RELATIVE HUMIDIY, METHODS OF DEHUMIDIFICATION

WHAT IS RELATIVE HUMIDITY?

Atmospheric air is a mixture of various gases and water vapour. The invisible water vapour in
the air is called humidity.
The amount of water that can be contained in a pound of air depends upon :-
i) temperature of the air
ii) pressure of the air
At a constant pressure, the warmer the air the
more water vapour it can retain. If air at a
certain temperature has absorbed all the moisture
it can hold at that temperature, it is said to be
saturated.
The amount of water present, or the degree of
saturation is evaluated in terms of Relative
Humidity or Saturation Ratio.
Hence Relative Humidity is the actual water
content in % of that of a saturated volume.
When air is 50% saturated, it contains only half
the amount of water that it can contain at the
same temperature and pressure. As the relative
humidity approaches 100%, the air can take on
less and less moisture and at 100% relative
humidity, that air cannot hold more water.
If air is saturated with water vapour at a given
temperature, a drop in the temperature will lead
to condensation of water in the form of droplets.
The temperature at which moisture condenses out
is the dewpoint temperature.
MEASUREMENT OF RH
Relative Humidity is determined by means of wet bulb and dry bulb thermometers. The dry
bulb temperature is the temperature of air as determined by a standard thermometer.
The wet bulb temperature is determined by tying a wet wick over the bulb dipped in a
reservoir containing distilled water. Airflow around the wick causes the evaporation of
moisture thus lowering the temperature and producing a reading lower than that on the dry
bulb thermometer.
The comparison between the two readings gives us the measurement of water vapour in the
air.
The lesser the difference - the wetter the air.
The greater the difference - the dryer the air.
The readings can be plotted on a chart known as
the psychrometric chart from where the properties
of air vapour mixture like relative humidity,
absolute humidity, dewpoint can be directly
determined.

USING A PSYCHROMETRIC CHART

A psychrometric chart is nothing but a graphic

presentation of several interrelated air parameters
brought together.
A simplified psychrometric chart is shown
in the figure.
Vertical lines represent dry bulb
temperature.
The diagonal lines sloping from left to
right show the wet bulb temperature.

Horizontal lines represent the humidity ratio and

are represented as grains of moisture per pound
of dry air (7000 grains = 1 pound)
The lines curving upwards from left to right
levels of relative humidity.
The left curved margin of the chart is saturation
of 100% relative humidity.
On a particular day if the dry bulb and wet bulb
temperatures are known then by plotting these
readings on the chart all parameters can be found
out.
It can be used to plot changes needed to
transform an initial state. Given a required
change, the initial and desired conditions are
plotted, then the chart can determine the energy,
temperature and moisture content changes, that
will take place.
The process of heating, cooling and
dehumidifying and chemical dehydration can be explained with the help of the psychrometric
chart.

Heating : When sensible heat is applied to air the temperature increases. However, there is
no change in the moisture content of the air. This effect is shown on the psychrometric chart
as a straight horizontal line starting at the left and extending to the right. The dry bulb
reading increases, wet bulb reading increases the dewpoint remains unchanged, the RH is
lowered however the moisture content of the air remains unchanged.

Cooling and Dehumidifying : When air is cooled the capacity to hold water decreases, the
extra water vapour condenses in the process both sensible heat and latent heat are removed
and the process takes place along a line sloping downward and to the left. Change occurs in
dry bulb, wet bulb and in dewpoint temperature. Relative Humidity may or may not change.
Chemical Dehydration : In chemical dehydration the air is brought in contact with a
chemical which either absorbs or adsorbs moisture from the air. The heat thus liberated is
added to the air and is approximately equal to the latent heat of vapourization of the moisture
removed. The process is indicated by a line sloping downwards approximately along the wet-
bulb line. The slope may be either greater or less than the wet bulb line depending upon
whether heat is stored, liberated or absorbed in the process.

METHODS OF DEHUMIDIFICATION

Principally there are three methods of dehumidification :-

i) Over Compression
ii) Refrigeration Dehumidification
iii) Sorption Dehumidification
Using Compression to Dry Air :
Air compression suggests a method of reducing
moisture content in air. With air as compressed,
partial pressure of the water vapour in the water
gas mixture is raised to the point where moisture
can be condensed from the air at a higher
temperature. This approach is some times quite
practical for very small volumes of air but the
cost of compressed air equipment, BHP
requirement and the amount of cooling water
required for after-cooling make it very
impractical for large volumes of air.
Reducing Temperature to Dry Air :
Another method most commonly employed is the
reduction of moisture in the air by means of
reducing the temperature. By examination of the
dew point alone or saturation curve on the psychrometric chart, it can readily be seen that as
the temperature of the air is lowered, the amount of moisture it can hold is reduced
considerably. Thus by cooling the air below the dew point, the moisture contained in that air
can be condensed out and some of the moisture vapour removed in liquid form, but cooling
to very low temperature makes the refrigeration process impractical, as it requires a great deal
of subsequent re-heating. The reduction in air temperature is also limited by the freezing point
of water condensing on the cooling coil, which in some designs is tried to be offset by
complicated brine spray and liquid lithium chloride type systems available, using a combination
of refrigeration and adsorbent liquid, but these are very bulky and involve complicated control
systems for the proper maintenance of solution density.

Using Sorbents to Dry Air :

Sorbents are solid or liquid materials which have the property of extracting and holding other
substances (usually water vapour) brought into contact with them. Sorbents can be classified
into two general categories :
l Absorbents
l Adsorbents
Absorbent : A sorbent which changes either physically, chemically or both during the sorption
process.
Lithium Chloride is a example of solid absorbent. When water is absorbed on this material it
changes to a hydrated state.
In liquid sorption dehumidification system, the air is passed through sprays of a liquid
sorbent such as lithium chloride or glycol solution. The sorbent in an active state has a
vapour pressure below that of the air to be dehumidified and absorbs moisture from the air
stream. The sorbent solution during the process of absorption becomes diluted with moisture
which during regeneration is given up to an air stream in which the solution is heated.
Typically absorbent used is lithium chloride is either in liquid form or as solid crystals in a
honey - comb shell.
Adsorbent : A sorbent which does not change physically or chemically during the sorption
process. Adsorbents are normally granular beads or solids with porous structures making them
capable of holding large amounts of water on their surface.
The principle behind desiccant dehumidification is that the desiccant is exposed to moisture
laden air, from where it is extracted by the desiccant and held. The saturated desiccant is
heated, which drives off the collected moisture into the exhaust air stream. The regenerated
desiccant is ready for use again. Thus, a continuous cycle of sorption and regeneration can
be set up, giving very low dew points.
Typical adsorbents used are Silica gel, Molecular Sieve and Activated Alumina.
Thus it can be seen that chemical dehumidifiers based on the principle of physical adsorption
offer the most simple, direct and economical method of humidity control.