Extracted / reprinted from :

AIR CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATION

DEHUMIDIFICATION The magazine of the Indian Society of Heating,

Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers
Vol. 2 No. 3 July-Sept.1999
Desiccant Based
* Definitions * Options * Technologies * Equipment * Applications
by Deepak Pahwa, President – Bry-Air (Asia) Pvt. Ltd.
(Member ASHRAE TC 3.5: Desiccants & Sorption)

What is Dehumidification . . . . . . . . . Why Dehumidify?

l Applications
– Traditional – Emerging

The ABC of Dehumidification
– Definitions, terminologies and psychrometrics w.r.t. Dehumidification
– Options, Technologies and Equipment

Desiccant Dehumidification – A specialisation in it’s own right

To Dehumidify or Dehumidification – literally means “pulling out or removing” the moisture/humidity from
the air.
Dehumidification, unfortunately, has always been treated as a poor cousin of the airconditioning industry.
People, know what a cooling or heating system is; they understand airconditioning; they are even aware of
humidification; however, when it comes to dehumidification, the awareness, even amongst engineers, is fairly low.
Since airconditioners are known to remove some amount of moisture, it is often assumed that airconditioning will
lower the relative humidity in a space.
And it surprises people when the exactly opposite happens.
It is quite possible that the relative humidity actually increases when the temperature in the room is lowered, as cold
air cannot retain the same amount of moisture as warm air can.
However, of late, dehumidification, has started to be recognised as the increasingly important member of the
HVAC family, and as a specialisation and a science in it’s own right!
The purpose of this article is to familiarise ourselves with desiccant dehumidification and it’s various aspects.
Why Dehumidify?
“It isn’t the Heat, it’s HUMIDITY” !!!
All who have suffered the discomforts of a hot, humid summer day understand this statement and are familiar with the effects of
moisture in the air. That “ muggy”, uncomfor table feeling results because the relative humidity of the surrounding air is high. If the
relative humidity were low on that same hot summer day, our body would not feel as uncomfortable.

Applications
Dehumidifiers have been traditionally viewed as equipment for “industrial” usage.
However, in the recent times, dehumidifiers are being increasingly used for treating fresh air for Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ) needs.
Thus, in this article, we will take a look at the uses of desiccant dehumidifiers for both “man and his machines”.
Traditional Applications of Dehumidifiers
The uses of dry air are almost as limitless as the ingenuity of man. However, industrial applications can be
categorised into 4 major areas …… Storage, Production & Processing, Packaging and Product Drying.

The Moisture menace

Although moisture is this moisture menace
invisible, its damaging under check.
effect on almost everything The concept of
around us is very evident. dehumidification dates
Rusting of metals, lumping back to World War II when
and decomposition of it was used by the Navy to
chemicals, increased mothball ships to maintain
microbial activity leading to them in the ‘as is’
growth of mold, mildew conditions. However, the
and fungi on organic advent of new
substances, warping, technologies and new
decay, deterioration, etc. products has widened the
are some of the common scope of this field to
problems due to high extensive industrial
humidity encountered in applications with the result
our daily life. that many areas of high
technology cannot function
In most cases, controlling today without a controlled
the relative humidity to climate.
below 35% helps to keep
Emerging application of dehumidifier for treatment of fresh air
People prefer cool and dry air!
The impact of indoor humidity on people has been neglected for decades.
Ventilation rates required to obtain a certain perceived air quality, have been
also assumed to be independent of humidity. It has been generally accepted
that pollutants from indoor air sources viz. from humans, tobacco smokes,
VOCs etc, need to be diluted with outdoor air to a level perceived acceptable
by the people. Thus, treating outdoor air for humidity control has not been
the focus of designers. However, recent studies at various international
forums have shown that perceived Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is strongly
influenced by both humidity and temperature of air we inhale! Increased
awareness of IAQ and health consciousness has resulted in increased
concern for methods used to treat fresh air.
Treating fresh air with rotary desiccant dehumidifiers to control
humidity
Conventional treatment of air, where air is cooled, condenses the water,
which tends to create health problems due to mould, mildew and bacteria
formation.
Using a rotary desiccant dehumidifier to precondition air is preferred in
service industry or similar areas where 100% fresh air is required to be
treated.
The ABC of Dehumidification
(Definitions, Terminologies and Psychrometrics)
Before we proceed further, let us familiarise ourselves with some of the often used terminologies and their definitions.
• Relative Humidity or RH Relat ive Humidity
Measurement of • Grains of Moisture
Relative Humidity
Relative humidity is the DR YBU LB WET BULB
Grains of moisture is the

ity
More the
actual amount of moisture unit of measurement of the

id
m
Difference,

Hu
ve
lower the

ati
in the air compared to the amount of moisture in the

el
RH

R
%
90 %
70

%
50

%
40
total or maximum moisture air.

