A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired. A superheater can vary in size from a few tens of feet to several hundred feet (a few metres or some hundred metres).

A radiant superheater is placed directly in the combustion chamber.

A convection superheater is located in the path of the hot gases.

A separately fired superheater, as its name implies, is totally separated from the boiler.

A superheater is a device in a steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

, when considering locomotives, that heats the steam generated by the boiler

Boiler

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...

 again, increasing its thermal energy

Thermal energy

Thermal energy is the part of the total internal energy of a thermodynamic system or sample of matter that results in the system's temperature....

 and decreasing the likelihood that it will condense inside the engine.