Monday, October 30, 2017

Significant Applications Of Liquids In Spray Form

By Haywood Hunter


While the general meaning of the word spray is widely known, most would struggle to give a more definitive explanation of the term. To illustrate what it really means, we can look at the spray that is produced when a deodorant can is used. The deodorant itself is stored as a liquid in the container, and emerges into the air as a mist. This familiar example ties in perfectly with how a spray is defined as drops of liquid distributed in a gas.

In the above example, the air was the gas that that the drops of deodorant were dispersed in. However, the definition of a spray allows for liquid to be sprayed into any gas, for example when various liquids are sprayed into the emissions of power plants, to help strip out harmful chemicals.

Producing a spray can be referred to as atomization, and although this seems to suggest the liquid is divided into single atoms, this is not the case. Instead, a cloud of tiny drops of fluid is produced. The reasons for turning fluid into a spray are better appreciated by observing some situations where sprays are utilized. As the uses for spraying are so numerous, a few key examples will be selected.

Sprays are used extensively by companies producing foods and drinks. Spray washers are used to clean fruit and vegetables, while many flavorings and additives are sprayed onto foods. Sprays are very controllable, which helps manufacturers to ensure the correct amount of ingredient is added, for example a little too much spice will make food inedible for some people, so reasonable precision is required. Another advantage of sprays is that they can help ensure a uniform distribution of ingredient is applied over a food product.

Spray drying is another important process in the manufacturing of edible products. Liquid foods and drinks are dried by spraying them into hot air, which evaporates the moisture and leaves a powder. This procedure is used to create additives like colorings and spices, as well as more common staples such as instant coffee or powdered milk.

While spray drying is perhaps not familiar to the lay person, spray painting is far more widely known. As well as the mundane spray paint can known to all, there are other more advanced forms of spray painting. An interesting variation is electrostatic spray painting, where the paint spray is given an electric charge, and the item to be painted is given an opposite charge so that it will attract the paint. This has clear advantages over brush painting, where it can be very hard to paint into awkward areas.

Arguably one of the most significant of all uses of sprays is the way they are utilized in engines. In many engines, the fuel is turned into a spray directly before it is ignited, creating tiny, easily ignited drops of fuel mixed evenly with air, a very desirable combination. This principle is widely applied in jet, diesel, rocket and petrol engines, as well as in steam boilers.

Although many people do not have a full understanding of what a spray is, the fact that sprays are used in power generation, familiar items such as deodorants and spray paint, food production, and in running some of our most important forms of transportation, shows how important they can be.




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