What is a Freshwater Generator?
“Water, water everywhere, and nary a drop to drink.” Old cargo ships from years back were required to carry large supplies of fresh water to sustain the crew on a long voyage. A ship that had run out of drinking water would be carrying a sad crew indeed. Today, most commercial ships are equipped with a freshwater generator, a type of evaporator that converts sea water into drinkable, fresh water. The concept of a freshwater generator is simple; sea water is evaporated using a heat source, separating pure water from salt, sediment and other elements. Freshwater generators often use the diesel engine jacket as a heat source, although steam can also be used as a heat source. Because freshwater generators often use existing heat to run, the cost of operation is low. There are two main elements in a freshwater generator, one heat exchanger evaporates the sea water, and another condenses the fresh water vapor into drinking water. In the condenser element, the vapor is condensed through cooli
