Cascade

Name:
Cascade
Detailed information:
(1) A series of operational units or stages so arranged that the heat produced in the first unit serves as the heat source for the second unit and so on. An example of this is a triple-effect evaporator in which the latent heat of condensation is passed from one unit to another. This principle is also used in distillation, each column plate representing one stage in the cascade. In flash distillation, used in the desalination of seawater, the heat of condensation is used to warm the incoming water. (2) Coined term used to describe a large number of compounds derived from a common source, e.g., the arachidonic acid cascade.