Why is a boiler and CONDENSER used in every cycle. Wouldn't it have been easier if the steam after expansion in the turbine was directly heated using a super heater instead of condensing and again heating it in a boiler. Will it not be more efficient to use the boiler in the beginning to just generate steam and reduce the heat rejected by nullifying the condensation process...Please give a brief answer
There is a a Reheat Steam Cycle which takes steam flowing from the High Pressure Turbine To the Low Pressure turbine and heats the steam back up. this is mainly done to ensure that the steam is dry before entering the Low Pressure turbine. www.ohio.edu/mechanical/thermo/Ap... The reason a condenser is used is to create a low pressure exhaust point and to recover the water (condensate) for reuse. In order for steam to flow it travels from a high pressure source (the boiler) to a lower pressure zone. Without a difference in pressure you can't have flow. The condenser causes the exhaust steam to dramtically reduce its volume as it changes state from a gas (steam) into a liquid(condensate/water). This rapid collapse in size allows for a vacuum to be sustained within the condenser. This vacuum is the low pressure zone which allows higher pressure steam to flow into.
The difference between the temperature of the cold water and the heated water determines how efficient a power plant is. The higher the difference, the more efficient the power plant. Water that is very close to turning into steam can't absorb very much energy. Water that is cold and far from steaming absorbs a lot more energy. So the colder the water, the more energy is absorbed and transferred into electrical energy, rather than lost as waste heat.
Please give a brief answer The simplest explanation is that for a turbine to generate power there has to be a pressure differential between the inlet and outlet. If you eliminate the condenser the pressure differential will be zero, so no power will be generated. I suggest a simple thought experiment: Since there is no phase change without a condenser, you can visualize using compressed air (or some other non-condensing gas) instead of steam. Draw a diagram of your no condenser system. How does your proposed system generate a pressure differential across the turbine? It is possible to make a non-condensing externally heated heat engine that works, read up on Stirling engines to see how it is done.
Coal burns hot, plants burn coal to heat the water to make steam which spins the turbines which produces electricity =)
