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  3. Engineering: Industrial

vapor muerto

English translation: spent steam

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:vapor muerto
English translation:spent steam
Entered by: Rachel Freeman

09:22 Apr 14, 2011
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Engineering: Industrial / Solar Thermal Power Plant
Spanish term or phrase: vapor muerto
This is from a manual for a solar thermal power plant in Spain. The client wants this into UK English.

Under cooling systems they say:

Una vez utilizado, el vapor se convierte en vapor “muerto”, y debe transformarse de nuevo en agua líquida, para que pueda recibir otra vez la transferencia de calor.

I have used live steam throughout the translation for vapor vivo and have found many reliable sources to back this up. The only problem I have with using dead steam is that I can not find it in any original texts, just translations. Has anyone ever seen it used in an original text in English? Thank you for your input.
Rachel Freeman
Spain
Local time: 04:22
spent steam
Explanation:
I don't know for sure that "dead steam" is not an authentic term of art, but it isn't common and the texts in which it occurs do look like translations, I agree (I haven't checked them all).

But I am finding "spent steam" used quite regularly in opposition to "live steam" in what appear to be authentic English texts, apparently in the same sense.

Here's an example from a patent authored by Americans:
"The heat produced is then used to convert water into steam. The steam is conducted at high pressure to a turbine which it drives. The turbine is, of course, coupled to a generator which produces electric power. The spent steam from the turbine is condensed by the cooling system and then the water is recycled and reheated to steam again."
http://www.patentsurf.net/4,506,508

"In a typical biomass power plant, the primary consumptive use of water will be to support the cooling system used to condense spent steam for reuse."
http://teeic.anl.gov/er/biomass/impact/op/index.cfm
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 04:22
Grading comment
Thank you, this term was driving me crazy.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5life-threatening vapour
Vitaliy Rysyuk
3 +1spent steam
Charles Davis


  

Answers


32 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
spent steam


Explanation:
I don't know for sure that "dead steam" is not an authentic term of art, but it isn't common and the texts in which it occurs do look like translations, I agree (I haven't checked them all).

But I am finding "spent steam" used quite regularly in opposition to "live steam" in what appear to be authentic English texts, apparently in the same sense.

Here's an example from a patent authored by Americans:
"The heat produced is then used to convert water into steam. The steam is conducted at high pressure to a turbine which it drives. The turbine is, of course, coupled to a generator which produces electric power. The spent steam from the turbine is condensed by the cooling system and then the water is recycled and reheated to steam again."
http://www.patentsurf.net/4,506,508

"In a typical biomass power plant, the primary consumptive use of water will be to support the cooling system used to condense spent steam for reuse."
http://teeic.anl.gov/er/biomass/impact/op/index.cfm

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 04:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 32
Grading comment
Thank you, this term was driving me crazy.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MedTrans&More
2 hrs
  -> Many thanks, MedTrans&More :)
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40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
life-threatening vapour


Explanation:
As we need a British English, then we choose the spelling of 'vapour' instead the American 'vapors'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 44 mins (2011-04-14 10:06:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For clarity purposes, I would like to suggest another translation option:

"BLANK/IDLE VAPOUR"

Example sentence(s):
  • it can cause life-threatening vapors when locked in your basement or anywhere else in the house
  • Supplies that are low emission besidesnon-posionous drop-off the put down of the glasshouse gases on with other life-threatening vapors from the solvents as well as resins.

    Reference: http://www.basement-central.com/RadoGas.html
    Reference: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Why-Take-To-Go-Ecologic...
Vitaliy Rysyuk
Ukraine
Local time: 05:22
Native speaker of: Native in UkrainianUkrainian, Native in RussianRussian
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