Air-conditioning and refrigeration systems contain evaporators that remove heat and moisture from the surrounding air and so reduce the temperature. The evaporation of perspiration cools the skin. Evaporation provides a way to separate mixtures. The resulting liquid contains a greater proportion of the more volatile substance than does the original mixture. Such products as alcoholic beverages and gasoline are manufactured by distillation.
Evaporation also serves as a means of concentrating nonvolatile substances.
For example, the juice from sugar cane is heated until nearly all the liquid evaporates. This process produces a concentrated sugar solution from which sugar crystals form. Marye Anne Fox, Ph.D., Waggoner Chair in Chemistry, Univ. of Texas, Austin. How to cite this article.