Dehumidification

Related terms:

Heat Exchanger, Duct, Temperature, Regeneration, Liquid Desiccant, Desalination

System, Desiccant, Desiccant Wheel, Humidification

View all Topics

Learn more about Dehumidification

STATE OF THE ART

A. EGGERS-LURA, in Solar Energy in Developing Countries, 1979

3.5.7.4 Sundry
Dehumidification in moist hot climates is almost as important as cooling. Removal
of moisture from the air is much easier to achieve than cooling the air, and dehu-
midifiers operated by electricity are cheaper than air-conditioners. Active silica gel
has been used for the purpose, followed by regeneration. In hot, dry climates air
can be cooled by evaporating water, and it is common practice to blow air through
coarse cloth saturated with water. Even in humid climates, considerable cooling
can be effected by dehumidification of the air followed by evaporation of the water
and restoration of part of the humidity. Such dehumidification can be effected
by an ethylene glycol/air/solar collector system, as proposed by the University of
Wisconsin, U.S.A., whereby moisture in the air is absorbed by passing it through
a spray tower of falling drops of ethylene glycol, the non-volatile glycol absorbing
water and giving drier air, and the glycol being regenerated with a stream of hot air
heated by the sun.

As a supporting activity to space cooling, considerable work has been done on the
study of indoor temperature as a function of architecture, orientation of the building,
insulation, shading and selective paints. A detailed consideration of these factors can
considerably reduce the load on the cooling system that may be developed.
A convective cooling system, using lower wet-bulb temperatures at night and
coupled to rockpile thermal storage, is under development in Australia and India
as a component of a hybrid heating-cum-cooling system. Comparative studies of
economics and reliability of the rockpile and natural air-conditioning systems need
to be undertaken for hot, dry climates and their areas of application specified.

> Read full chapter

Introduction to solar heating and cool-

ing systems
R.Z. Wang, ... T.S. Ge, in Advances in Solar Heating and Cooling, 2016

1.2.3.3 Solar thermal-driven dehumidification

To fulfill the dehumidification demand, the sorption of water vapor by the binary
working pair can also be utilized. In the sorption dehumidification system, the
working pair has to contact the ambient and the open sorption cycles can be used.
The open sorption system is also called the desiccant cooling system. The working
pair has to be related with water here. The open sorption cycle contains the sorp-
tion and desorption processes. The sorption process is used for dehumidification
whereas the desorption process is used for regeneration of a sorption working pair.
The desorption process needs heat input. Compared with the dehumidification
completed by vapor compression cooling, the sorption desiccant dehumidification
system does not need to cool the air down to dew point temperature, which is
thus more energy-saving, but regeneration heat would be needed for desiccant
dehumidification.

There are mainly two desiccant cooling systems, including liquid desiccant cooling
and solid desiccant cooling. In a liquid desiccant cooling system, the working fluid
flows between the absorber and the regenerator. In a solid desiccant cooling system,
the construction is different because of the nonfluid working medium. A rotary wheel
system can be adopted to ensure a continuous operation. Low-temperature solar
heat can drive a desiccant cooling system.

> Read full chapter

AIR-HANDLING PROCESSES
ERIC F. Curd, ... RALF WIKSTEN, in Industrial Ventilation Design Guidebook, 2001
9.4.2.1 Introduction
Humidification and dehumidification (drying) of air are required in many commer-
cial and industrial applications for the following reasons:

• The control of air moisture content within the occupied space to ensure the
well-being of human, animal, or plant life
• The control of air moisture content within a space for process control or to
protect products in store

Table 9.4 indicates some of the factors that have to be considered when dealing
with the moisture content in air. In the case of inert gases used in various industrial
processes, other factors have to be considered.

The process of air humidification is achieved by means of a device called a humidifier.

> Read full chapter

CORROSION PREVENTION BY DE-

SIGN
Zaki Ahmad, in Principles of Corrosion Engineering and Corrosion Control, 2006

8.15.2 PREVENTION
Application of dynamic dehumidification preservation technology (DP) has been
successfully applied to preserve weapon systems. DP technology has been applied
to ground combat vehicles, helicopters, combat aircraft and air warning and control
systems. Currently employed moisture prevention technologies include changes in
material design and use of physical barriers to exclude moisture from the air.

