Mikako Tanaka

Rapid Generation Process of Superheated Steam Using a Water-Containing Porous Material

Heat treatment by superheated steam has been utilized in several industrial fields including sterilization, desiccation, and cooking. In particular, cooking by superheated steam is receiving increased attention because it has advantages of reducing the salt and fat contents in foods as well as suppressing the oxidation of vitamin C and fat. In this application, quick startup and cut-off responses are required. Most electrically energized steam generators require a relatively long time to generate superheated steam due to the large heat capacities of the water in container and of the heater. Zhao and Liao (2002) introduced a novel process for rapid vaporization of subcooled liquid, in which a low-thermal-conductivity porous wick containing water is heated by a downward-facing grooved heating block in contact with the upper surface of the wick structure. They showed that saturated steam is generated within approximately 30 seconds from room-temperature water at a heat flux 41.2 kW/m 2 . In order to quickly generate superheated steam of approximately 300°C, which is required for cooking, the heat capacity of the heater should be as small as possible and the imposed heat flux should be so high enough that the porous wick is able to dry out in the vicinity of the contact with the heater and that the resulting heater temperature becomes much higher than the saturation temperature. The present paper proposes a simple structured generator to quickly produce superheated steam. Only a fine wire heater is contacted spirally on the inside wall in a hollow porous material. The start-up, cut-off responses and the rate of energy conversion for input power are investigated experimentally. Superheated steam of 300°C is produced in approximately 19 seconds from room-temperature water for an input power of 300 W. The maximum rate of energy conversion in the steady state is approximately 0.9.