Journal of Chemical Engineering and Energy Materials

Single-pressure and multi-pressure condenser in Industry

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Andi Johnson

Department of Research and Development, UOP, Santiago, Chile

10.22034/jceem.2026.588564.1028
Abstract
The idea of using steam to produce mechanical work probably raised for the first time in relation to pumping water from coalmines. The first successful work in this case was a "Pump engine" made by Thomas Savory (1650-1715) in England. In the riding engine, steam directly applied with a pressure between 4.5 and 8 bar on the surface of the water located in a chamber and it raised in a pipe. In this engine, a one-way valve prevented the reverse flow of water. After the water emptied from the chamber, the flow of steam manually cut off and cold water entered the chamber so that more water would enter it by condensing the steam inside and creating a vacuum in the chamber. In this engine, because of direct contact between water and steam, the loss of steam due to condensation was high, and the lack of safety valves caused many explosions. Almost at the same time as Savory, Denis Papin (1647-1712), who was also the inventor of the safety valve, proposed the idea of separating steam and water by means of a piston, and Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) designed and then built such a piston engine. In this engine, steam enters the vertical cylinder with low pressure and causes a piston to move upwards. Then, the steam that remains in the cylinder turned into a liquid from the outside by the direction of cold water, and thus a vacuum created in the cylinder.

Keywords

Single-pressure
multi-pressure condenser
Industry
steam
Subjects
Journal of Chemical Engineering and Energy Materials

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 July 2026

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