Humidification and Drying

Introduction
 In the processing of materials it is often necessary either to increase the amount of vapor
present in a gas stream, an operation known as humidification; or to reduce the vapour
present, a process referred to as dehumidification.

 In humidification, the vapor content may be increased by passing the gas over a liquid
which then evaporates into the gas stream.

 This transfer into the main stream takes place by diffusion, and at the interface
simultaneous heat and mass transfer take place.

 In the reverse operation, that is dehumidification, partial condensation must be effected

and the condensed vapour removed.
 Cont…..

 The most widespread application of humidification and dehumidification involves the air-
water system.

 Air conditioning and gas drying also involve humidification and dehumidification
operations.

 For example, moisture must be removed from wet chlorine so that the gas can be handled
in steel equipment which otherwise would be severely corroded.
Humidification Terms
Definitions
The more important terms used in relation to humidification are defined as follows:
 Humidity (H): mass of vapour associated with unit mass of dry gas

 Humidity of saturated gas (Ho) : humidity of the gas when it is saturated with vapour at a
given temperature

 Percentage humidity: (H/Ho) *100

 Humid heat (s): heat required to raise unit mass of dry gas and its associated vapour
through unit temperature difference at constant pressure, or:
s = Ca + HCw
where Ca and Cw are the specific heat capacities of the gas and the vapour, respectively. For
the air-water system, the humid heat is approximately: s = 1.00+1.9HkJ/kg K.
 Cont…
 Humid volume = volume occupied by unit mass of dry gas and its associated vapour

 Saturated volume = humid volume of saturated gas

 Dew point = temperature at which the gas is saturated with vapour. As a gas is cooled, the
dew point is the temperature at which condensation will first occur.

 Percentage Relative Humidity = (partial pressure of vapour in gas/partial pressure of

vapour in saturated gas)x 100
 Cont…
 The relationship between the partial pressure of the vapour and the humidity of a gas may
be derived as follows. In unit volume of gas:
Mass of vapour = PwMw/RT
Mass of non-condensable gas = (P-Pw)Ma /RT
The humidity (H) is therefore given by:
H = (Pw/(P-Pw))(Mw/Ma)…………..(1)

The Humidity of the saturated gas (Ho) is:

Ho = (Pwo/(P-Pwo))(Mw/Ma)…….(2)
where Pw is the partial pressure of vapour in the gas, Pwo the partial pressure of vapour in the
saturated gas at the same temperature, Ma the mean molecular mass of the dry gas,
Mw the molecular mass of the vapour, P the total pressure, R the gas constant (8314 J/kmol K
in SI units), and T the absolute temperature.
 Cont…
 For the air-water system, Pw is frequently small compared with P and hence, substituting
for the molecular masses: H = (18/29)(Pw/P)

 The relationship between the percentage humidity of a gas and the percentage relative
humidity may be derived as follows:
The percentage humidity = H/Ho *100
Substituting from equations 1 and 2 and simplifying:
Percentage humidity (PH)
= (P- Pwo)/(P-Pw)(Pw/Pwo)x100

= (P-Pwo)/(P-Pw)x Percentage Relative Humidity…….(3)

When (P — Pwo)/(P — PW) ≈ 1 the percentage relative humidity and the percentage humidity are equal.
This condition is approached when the partial pressure of the vapour is only a small proportion of the total
pressure or when the gas is almost saturated, that is as Pw -> Pwo.
Wet-bulb temperature

 When a stream of unsaturated gas is passed over the surface of a liquid, the humidity of
the gas is increased due to evaporation of the liquid.

 The temperature of the liquid falls below that of the gas and heat is transferred from the
gas to the liquid.

 At equilibrium the rate of heat transfer from the gas just balances that required to vaporize
the liquid and the liquid is said to be at the wet-bulb temperature.

 The rate at which this temperature is reached depends on the initial temperatures and the
rate of flow of gas past the liquid surface.
 Cont….
 With a small area of contact between the gas and the liquid and a high gas flowrate, the
temperature and the humidity of the gas stream remain virtually unchanged.

 The rate of transfer of heat from the gas to the liquid can be written as:

Q = hA(Ѳ-Ѳw) …………… (4)

where Q is the heat flow,

h the coefficient of heat transfer,
A the area for transfer, and
Ѳ and Ѳw are the temperatures of the gas and liquid phases (the wet bulb).
 Cont…
 The liquid evaporating into the gas is transferred by diffusion from the interface to the gas
stream as a result of a concentration difference (co — c), where co is the concentration of
the vapour at the surface which is satured (mass per unit volume) and c is the
concentration in the gas stream.

 The rate of evaporation (W) is then given by:

W = hDA(co - c) =

=hDA(Pwo - Pw)Mw/RT …..(5)

where hD is the coefficient of mass transfer.

 Cont….
 The partial pressures of the vapour, Pw and Pwo, may be expressed in terms of the
corresponding humidity's H and Hw by equations 1 and 2.