The other approach is to extract moisture from the air and control the humidity to an
acceptable level. Two systems, static or dynamic dehumidification, can be employed.
In static dehumidification desiccant bags are placed or scattered throughout the
area for absorption of moisture. This practice has limitations for larger areas and
efficient handling as the bags needto be reactivated after they absorb moisture.
In dynamic dehumidification, mechanical dehumidifiers convert moisture laden air
into the air containing a specified level of humidity and this air is circulated around
the equipment to be preserved.

In the technique called EDAM (Enclosed Dry Air Method), a desiccant impregnated
honeycomb construction wheel is impregnated with desiccant. A dry air system is
shown in Fig. 8.54. Air is humidified in one section of a wheel and the desiccant is
dried and activated in another section. This method utilizes flexible plastic covers as
well the humidifiers described above.

Figure 8.54. Dry air system for dehumidification. (From Laurent, C.S. Munters
Cargocaire, 79, Monroe St. PO Box 640, Amesbury, MA. By permission of Laurent,
C.S. Amesbury, MA, USA)

Special storage areas can be constructed in existing buildings to utilize dynamic

dehumidification technology.

> Read full chapter

Heat and Mass Transfer Across a Hol-

low Fiber Membrane Bundle
Li-Zhi Zhang, in Conjugate Heat and Mass Transfer in Heat Mass Exchanger Ducts,
2013

Module effectiveness
Taking liquid air dehumidification as an example, performance is defined by the
following. Sensible and latent (moisture) effectivenesses of the module are defined
by

(7.19)

(7.20)
where T is temperature (K); subscripts “i” and “o” here mean inlet and outlet
respectively. The latent effectiveness is also the air dehumidification effectiveness.
The sensible effectiveness reflects a temperature change in the dehumidification
process. Differently from sensible-only heat exchangers, absorption heat is released
in dehumidification. As a result, sensible effectiveness may be negative in some
cases, due to the absorption heat generated when the transfers of sensible heat and
moisture are in different directions.

Enthalpy of the solution is a sum of the product of specific heat and temperature
and the absorption heat

(7.21)

where cs is the specific heat of solution (kJ kg−1 K−1); habs is absorption heat (kJ/kg);
the reference states where enthalpy is equal to zero are taken to be dry at 0 °C and
liquid water at 0 °C.

Equivalent enthalpy of the solution is the enthalpy of the air that is in equilibrium
with the solution

(7.22)

where hv is the heat of evaporation of water at 0 °C (kJ/kg). Sometimes habs is also
approximated by hv, by ignoring the heat of mixing.

Enthalpy effectiveness of the module is defined by

(7.23)

Substituting Eqs. (7.19), (7.20) and (7.22) into Eq. (7.23), it becomes

(7.24)

where

(7.25)

As can be seen, the operating condition factor H* is essentially a ratio of latent to

sensible energy differences across the module, which is familiar to HVAC engineers.

> Read full chapter

Humidification–Dehumidification So-
lar Desalination Systems
Hongfei Zheng, in Solar Energy Desalination Technology, 2017

6.10.1.1 Structure Parameters and Working Principle

The humidification–dehumidification process is based on the fact that the moisture
content of air increases progressively with elevated temperature. For instance, 1 kg
of dry air can carry almost 1.25 kg vapor or more when its temperature increases
from 60 to 90°C.

The system presented in this paper consists of four closed loops: a solar loop,
which can produce hot water, and three water desalination loops with the function
of producing desalinated water. The solar loop is a thermosyphon water heater
connected with a heat exchanger to deliver heat to the seawater.

The desalination loops include three evaporation towers with hot seawater sprayers
and three condensation towers, which are configured to form an upper loop and a
lower loop. Air is circulated by fans within each loop. Fig. 6.62 illustrates a schematic
diagram of the experimental setup and Fig. 6.63 shows its photograph.

