Significant Purposes Of Fluids 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 illustration given, the deodorant droplets were scattered in the air. Sprays can also be contained within other gaseous mediums, though. One demonstration of this is where chemicals are sprayed into the gasses produced in power plants, to remove pollutants.

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.

Use of sprays is widespread in the manufacturing of food and beverages. Fresh grown foods are washed with sprays, and many ingredients are added in the form of a spray. The accuracy of a spray is ideal in cases like where spice must be added. Add too much and the result will put many people off, but get it just right and it adds a pleasant kick. This same accuracy allows great control over how additives are applied, ensuring that nowhere is missed out.

Staying with food and drink, many commonplace foods are created using a technique called spray drying. Here, liquid products are turned into a fine spray, which is dried out in hot air. Instant coffee, milk powder, colorings and spice powders are made with this process.

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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