 If Pw, and Pwo are small compared with P, (P — Pw) and (P — Pwo) may be replaced by a
mean partial pressure of the gas PA and:

W = (hDAA(Hw- H)Mw(PAMA/Mw))/RT

= hDAρA(Hw- H) …………….(6)

 where ρAis the density of the gas at the partial pressure PA.

 The heat transfer required to maintain this rate of evaporation is:

Q = hDAρA(Hw- H)λ ….…(7)

 Cont….
 Thus, equating equations 4 and 7:

(H- Hw)= - (h/hDρAλ)(Ѳ-Ѳw)…………..(8)

 The wet-bulb temperature Ѳw depends only on the temperature and the humidity of the
gas.

 For the air water system, the ratio h/hDρA is about 1.0 kJ/kg K and varies from 1.5 to 2.0
kJ/kg K for organic liquids.
Adiabatic saturation temperature

 If the gas is passed over the liquid at such a rate that the time of contact is sufficient for
equilibrium to be established, the gas will become saturated and both phases will be brought
to the same temperature.

 As a result of continued passage of the gas, the temperature of the liquid gradually
approaches an equilibrium value which is known as the adiabatic saturation temperature.

 In the system just considered, neither the humidity nor the temperature of the gas is
appreciably changed.
Humidity data for the air-water system

 various properties of the air-water system are plotted on a psychrometric or humidity chart.
Such a chart is based on either the temperature or the enthalpy of the gas.

 The temperature-humidity chart is the more commonly used though the enthalpy-humidity
chart is particularly useful for determining the effect of mixing two gases or of mixing a gas
and a liquid.

 Each chart refers to a particular total pressure of the system.

 A humidity-temperature chart and the humidity-enthalpy chart for the air-water system at
atmospheric pressure, is shown in Figure below
Cont’d

slope =s/λ
Important psychrometric processes

a) Sensible cooling (Process O-A):-

 During this process, the moisture content of air
remains constant but its temperature decreases as it
flows over a cooling coil.

 For moisture content to remain constant, the

surface of the cooling coil should be dry and its
surface temperature should be greater than the dew
point temperature of air

Humidity
 Figure shows the sensible cooling process O-A on
a psychrometric chart
 Cont…

b) Sensible heating (Process O-B) :-

During this process, the moisture content of air

remains constant and its temperature increases as it
flows over a heating coil.

The figure shows the sensible heating process O-B

on a psychrometric chart.
 Cont.…

c) Cooling and dehumidification (Process O-C):

 When moist air is cooled below its dew-point by
bringing it in contact with a cold surface as shown in
Fig, some of the water vapor in the air condenses and
leaves the air stream as liquid, as a result both the
temperature and humidity ratio of air decreases as
shown
 Cont ….

c) Heating and Humidification (Process O-D)

 During winter it is essential to heat and
humidify the room air for comfort. As
shown in Fig , this is normally done by
first sensibly heating the air and then
adding water vapour to the air stream
through steam nozzles as shown in the
figure.
 ….
Cont

d) Cooling & humidification (Process O-E):-

 As the name implies, during this process, the

air temperature drops and its humidity
increases. This process is shown in Fig

 this can be achieved by spraying cool water in

the air stream.

 The temperature of water should be lower

than the dry-bulb temperature of air but
higher than its dew-point temperature to avoid
condensation (TDPT < Tw < TO).
 Cont…

f) Heating and de-humidification (Process O-F):

o This process can be achieved by using a

hygroscopic material, which absorbs or adsorbs
the water vapor from the moisture.

o If this process is thermally isolated, then the

enthalpy of air remains constant, as a result the
temperature of air increases as its moisture
content decreases as shown in Figure.
 Cont….
g) Mixing of air streams:

• Mixing of air streams at different states is commonly

encountered in many processes, including in air
conditioning.

• The Figure shows an adiabatic mixing of two moist

air streams during which no condensation of moisture
takes place.
• As shown in the figure, when two air streams at state
points 1 and 2 mix, the resulting mixture condition 3
can be obtained from mass and energy balance.

• A generally valid approximation is that the final

temperature of the mixture is the weighted average of
the inlet temperatures
Dehumidification

 Dehumidification of air can be effected by bringing it into contact with a cold surface, either liquid or solid.

 If the temperature of the surface is lower than the dew point of the gas, condensation takes place and the
temperature of the gas falls.

 The air in contact with the surface is cooled below its dew point, and condensation of vapour therefore occurs.

 The humidity can be reduced by compressing air, allowing it to cool again to its original temperature, and
draining off the water which has condensed.

 During compression, the partial pressure of the vapour is increased and condensation takes place as soon as it
reaches the saturation value.

 Thus, if air is compressed to a high pressure, it becomes saturated with vapour,

 Cooling towers

 Are a special type of heat exchanger that allows water and air to come in contact with each other to
lower the temperature of the hot water.
Basic principles of operations

 Warm to hot water from cooling processes is pumped to the top of the cooling tower and in to the
spray where the water is broken up in to droplets and distribute over the fill.

 The water droplets out as it slides down the fill creating the surface are necessary for evaporation

 The evaporation rates of the water is restricted by the amount of moisture already in the air
around it.