%
30
20%

10%

the air can hold at a given 2%

DR YBU LB WET BULB

temperature. Less the

Difference,
T he Moi stu re Cont ent O f Air
Expr es sed A s A P ercent O f Maximum Mois tur e
higher the
50% r h
A t The Specified D ry Bu lb Temperatu re
RH

• Dry Bulb Temperature - °C or °F. D ry Bulb Temper ature an ordinary thermometer whose glass
The dry-bulb temperature is the bulb is covered by a wet wick/cloth.
temperature of the air as measured by Airflow around the wick causes the
an ordinary household thermometer. evaporation of moisture thus lowering
• Wet Bulb Temperature - °C or °F the temperature and producing a
30 40 50 60 80 90 10 0 11 0 1 20 13 0

reading lower then that on the dry bulb

70

Dry bulb te mpe rature (°F)

The Wet-Bulb temperature is the

thermometer.
A ir Tem perature A s M easu red
7 0°F B y A T hermom eter
Wi th A Dry Sensing B ul b

temperature of the air as measured by

Dew Point Temperature

• Dew Point Temperature 86

Air D ew point (° F)
80

Dewpoint temperature is the 70 °,50 ° rh = 50° DewP oin t

70

60

temperature at which moisture 40

50

30
20

condenses on a surface. 50

T he t emp eratu re at whi ch

5 0°F exi st in g mo istu re wil l con den se
from th e air ( form ing dew)

• Desiccants
Can either be solid or liquid. A desiccant is a material that posses affinity for water vapor greater than that of
air. Desiccants are of 2 types.
Absorbents 0.5

Isot herms for Diffe rent Desicca nt M ate ria ls

Adsorbents
Absorbents are generally liquids 0.4
Silic a Gel
Adsorbent do not under go any
De sicc ant Lo ading Fra ctio n

or solids which become liquid as physical or chemical change

0.3

they absorb moisture, i.e. they when they come in contact with
undergo a physical or a chemical 0.2
Molec ular Sieve
moisture. Water is adsorbed or
change as they collect moisture. held on the surface of the
Lithium Choride (LiCl) and material and in the pores,
0.1

Ac tivated Carbon

Sodium Choride (NaCl) are 0.0 Adsorbents are mostly solids.

typical examples of absorbents. T ypical examples of Adsorbents
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
R elativ e Humidity (%)

used for dehumidification are

silica gel, molecular sieve and
activation alumina.
 The ideal desiccant would have an infinitely high surface area for collecting moisture, and an infinitely low mass,
since the required heating and cooling energy is directly proportional to the mass of the desiccant and the mass
of the machinery which presents the desiccant to the air-stream. The heavier the desiccant assembly compared
to its capacity, the more energy it will take to change its temperature—
Dry Desiccant Dehumidification
which accomplishes dehumidification.
H umi difyi ng

• Psychrometric Chart
H umi difyi ng

The psychrometric chart is a tool which simplifies the measurement of air a nd c oo li ng H ea ting and
Humi difyi ng

properties in a graphic presentation of several interrelated air parameters Se nsible Co ol ing Sensi bl e H ea ting

brought together. De humi difyi ng

De humi difyi ng
with De sic ca nts
wi th C oo li ng

OPTIONS, TECHNOLOGIES AND EQUIPMENT D ehumi di fy i ng

Methods of USING COMPRESSION TO DRY AIR

Dehumidification
As air is compressed, the dew-point or temperature at which water will condense is
1. COMPRESSION 2. REFRIGERATION
raised. T herefore, to get dry air we need to find a way to cool the compressed air. But
costs can be prohibitive because equipment, space, and auxiliary equipment are
3. SORPTION necessary for the process. However, if compressed air is already used in the primary
operation and only very small amounts of dry air are needed for humidity control,
ABSORPTION ADSORPTION compression may be a feasible route to dry air.
Solid Liquid Sold Desiccants USING REDUCED TEMPERATURES TO DRY AIR
l Lithium l Lithium l Bry Sorb 100/120/121
Chloride Chloride
Lowering air temperature decreases the air’s ability to hold moisture. Thus, the air can
l
l

l
Silica Gel
Molecular Sieve
Activated Alumina
be made drier by cooling it. However cooling air just to dry it is usually not practical. An
exception might be when cool air is needed anyhow, that air’s dryness satisfies the needed moisture conditions, and
enough conditioned air is available. Normally, this method is reserved for applications where outdoor air is being
dried to levels only slightly lower than the incoming ambient-that is, the system air.
USING DESICCANTS TO DRY AIR
Desiccant The most simple,
Ggm/k
m/kgg gr/l b
gr/lb
Matrix
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 210 straightforward way to obtain
1 00 28 195 dry air is to use desiccants-that
90
26 180 is, adsorbants or materials that
24
30 165 have a natural affinity for water.
B A 80 22
A desiccant is able to take up
HUMIDITY RATIO

