Glossary

A dictionary of desalination terms.

vacuum deaerator

Device operating under vacuum to remove dissolved gases from a liquid.

vapour

The gaseous phase of a material that is in the solid or liquid state at standard temperature and pressure.

vapour compression evaporation

(VC) Evaporative system where vapour boiled off in the evaporator is mechanically compressed and reused as the heating medium.

vapour pressure

The pressure at which equilibrium is established between the liquid and gas phases of a substance.

vaporization

The process where a substance changes from a liquid or solid to the gaseous state.

VBNC

See “viable but not culturable”.

VC

See “vapour compression evaporation”.

VCE

Vapour compression evaporation.

viable but non-culturable

(VBNC) Bacteria commonly found in seawater that cannot be cultured on standard bacteriological media used for culturing heterotrophic bacteria.

VTE

Vertical tube evaporator.

VVC

Vacuum vapour compression.