A steam turbine is a bladed rotor that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work.
Energy losses
Since the steam often needs to be produced from a fuel (ie biofuel, nuclear material), a additional energy conversion (fuel-thermal energy) needs to be done before the thermal energy can be used to produce steam from water. This extra conversion brings a significant energy loss.
Types
Several types of steam turbines exist including:
- the Tesla turbine (a very robust bladed rotor which uses metal discs rather than actual blades)
- the Parsons turbine