page_title: Steam-electric power station
section_title: Condenser
hierarchical_section_title: Steam-electric power station / Steam plant / Condenser
caption_attribution_description: This is a schematic diagram of a surface condenser used for condensing the exhaust steam from a steam turbine.
context_page_description: The steam-electric power station is a power station in which the electric generator is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser. The greatest variation in the design of steam-electric power plants is due to the different fuel sources.
  Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric power plants, waste incineration plants as well as many natural gas power plants are steam-electric. Natural gas is frequently combusted in gas turbines as well as boilers. The waste heat from a gas turbine can be used to raise steam, in a combined cycle plant that improves overall efficiency.
  Worldwide, most electric power is produced by steam-electric power plants, which produce about 89% of all electric generation. The only other types of plants that currently have a significant contribution are hydroelectric and gas turbine plants, which can burn natural gas or diesel. Photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and binary cycle geothermal plants are also non-steam electric, but currently do not produce much electricity.
context_section_description: Steam-electric power plants use a surface condenser cooled by water circulating through tubes.  The steam which was used to turn the turbine is exhausted into the condenser and is condensed as it comes in contact with the tubes full of cool circulating water.  The condensed steam, commonly referred to as condensate.
  is withdrawn from the bottom of the condenser. The adjacent image is a diagram of a typical surface condenser.
  For best efficiency, the temperature in the condenser must be kept as low as practical in order to achieve the lowest possible pressure in the condensing steam.  Since the condenser temperature can almost always be kept significantly below 100 ᵒC where the vapor pressure of water is much less than atmospheric pressure, the condenser generally works under vacuum. Thus leaks of non-condensable air into the closed loop must be prevented.  Plants operating in hot climates may have to reduce output if their source of condenser cooling water becomes warmer; unfortunately this usually coincides with periods of high electrical demand for air conditioning.   If a good source of cooling water is not available, cooling towers may be used to reject waste heat to the atmosphere.  A large river or lake can also be used as a heat sink for cooling the condensers; temperature rises in naturally occurring waters may have undesirable ecological effects, but may also incidentally improve yields of fish in some circumstances.
caption: Diagram of a typical water-cooled surface condenser
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