An evaporator is a device which turns the liquid form of a substance into its gaseous or vapour form. This is a widely used process and there are many applications for it.
Fundamental chemical production processes: Vacuum evaporation Flash evaporation Multi-effect distillation
Mechanisms for performing evaporation: Rotary evaporator, a vacuum evaporator, typically used in chemistry laboratories Centrifugal evaporator Circulation evaporator Rising film evaporator Falling film evaporator Climbing and falling film plate evaporator Multiple-effect evaporator Vapor-compression evaporation
Air conditioning: Evaporative cooler, simple unpowered cooling Evaporative cooling chambers, an application thereof Spray pond, large scale external cooling
Refrigeration: Vapor-compression refrigeration, the common motor-driven form of refrigerator, where the evaporator forms the 'cold plate' within the refrigerator Absorption refrigerator, a refrigerator powered by a heat source, also with an evaporator as the cold plate
Production of potable drinking water and boiler feedwater at sea or on arid coasts: Evaporator (marine) Chaplin's patent distilling apparatus Vapor-compression desalination Multi-stage flash distillation