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Liquid water that becomes water vapor takes a parcel of heat with it, in a process called evaporative cooling. [3] The amount of water vapor in the air determines how frequently molecules will return to the surface. When a net evaporation occurs, the body of water will undergo a net cooling directly related to the loss of water.
The evaporation rate depends on the temperature and humidity of the air, which is why sweat accumulates more on humid days, as it does not evaporate fast enough. Vapor-compression refrigeration uses evaporative cooling, but the evaporated vapor is within a sealed system, and is then compressed ready to evaporate again, using energy to do so.
The evaporation will continue until an equilibrium is reached when the evaporation of the liquid is equal to its condensation. In an enclosed environment, a liquid will evaporate until the surrounding air is saturated. Evaporation is an essential part of the water cycle.
Axial-flow and Roots compressor may reach slightly higher compression ratios. Thermocompression evaporators may reach higher compression ratios - at a cost. A compression ratio of 2 is possible (and sometimes more) but unless the motive steam is at a reasonably high pressure (say, 16 bar g - 250 psig - or more), the motive steam consumption ...
Air in the enclosed space circulates across the coil or tubes due to either thermal convection or a fan. Since the air is warmer than the cold liquid refrigerant, heat is transferred from the air to the refrigerant, which cools the air and warms the refrigerant, causing evaporation, returning it to a gaseous state.
In a cascade refrigeration system, two or more vapor-compression cycles with different refrigerants are used. The evaporation-condensation temperatures of each cycle are sequentially lower with some overlap to cover the total temperature drop desired, with refrigerants selected to work efficiently in the temperature range they cover.
When the air temperature is high, the human body uses the evaporation of perspiration to cool down, with the cooling effect directly related to how fast the perspiration evaporates. The rate at which perspiration can evaporate depends on how much moisture is in the air and how much moisture the air can hold.
Liquid gases may fall here, or into refrigerants, as their temperature is often maintained by evaporation. Liquid nitrogen is the best known example encountered in laboratories. The phase change may not occur at the cooled interface, but on the surface of the liquid, to where the heat is transferred by convective or forced flow.