🔍 Key Concepts

• Flow paths in a two-stage flash evaporator (seawater/brine side vs. distillate side vs. cooling water side) • What happens when a tube leak allows higher-salinity or higher-pressure fluid to mix with a lower-salinity or lower-pressure stream • The function of a distillate cooler and what fluid is inside its tubes vs. outside

💭 Think About

• Identify which fluid is supposed to be inside the tubes of the distillate cooler and which fluid is outside, then think about what a leak does to those two fluids • Compare the pressures and purity of the fluids: which one will tend to flow into the other through a leak, and what effect would that have on water quality or vacuum? • Look at each answer choice and ask: does this directly involve the distillate cooler, or a different part of the evaporator (flash chamber, feed heater, second stage condenser)?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be clear on which component actually produces and condenses vapor in the second stage and which one simply cools the already-produced distillate • Verify which choice describes a problem affecting water purity versus a problem affecting vacuum conditions • Confirm whether a leak in the distillate cooler would realistically change the feed inlet temperature or affect the second stage condenser hardware itself