 So to maintain evaporation the moistened air must be replaced by dry air ,usually by fans blowing
air through the tower
 Cont….
Types of cooling towers
Two basic types of The natural draft cooling tower and mechanical draft cooling tower
1. Natural draft tower :- this tower consists of an empty shell, constructed either of timber
or ferroconcrete, where the upper portion is empty and merely serves to increase the
draught.
 The lower portion, amounting to about 10-12 per cent of the total height, is
usually fitted with grids on to which the water is fed by means of distributors or sprays as
shown in Fig below
 The shells of cooling towers are now generally constructed in ferroconcrete in a shape
corresponding approximately to a hyperbolic tower.

 Mostly used for very large capacity system such electric generation plant
2. Mechanical draft cooling tower
 This tower are fitted with fans to improve the air flow through the tower to increase the
evaporation rate of the water which increases the capacity of the tower and used just about every
where.
 Generally a centrifugal fan is used to force the air in to a tower and tube axial (propeller) fans are
used to induce the air out the tower
 Cont….
 The air velocity can be increased appreciably above that in the natural draught tower, and
a greater depth of packing can be use

 Mechanical draught towers are generally confined to small installations and to conditions
where the water must be cooled to as low a temperature as possible.

 Although the initial cost of the tower is less, maintenance and operating costs are of course
higher than in natural draught towers which are now used for all large installations.
Drying
 Introduction

• The term drying refers generally to the removal of moisture from a substance

• It is one of the oldest, most commonly used and most energy consuming unit operation in the process industries

• Three basic methods of drying are used today

1) sun drying, a traditional method in which materials dry naturally in the sun,

2) hot air drying in which materials are exposed to a blast of hot air and

3) freeze drying, in which frozen materials are placed in a vacuum chamber to draw out the water
• The fundamental nature of all drying process is the removal of volatile substances (mainly
moisture) from mixture to yield a solid product

• Therefore this unit operation may be considered as simultaneous heat and mass transfer
operation

• Drying processes and equipment may be categorized according to several criteria, including

 Nature of material
 Method of heat supply and
 The method of operation
Physical mechanism of drying

• Drying does not mean only removal of the moisture but during the process, physical
structure as well as the appearance has to be preserved

• Drying is basically governed by the principles of transport of heat and mass

• Drying is a diffusion process in which the transfer of moisture to the surrounding medium
takes place by the evaporation of surface moisture,

• as soon as some of the surface moisture vaporizes, more moisture is transported from interior
of the solid to its surface
Terms commonly used in designing of drying systems

• The moisture contents of solid when it is in

equilibrium with given partial pressure of vapor
in gas phase is called as equilibrium moisture
content .

• Similarly, the moisture content at which the

constant rate drying period ends and the falling
rate drying period starts is called critical
moisture content .

• During the constant rate drying period , the

moisture evaporated per unit time per unit area
of drying surface remains constant and

• in falling rate drying period the amount of

moisture evaporated per unit time per unit area
of drying surface continuously decreases.
Time for drying
During this period the rate of drying is, approximately,
directly proportional to the free moisture content (w – we)
 Drying equipment
Batch Type Dryers

 Tray Dryer
 Use racks to hold product and circulate air over the material
These types of dryers are useful when the production rate is small.

• They are used to dry wide range of materials, but have high labor
requirement for loading and unloading the materials, and are
expensive to operate.

• Drying operation in case of such dryers is slow and requires several

hours to complete drying of one batch
 Pan Dryer

• The atmospheric pan drier has a jacketed round pan in which a stirrer or mill
revolves slowly, driven from below

• The slow moving stirrer exposes fresh surfaces and thereby raises the rate of
evaporation and, hence, of drying

• Pan driers may be used first to evaporate a solution to its crystallizing

concentration and then can function as a crystallizer by sending cold water
instead of steam into the jacket
Continuous Dryer

Rotary Dryer
The rotary drier is basically a cylinder, inclined slightly to the horizontal,
which may be rotated, or the shell may be stationary, and an agitator inside
may revolve slowly

Typical dimensions for a unit like this are 9 ft diameter and 45 ft length
 Drum Dryer
 a liquid containing dissolved solids or slurry carrying suspended solids forms a thin layer
on the outside surface of a large rotating drum
 Flash Dryer
• also called pneumatic dryers, are similar in their operating principle to spray
dryer
• These types of dryer are mainly used for drying of heat sensitive or easily
oxidizable materials

• The inlet gas temperature is high and varies from 650°C to 315°C , for example, in
2 seconds, or from 650°C to 175°C in 4 seconds.
• The thermal efficiency of this type of dryer is generally low. A material having an
initial moisture content of 80 % may be reduced to 5 or 6 % in the dried product
Fluidized Bed Dryer

• In this type of dryer, the drying gas is passed through the bed of solids at a velocity sufficient to
keep the bed in a fluidized state.
 Screen Conveyor Dryers
• is also called a direct heat continuous type dryer
Thank You !