150
20
70
18
135 the additional moisture given
120
60
16 up by the air without changing
20
105
50 A 14 its size or shape. So an air
90
40
12
75
stream can pass through a
10
30
8 60
desiccant bed and become
20
B
10

6 45 significantly drier without

10 6
4 30 elaborate cooling,
2 2 15 compression, cooling water, or
0 0 other complex systems or
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 controls. After the drying task is
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 11 0 1 20 complete, the desiccant is
TEMPERATURE °F regenerated via heat. T hen the
desiccant is ready to dry more
Basic Air Desiccation Process °F air.
Comparing Desiccants to Convention Cooling
(Desiccant Dehumidification Vs. Mechanical Refrigeration )
Both desiccant dehumidifiers and mechanical refrigeration systems can
remove moisture from the air, so the question is - which type is best suited
for a given application? There really are no simple answers to this question
but there are several generally accepted guidelines which most
dehumidifier manufacturers follow:
– Both desiccant-based and refrigeration-based dehumidification systems
work most efficiently when used together. The advantages of each
compensate for the limitations of the other.
– Refrigeration-based dehumidification systems are sometimes more eco-
Reheat
nomical than desiccant based dehumidifiers when higher temperatures
and humidity in the conditioned space is acceptable. In general,
mechanical refrigeration systems are seldom used for applications
below 50% RH at about 22°C or for a dewpoint lower than 11°C.
– Desiccant-based systems are more economical than refrigeration
systems at lower temperatures and lower moisture levels. T ypically, a
desiccant dehumidification systems is utilized for applications below
45% RH down to less than 1% RH. Thus, in many applications, a DX or
chilled water pre-cooling coil is mounted directly at the dehumidifier
inlet. T his design allows for removal of much of the initial heat and
moisture prior to entering the dehumidifier where the moisture is
Post-c ool
reduced even further.
EQUIPMENT
There are four typical equipment configurations for desiccant dehumidifiers:
• Liquid spray-tower
• Solid packed tower
• Solid granular based
- Rotating horizontal bed
- Multiple vertical bed
• Fluted Media Based
In this article, we will focus on the solid granular based and fluted media based dehumidifiers as currently they are
the two most used dehumidifier types.
SOLID GRANULAR BASED
Rotating horizontal bed
In this device, dry, granular desiccant is held in a flat,
segmented rotary bed that rotates continuously
between the process and reactivation airstreams. As the bed rotates through
the process air, the desiccant adsorbs moisture. Then the bed rotates into
the reactivation airstream, which heats the desiccant, raising its vapor
pressure and releasing the moisture to the air.
The process and reactivation air heats and cools the desiccant to drive the
adsorption-desorption cycle. T he moisture is removed through a process of
continuous physical adsorption on a continuous basis (both, counter flow
and parallel flow options are available).
The adsorption of moisture and reactivation of desiccant take place continuously and simultaneously without any
cross mixing of the process and reactivation air streams.
To increase capacity, the manufacturer can either increase the diameter of the rotating bed to hold more desiccant,
or increase the number of beds stacked on top of one another. Both options are not practical if very large volumes of
air need to be dehumidified. If the desiccant is evenly loaded through the trays, the rotating horizontal bed provides a
fairly constant outlet moisture level, and a high airflow capacity can be achieved in less floor space than with dual-
tower unit.
The rotating horizontal bed design offers a low first cost. T he design is simple, compact
and easy to produce as well as install and maintain.
Modular Vertical Bed (MVB)
The Modular Vertical Bed (MVB) design is a ‘fairly new’ but ‘proven’ concept with the
combined better features of packed tower and rotating horizontal bed designs in an
arrangement that is well suited to atmospheric pressure dehumidification applications,
and yet can achieve very low dewpoints. T he single or double tower is replaced by a
circular carrousel with eight or more vertical beds (towers) that rotate, by means of a MVB Operating Principle
drive system, between the process and reactivation air streams.
This design can achieve low dewpoints because leakage between process and reactivation air
circuits is almost negligible. Also because the beds are separate and sealed from one another, the
pressure difference between process and reactivation is not so critical; so airstreams can be
arranged in the more efficient counter-flow pattern for better heat and mass transfer. Like the rotating bed, the
ratcheting, semi-continuous reactivation of the desiccant provides a relatively constant outlet air moisture condition
on the process side, reducing the “sawtooth” effect that can occur in packed tower units.
The “MVB” design allows for low replacement cost of desiccants as well as large savings in energy and performance
improvements at low dew points, especially if the equipment incorporates a heat pipe heat exchanger in the
regeneration air circuit.

