DEHUMIDIFICATION AND

COOLING

ARAVIND PRABHAKAR S K | ADVANCED BUILDING SERVICES| 2-11- 2017

INTRODUCTION:

Dehumidification:

‘Cooling and dehumidifying processes of moist and humid air

- sensible and latent cooling’

 The process in which the moisture or water vapor or the

humidity is removed from the air keeping its dry bulb (DB)
temperature constant is called as the dehumidification process.
 This process is represented by a straight vertical line on the
psychrometric chart starting from the initial value of relative
humidity, extending downwards and ending at the final value of
the relative humidity.
 Like the pure humidification process, in actual practice the pure
dehumidification process is not possible, since the
dehumidification is always accompanied by cooling or heating
of the air.
 Dehumidification process along with cooling or heating is used in number
of air conditioning applications. Let us see how these processes are
obtained and how they are represented on the psychrometric chart.

Cooling and Dehumidification Process:

 The process in which the air is cooled sensibly and at the same time the
moisture is removed from it is called as cooling and dehumidification
process.

TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS THROUGH THE SCIENCE OF

PSYCHROMETRICS:

 Cooling and dehumidification process is obtained when the air at the given
dry bulb and dew point (DP) temperature is cooled below the dew point
temperature

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Let us understand the cooling and dehumidification process in more details.

− When the air comes in contact with the cooling coil that is maintained at the
temperature below its dew point temperature, its DB temperature starts reducing.
The process of cooling continues and at some point it reaches the value of dew
point temperature of the air.

− At this point the water vapor within the air starts getting converted into the dew
particles due to which the dew is formed on the surface of the cooling and the
moisture content of the air reduces thereby reducing its humidity level. Thus when
the air is cooled below its dew point temperature, there is cooling as well as
dehumidification of air.

− The cooling and dehumidification process is most widely used air conditioning
application. It is used in all types of window, split, packaged and central air
conditioning systems for producing the comfort conditions inside the space to be
cooled. In the window and split air conditioners the evaporator coil or cooling coil
is maintained at temperature lower than the dew point temperature of the room
air or the atmospheric air by the cool refrigerant passing through it.

− When the room air passes over this coil its DB temperature reduces and at the
same time moisture is also removed since the air is cooled below its DP
temperature.

− The dew formed on the cooling coil is removed out by small tubing. In the central
air conditioning systems the cooling coil is cooled by the refrigerant or the chilled
water. When the room air passes over this coil, it gets cooled and dehumidified.

− In the general the cooling and dehumidification process is obtained by passing the
air over coil through which the cool refrigerant, chilled water or cooled gas is
passed.

− During the cooling and dehumidification process the dry bulb, wet bulb and the
dew point temperature of air reduces. Similarly, the sensible heat and the latent
heat of the air also reduce leading to overall reduction in the enthalpy of the air.

− The cooling and dehumidification process is represented by a straight angular line

on the psychrometric chart. The line starts from the given value of the DB
temperature and extends downwards towards left.

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−

TYPICAL SYSTEMS

− Dehumidification is accomplished in a variety of ways. The method used often is

dependent on the specific temperature and humidity conditions required in the
space and the climate conditions at the site. The systems used in a specific
application are chosen based on their effectiveness and efficiency in achieving the
desired conditions. In addition, a life-cycle-cost analysis that compares first cost,
operating costs, and maintenance costs is applied. Typical methods of

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 dehumidification include the application of cooling, liquid and solid desiccants,
and compression.

Cooling
− The most common method of dehumidification is the use of cooling coils. This
method typically involves a coil in an air stream with a fluid circulated through the
coil at a temperature below the dew point of the air stream. The amount of
moisture removed is relative to the temperature of the fluid (and coil). Typical
fluids used are chilled water, refrigerants, glycol solutions, or engineered fluids.
Because the coil temperature is below the dew point of the air stream, the
moisture that condenses on the cooling coils is collected in a pan and removed.

− With the current trend toward greater sustainably, this water can be reclaimed for
a variety of uses, such as for makeup for cooling towers, lawn irrigation, or toilet
flushing. One manufacturer has a dehumidification unit that yields drinking water.
The corresponding reduction in water use can contribute to certification of green
buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system.

− Because this method also reduces the temperature of the HVAC-system supply air,
there is the possibility that the spaces served could be subcooled if the rooms do
not have sufficient internal heat gain to offset the low-temperature air. This
traditionally has been accomplished with reheat coils that maintain space
temperature, which can represent a significant energy-cost penalty, depending on
the conditions to be attained. Applications that require air temperature to be
driven down for dehumidification purposes, but do not require the amount of
cooling, can be provided with a heat-pipe run-around system. These systems
consist of coils on either side of the cooling coil and use a refrigerant to
economically pre-cool and reheat the air stream. For more information about these
types of systems, read the three-part article in HPAC Engineering by Donald P.
Gatley, PE.2

Liquid-desiccant systems
− Desiccant dehumidification systems often are used where the dehumidification
requirement is greater than the cooling requirement. One type, the liquid
desiccant system, involves spraying a liquid desiccant solution (typically, lithium
chloride) through an air stream, where it absorbs moisture from the air stream and
provides some cooling. The exact conditions can be varied by changing the
concentration of the lithium-chloride solution. One benefit of using systems such
as this is that the desiccant solutions act as a biocide for the conditioned air, which
is beneficial in applications for which bacteria or viruses are least desirable. The
solution then is regenerated by heating it, where it loses its moisture before

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 spraying it across the air stream again. A hot, moist waste-air stream also is
exhausted from the regenerator.

Solid-desiccant systems
− Another type of dehumification approach employs a solid desiccant, such as silica
gel. Moist air is drawn through the desiccant, which absorbs the moisture. As the
desiccant reaches its capacity, it is moved into a warmer air stream (called the
reactivation air stream), where it rejects the moisture before it is exposed to the
moist air stream again. This often is accomplished by running supply air through a
desiccant wheel. Solid desiccants need to be regenerated, which can be
accomplished using waste heat or an exhaust air stream.3

Compression
− Some process systems use compression as a means of reducing the absolute
moisture of air. Compressing air reduces its ability to hold moisture, so water
condenses once the air is compressed to its saturation point. This is the first stage
of dehumidification for a process such as instrument air and usually is followed by
additional dehumidification (coil or desiccant) so air is not saturated.

CONCLUSION:
− Still in the laboratory, but possibly coming soon, is a new technology called
electrostatic dehumidification, which uses electrostatic fields to separate moisture
vapor from air streams so that only the portion of air with less water vapor is used
in the process.

− This is particularly exciting because of the possibility to significantly decrease the

energy used for dehumidification by eliminating the need to cause water to change
state from a vapor to a liquid. Depending on the specific application, this approach
may become an attractive alternative to the other, more traditional methods
outlined above.

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