Figure 6.62. Schematic drawing of the experimental setup and the thermocouple

locations [36]. 1, value; 2, pump; 3, water flow meter; 4, condenser; 5, dehumidifier;
6, evaporator chamber; 7, evaporating sprayer; 8, moisturizing sprayer; 9, plastic
ball; 10, basket; 11, fan; 12, water limited pipe; 13, battle; 14, humid air; 15, heat
exchanger; t1   t9, Temperature of water at different locations; t10   t15, Temperature
of air at air channel; t16, Temperature of water tank.
Figure 6.63. A photograph of the experimental setup. (A) The inner shell; (B) external
shape.

In the condensation sections, three heat exchangers, which are made of copper tubes
with corrugated aluminum fins, are connected to each other in series. The porous
plastic balls are chosen to establish the packed bed. To increase the contact surface
between air and seawater, the porous plastic balls were packed in the evaporation
sections to achieve a larger wetted surface and an efficient humidification of the
air. The shell of evaporators and condensers were constructed of 3 mm stainless
steels by welding and were insulated by Styrofoam layers with a thickness of 25 mm.
The operation principle of this desalination process is presented as follows.

First, the seawater is fed to the low condensation tower (LCT) to condense the moist
air coming from the low evaporation tower (LET). The latent heat of condensation
is used to preheat the feed water. At the exit of the LCT, a small part of seawater is
expelled from the system, and the remainder enters the middle condensation tower
to condense the water vapor in the moist air flowing from the middle evaporation
tower (MET). After that, the heated seawater is divided into two parts. One enters the
high evaporation tower (HET) through the moisturizing sprayer in HET and the other
flows into the LET by the evaporating sprayer. The brine accumulated at the bottom
of the HET is circulated through the heat exchanger, where the brine is heated up
and returned to the HET through the evaporating sprayer. In the HET, due to heat
and mass transfers between the hot brine and the air stream, the moisture content
of air increases. At the bottom of the HET there is a liquid collector where brine is
collected as it drains down to the bottom. In the liquid collector, a vertical overflow
pipe is set to ensure the seawater level to a desired degree.

In the middle stage, the brine accumulated at the base of the MET is circulated
through the condenser in the high condensation tower (HCT) where the brine is
heated up and then reheated in heat exchanger. Finally, the brine is returned to the
MET through evaporating sprayer in MET.

The novel system operates at atmospheric pressure using air as a carrier for vapor.
A forced convection heat and mass transfer processes between air and hot brine will
occur in the evaporation tower. The forced convection process is assured by an axial
flow fan fixed at the bottom of the evaporation tower. The resulted saturated moist
air is transported to the condensation tower, where it contacts the condensers and
is cooled by the seawater to its dew point. A part of the water vapor in the moist air
therefore turns into freshwater, which is collected at the bottom of the condensation
tower.

Compared with the previous multieffect HDD system, the main characteristics of
the three-stage multieffect HDD system are outlined as follows. (1) It cannot only
reuse the latent heat of the condensation but also successfully recycles the residual
heat in the saline water, so the thermal efficiency of the system could be greatly
improved. (2) It has a few merits, namely, compact structure, stable running, easy
control, and small floor space occupation. (3) For units operating under atmospheric
pressure with no requirement for pressure-bearing material, it has a low fee. (4) The
unit can operate within a very wide temperature range from 60°C to 95°C.

> Read full chapter

Heat-activated cooling technologies for

small and micro combined heat and
power (CHP) applications
K. Gluesenkamp, R. Radermacher, in Small and Micro Combined Heat and Power
(CHP) Systems, 2011

11.7.2 Desiccant dehumidification effectiveness

Defining the effectiveness of a desiccant dehumidification process is complicated by
the fact that a desiccant wheel can be useful without actually providing any reduction
in the energy content (enthalpy) of the process air. For example, as noted in Section
11.4, the process air exiting a desiccant-coated wheel experiences essentially no
change in enthalpy, as it is sensibly heated to the same degree it is latently cooled.
Thus, for the most basic desiccant wheel configuration (Figs 11.7 and 11.8), if any
one of Equations 11.3-11.5 were applied, the cooling provided would be zero! Thus
these definitions are clearly not helpful for the basic configuration.

