ABSTRACT
In a dairy, heat is supplied mostly in the form of steam. Steam is produced by evaporation. During evaporation molecules with higher kinetic energy rise to the surface of water and pass into the gaseous phase, where the pressure of these molecules is lower than the ambient air pressure. When temperature is increased, steam pressure increases, and if it has the same pressure as air, water has reached its boiling point. Nonsaturated superheated or hot steam is produced when the temperature is increased beyond the state of dry saturated steam until the critical state is reached; before it can condense, its superheating energy must be removed. For long-distance heat supply, hot water at elevated pressures and temperatures of 120–150 °C is converted into steam. From the distributor, steam pipes branch out to individual sections or to other distributors, and the supply line to the milk heating installations is the first to branch off.
