The key difference between saturated vapor and superheated vapor is that saturated vapor is the maximum limit of vapor that a given space can hold, and this vapor is able to condense, whereas superheated vapor is the type of vapor that is separated from the liquid droplets followed by the addition of additional heat, and it is not able to condense.
Vapor is a substance diffused or suspended in the air, especially a normally liquid or solid. Saturated vapor and superheated vapor are two different types of vapor. Saturated vapor and superheated vapor are very important terms in chemistry due to their different applications in different technologies.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Saturated Vapor
3. What is Superheated Vapor
4. Saturated Vapor vs Superheated Vapor in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Saturated Vapor vs Superheated Vapor
What is Saturated Vapor?
Saturated vapor is the maximum limit of vapor that a given quantity of air can hold at a particular temperature. For example, saturated water vapor means the maximum amount of water vapor that a given quantity of air can hold at a given temperature. Therefore, relative humidity will be 100%. When the maximum limit of vapor is not reached, this state is called unsaturated vapor. It is the opposite of saturated vapor.
Moreover, dry saturated vapor is free from liquid particles. In other words, dry vapor forms when all particles of the liquid are vaporized. Therefore, any increase in vapor pressure or decrease in vapor temperature can cause the condensation of liquid particles in the vapor.
When a liquid continues to evaporate into the space above it, the pressure of the vapor increases. There comes a point at which the rate of evaporation becomes equal to the condensation rate, and the space becomes saturated at this point. We call it the saturated vapor state.
What is Superheated Vapor?
Superheated vapor is the vapor formed from a solvent that is heated beyond its normal boiling point at atmospheric pressure. This type of vapor is able to heat materials to temperatures above the normal boiling point of the solvent we are using to produce the vapor.
The term superheated means that the vapor occurs at a vaporization temperature that is above its boiling point at a given pressure. For example, if the water vapor is occurring at a temperature between 100 – 1000 degrees Celsius at the atmospheric pressure, then we can call it superheated water vapor, and it can be fairly assumed that it can behave as an ideal gas.
Since superheated steam can release a lot of its internal energy for work and can remain above the water vapor point of the liquid at a given pressure, it is useful for different applications. Some of these applications include surface technologies, cleaning technologies, steam drying, catalysis, chemical reaction processing, curing technologies, energy systems, and nanotechnology.
What is the Difference Between Saturated Vapor and Superheated Vapor?
The key difference between saturated vapor and superheated vapor is that saturated vapor is the maximum limit of vapor that a given space can hold, and this vapor is able to condense, whereas superheated vapor is the type of vapor that is separated from the liquid droplets followed by the addition of additional heat, and it is not able to condense.
Below is a summary of the difference between saturated vapor and superheated vapor in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Saturated Vapor vs Superheated Vapor
Saturated vapor and superheated vapor are two different types of vapor. The key difference between saturated vapor and superheated vapor is that saturated vapor is the maximum limit of vapor that a given space can hold, and this vapor is able to condense, whereas superheated vapor is the type of vapor that is separated from the liquid droplets followed by the addition of additional heat and it is not able to condense.
Reference:
“Superheated Vapor.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Saturation vapour pressure of water” By Firepulaski – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Rankine cycle with superheat” By Donebythesecondlaw at the English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia