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Humidification
Types of Natural Gas Humidifiers
There are two basic kinds of humidifiers for commercial applications. Isothermal systems produce steam that is introduced into the air, thus raising the relative humidity. Adiabatic systems do not warm the water but transform it to a mist that is sprayed into the air, allowing the heat in the air to vaporize the tiny water particles. All humidifiers require water to perform their function of adding humidity to the air. Different types of water can be used for various situations: potable water, softened water, high-purity water, or boiler water. To learn more about which type of water to use for your humidifier, please click here.
Find manufacturer's information on humidification equipment.
Courtesy of Nortec
Isothermal
There are several styles of natural gas steam humidifiers, each for a particular application. All styles boil water to make steam and produce trace levels of CO2 and NOx emissions, making them very friendly to the environment. Living microorganisms (bacteria) are killed when water is heated to 82°C (180°F), and so bacteria are not a concern when using isothermal humidifiers.
Some humidification applications require steam that is completely devoid of impurities. For these applications, steam is often derived from deionized water and then dispersed into the air through a special “clean” humidifier.
“Clean” humidifiers are typically used in environments with exacting temperature, air cleanliness and humidity requirements, such as hospitals, clean rooms, laboratories, and pharmaceutical plants.
Find manufacturer's information about “clean” natural gas humidifiers.
Steam Injection humidifiers use steam from an external source, such as an in-house boiler or a district steam system. They are adaptable to virtually any size application, and a wide variety of models will accommodate a broad range of steam absorption requirements. Owners of existing boiler systems have found this a cost-effective, energy efficient and easily controllable way to add humidity without adding additional equipment to make steam. However, boiler water is typically treated with anticorrosion chemicals which, when directly injected into the air as steam, negatively impact indoor air quality. Concerned owners wishing to make use of an existing boiler for humidification should consider a closed loop system such as a steam-to-steam system that provides chemical-free steam for humidification by running boiler steam through a heat exchanger.
Find manufacturer's information about steam injection natural gas humidifiers.
In situations without air duct systems, an area-type steam injection system is the way to go. The steam is discharged from the humidifier by a whisper-quiet fan without introducing water droplets into the air.
Find manufacturer's information about area-type natural gas humidifiers.
Adiabatic
This type of humidifier does not boil water to produce steam. Instead, it atomizes the water into microscopic drops which are introduced into the air with a mister or sprayer, atomizer, fogger or piezo disk humidifier. With adiabatic humidifiers, heat from the air is absorbed by the water droplets causing them to evaporate. This process provides some "free" cooling as it raises the humidity of the supply air. The heat required to transform the water from liquid to vapor is supplied by the air, which is consequently cooled.
Care should be taken to ensure that all harmful microorganisms are removed from water sources feeding adiabatic (non-boiling) humidifiers. In addition, even though a water supply may be free of harmful bacteria, contaminants from the air can still cause microbial growth in wetted-media or wick systems. Water treatment for bacteria includes filtration, reverse osmosis, chemical oxidation, disinfection, and deionization.
For manufacturer's information about Adiabatic natural gas humidifiers, please click here.