A steam plant that exhaust steamed the atmosphere is called what?

• A. Non-condensing
• B. Condensing
• C. Closed-loop
• D. Boilerless

Answer: (A)

Exhausting steam to the atmosphere describes a non-condensing turbine arrangement. After the steam expands through the turbine, it is not condensed back into liquid water and is released to the surroundings. This makes the system simpler and cheaper, but it reduces efficiency because the latent heat isn’t recovered and the turbine operates with a higher exhaust pressure. In contrast, a condensing plant uses a condenser to turn the exhaust steam back into water, lowering the back pressure and increasing efficiency. A closed-loop system keeps the working fluid circulating without discharging steam to the atmosphere, which is a different approach. Boilerless isn’t a standard way to describe steam exhaust, since steam generation still requires a heat source.