Since the primary objective of dehumidification is moisture removal, Equation 11.8

makes intuitive sense, and is commonly used. Parasitic energy consumption could
be subtracted from the latent heat removal term, or added to the regeneration term,
following the pattern of Equations 11.4-11.6. However, as the primary ‘parasitic’
effect of a desiccant wheel may be an increase in pressure drop that must be
overcome by the ventilation fan, or perhaps an increase in air flow rate, defining
the parasitic load may not be straightforward. Another possibility is to define the
dehumidification effectiveness relative to the ideal of removing all moisture from the
process air (Equation 11.9). However, drier is not always better if an ideal humidity
level has been reached, and this definition does not provide fair comparisons
among different ambient conditions.

11.8

11.9

The effectiveness definitions for dehumidification in Equations 11.8 and 11.9 can be
useful for comparing one dehumidifying device to another under similar conditions,
where dehumidification is the only objective. However, cycle enhancements to
remove sensible load, such as adding a sensible wheel to a desiccant wheel system,
will be under-appreciated by these definitions. For a desiccant dehumidification
configuration that provides total cooling, Equations 11.3-11.5, or a system-wide
performance metric, would be more appropriate.

> Read full chapter

Exergy Analysis of Psychrometric

Processes
Ibrahim Dincer, Marc A. Rosen, in Exergy (Second Edition), 2013

6.2.3.1 Energy and Exergy Efficiencies

For the process of cooling with dehumidification, one energy efficiency can
be defined as the ratio of heat released by the system and the energy carried by
the exiting stream to the energy conveyed by the incoming stream. The energy
efficiency based on this first definition can be expressed as follows:
(6.15e)

The corresponding exergy efficiency is as follows:

(6.15f )

where denotes the heat rejected by the system and other terms are as defined
previously. A second efficiency definition is based on the ratio of the energy
carried by the exiting stream to the heat rejected by the system. This definition
treats the purpose of the system as cooling the incoming stream; therefore the heat
rejected by the system is the actual input to the system. The energy efficiency based
on this second definition can be written as follows:

(6.15g)

The corresponding exergy efficiency is defined as follows:

(6.15h)

A third efficiency considers the desired output of the system as the sum of the heat
released by the system, the energy conveyed by the exiting stream, and the energy
conveyed by the water. The required output is the energy of the entering stream.
The energy efficiency based on this third definition can be determined as follows:

(6.15i)

The corresponding exergy efficiency is as follows:

(6.15j)

> Read full chapter

Active Solar Distiller

Hongfei Zheng, in Solar Energy Desalination Technology, 2017

5.17.1 Introduction
Air bubble columns are suitable for humidification and dehumidification. Its great
interface area allows a great value of heat and mass transfer rate consequently
improves productivity and efficiency.

Vlachogiannis et al. [37] studied experimentally and theoretically a novel desalina-

tion concept, combining between the principles of air humidification–dehumidi-
 fication and mechanical vapor compression. Air was injected into the evaporation
chamber through a porous bottom wall and dispersed as small-diameter bubbles.

Inaba et al. [38] studied experimentally heat and mass transfer of air bubbles in a hot
water layer. The results showed that the mean diameter of generating air bubbles
increased with an increase in the superficial air flow velocity.

Zhang et al. [39] studied experimentally operating factors that affect bubbling hu-
midification by using a single sieve plate. The result showed that air relative humidity
reached 100%. Moreover, humidification capacity was increased by about 80% when
water temperature was increased by 10°C. Zhang et al. [40] studied experimentally
the influence of working design parameters of a solar bubbling humidification
desalination unit on its gained output ratio, electric power consumption, and
freshwater production cost. They found that gained output ratio was increased as
the humidification temperature was increased, while electrical power consumption
decreased.

Emily and John [41] experimentally studied the heat flux and effectiveness of a bubble
column dehumidifier. It was found that the effectiveness was decreased while the
heat flux was increased with decreasing coil area and increasing the temperature and
air flow rate. Ghazal et al. [42] examined air bubble regeneration on the performance
of a solar still using a humidification–dehumidification desalination (HDD) process.
The results showed that the exit air from the humidification process was fully
saturated. The effectiveness of the solar humidifier and the mass and heat transfer
were upgraded by air bubble regeneration.

> Read full chapter

ScienceDirect is Elsevier’s leading information solution for researchers.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. Terms and conditions apply.