FLUTED MEDIA BASED DEHUMIDIFIERS

Another dehumidifier design uses a rotating fluted wheel/rotor to
present the desiccant to the process and reactivation airstreams. T his
is sometimes called a fluted media/honeycomb type dehumidifier. T he
desiccant is impregnated/ synthesised on “honeycomb” like corrugated
rotor. T he principle of operation is the same as the solid desiccant
FVB Operating Principle
(granular) based system.
The process air flows through the flutes formed by the corrugations, and the desiccant in the structure adsorbs the
moisture from the air. The rotating desiccant bed picks up moisture, and well before “saturation” the rotor/wheel
rotates into the reactivation segment where it is heated to drive off the moisture.
The fluted design has its own advantages as it is comparatively light weight and has a smaller
foot print.
The fluted design is the preferred option where space is a limitation and there is a leeway to
sacrifice “performance” slightly.
One has to also keep in mind the higher replacement cost of the rotor compared to the desiccant in the granular
systems.

Comparing desiccant dehumidifiers

All desiccant dehumidifiers can be made to work in virtually any application suited for desiccant dehumidifiers. T he
limitations of each configuration can be overcome and benefits of each design optimized by careful application
engineering. No firm statement can be made about the limits of performance or amount of energy consumed or
mechanical reliability of different dehumidifier types outside of a particular set of installation circumstances.
Good application engineering, in addition to the dehumidifier type, makes a dehumidification installation
reliable, efficient and low in first cost.

A Comparison: Typical Installed Cost A Comparison: Typical Operating Cost

Granula r Vs Fluted Media Bas ed DE H Granular Vs Fluted Media Based DEH
- Rotating horizontal flat bed (Granular)
- Rotating horiz ontal flat bed (Gr anular)
- Vertical/Horiz ontal (fluted) bed
- Vertical/Horizontal ( fluted) bed
- Multiple vertical bed (MVB ) (Granular)
- Multiple v ertical bed (MVB) (Gr anular)
°F -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
°F -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 °C -4 5.5 -40 -34.4 -28.8 -23 .3 -1 7.7 -12.2 -6.6 - 1.1 4.4 10 15. 5
°C -45. 5 - 40 - 34. 4 - 28. 8 - 23.3 - 17.7 -12 .2 -6. 6 - 1.1 4 .4 10 15 .5
Delivered air dewpoint (°F / °C )
Delivered air dewpoint (°F / °C)
A pproximately
Approx imately More Costly E quivalent M ore Costly
More Cos tly Equivalent More Cos tly

Some of the criteria which a design engineer must cater for while designing a system are:
• Installed cost
The initial cost of the dehumidifier itself is sometimes a small fraction of the cost of the installation or the running
cost. Different configurations vary in their need for additional support infrastructure viz, utilities, chilled water,
floor space etc.
• Operating cost
The initial cost of mechanical systems is often much less as compared to their cost of operation and
maintenance. The main operational cost of a dehumidification system is heat for reactivation and cooling of the
desiccant and process air. T oday, dehumidifiers are designed to take advantage of low-cost energy sources for
these utilities. Often reactivation energy cost can offset installed cost differences in a matter of months, yielding
enormous financial benefits over the typical 15 to 30 years life of this equipment. Also, designs incorporating
energy recovery systems have an advantage over dehumidifying systems without energy recovery.
• Design assumptions
Engineers and manufacturers make different assumptions concerning a given application. T he selection of
equipment configurations and size is completely dependent upon these assumptions. Often reasons for widely
varying selections are the result of incomplete or erroneous data available to the system designer.
Conclusion
Before we close, let us take a look at the equipment for the next millenium . . . . . . . . . . . . Two wheeled systems or
Desiccant Based Cooling (DBC) Systems
DI REC T INDI REC T DES IC C ANT

Desiccant ventilation has come of age and has moved

EV A PORA TI VE E V AP ORAT IV E C OOL E R DEH UM IDI FI E R
COOL ER

from ‘research’ to commercialisation. Desiccant based

SPACE H EATING COIL

evaporative cooling system provide environment friendly 9 H UMIDIFIER

8 8 7 6
SU P P L Y
A IR
B L OW E R
6
DESICC AN T WHEE L

technology for comfort airconditioning with added SUP PL Y

A IR
F ROM A MB I ENT

advantage of simple robustness and low power HE A T

E X C HA N GE R
R EAC TIVATIO N AIR

consumption.
HEATIN G CO IL

E X H A US T
1 2 3 4 5 A IR 5

Having understood the basic operating principle of

H UM I DI F I E R
B L OW E R

E XHA UST AI R

various desiccant based dehumidifiers, it is evident that T O A MB IE NT

today the user has unlimited options in desiccant C OM P O NE NT SU B -A S S E M B L Y 4 S TA TE P OINT

dehumidification systems depending on his needs. Each

of the systems or applications discussed here can be a subject of a the full length article in itself.
(Readers can get in touch with the author for detailed information on any of the equipment/application discussed in
the article)