	Kit (Phase Change Device)
Placed on	Small Grid
Stage 1
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool	Wrench
Constructed with item	2 x Steel Sheets
Stage 2
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool	Welding Torch
Constructed with item	2 x Steel Sheets

The evaporator is a device focused on evaporating gasses by depressurizing them and warming them. It includes a liquid input, a gas output, and a gas connection for the heat exchange gas. There is a setting for the target pressure that controls how much gas will be pumped out of the chamber into the connected pipe. Any gas that evaporates and brings the pressure above the target will be transferred to the output pipe. There is also a flush lever that will release all contents into the local atmosphere.

The evaporation chamber fills itself with the liquid input line. If the liquid evaporates, the chamber itself cools down due to the latent heat of condensation and any gasses in excess of the pressure set-point are pumped out via the gas output. The exchange gas connection equalizes the temperature between the chamber and the exchange gas by exchanging energy between the two. If the exchange gas is colder, then the chamber will cool down. But almost every use case of the evaporator is for the exchange gas to be warmer than the chamber in order to replace the latent heat of condensation and support ongoing evaporation.

It is often paired with a Condensation Chamber to transfer heat from one system to another.

When the evaporator is turned off it no longer loads liquid from the input, or transfers excess gas to the output, but the chamber continues to equalize with the exchange gas. If not properly managed, this can lead to problems, both as the chamber reaches steady state, and again when the chamber is turned back on and pumps out the excess evaporated gas.

In one example, you could feed an evaporator with liquid Pollutant and set the chamber to 1900kPa. As the gas evaporates, the latent heat is drawn out of the gas in the chamber, cooling it. This is usually used to transfer heat from the exchange gas into the chamber. This can cool the exchange gas to as low as ?180 kelvin? (although the temperature will be different in an active system where the exchange gas is receiving heat from elsewhere).

Failure modes

Ice

It is possible to set the pressure low enough that it cools the gas to the point that it starts to form ice. For instance, an evaporator full of Pollutant at 600kPa can form ice which can accumulate to burst the pipes on the output side. This can be prevented if the exchange gas is warm enough to keep the chamber from approaching the freezing point, but it tends to happen when the system is left unattended and processes slow down. To prevent this, use a pressure setting such that the gas/liquid equilibrium temperature is above the freezing point.

Output gas over-pressure

While unlikely in an active system, it is theoretically possible that the evaporation chamber could pump gas into the output connection that causes pressure to rise until the pipe fails. This is most likely to happen when part of the greater system is deactivated and gas pipes shift into a new equilibrium. The easy solution is to use a Backpressure Regulator to transfer excess gas to storage.

Exchange gas low pressure

Low pressure in the exchange gas connection can limit the speed of heat transfer. 150kPa is a good starting point.

Exchange gas freezing

Make sure that the exchange gas can avoid condensation or freezing should the evaporation chamber achieve equilibrium.