CHAPTER 8

(Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 3rd Ed.,

Felder & Rousseau, 2005)

Balances on
Nonreactive Processes

Psychometric Charts

1.
2.
3.
4.

Psychometric charts or humidity charts are charts that have several

properties of a gas-vapor mixture.
The most common one is that for air-water system at 1 atm, shown in Fig.
8.4-1, where it can be used in the analysis of humidification, drying, and
air-conditioning processes.
Below are some definitions for terms that are on these charts:
Dry-bulb temperature, T-the abscissa of the chart. This is the air temp. as
measured by a thermometer or any other temp. measuring instrument.
Absolute humidity, or moist content, ha {kg water vapor/kg dry air)-the
ordinate of the chart.
Relative humidity, hr. The curve that forms the left boundary of the chart
is the 100% relative humidity or the saturation curve.
Dew point, ddp the temp. at which humid air becomes saturated if it is
cooled at constant P.

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8.2

Humid volume
5.

Humid volume (m3/kg dry air): which is the volume occupied by a

kg of dry air (DA) plus water vapor that accompanies it.
for example, you wish to know the volume occupied by 150 kg
of humid air at T = 30C and hr = 30%. From Figure 8.4-1, ha =
0.0080 kg H20(v)/kg DA and VH = 0.87 m3/kg DA. The volume
may then be calculated as

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8.3

Wet bulb temperature

Wet-bulb temp., Twb, which is the temperature measured for a
stream of flowing air when the thermometer bulb is wrapped with a
porous material like cotton that has been soaked in water to form a
wick. Notice that evaporation of water from the wick into the
flowing air is accompanied by a transfer of heat from the bulb
which cause a drop in temp. The wet-bulb temperature of humid air
depends on both the dry-bulb temp. and the moisture content of the
air. If the air is saturated, no water evaporates from the wick and
the wet-bulb and dry-bulb temp. are the same. The lower the
humidity, the greater the difference between the two temperatures.
The humid air conditions that correspond to a given wet-bulb temp.
fall on a straight line on the psychometric chart, called constant
wet-bulb temp. lines. These lines are shown in the figures as lines
with negative slopes extending beyond the saturation curve that are
less steep than the lines of constant humid volume. The value of
Twb corresponding to a given line can be read at the intersection of
the line with the saturation curve.
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8.4

Specific enthalpy of saturation

7.

8.

Specific enthalpy of saturation: the diagonal scale above the saturation

curve on the psychometric chart shows the enthalpy of a unit mass (i.e., 1
kg) of dry air plus the water vapor it contains at saturation. The reference
states are liquid water at 1 atm and 0 oC. To determine the enthalpy, follow
the constant wet-bulb temp. line from the saturation curve at the desired
temp. to the enthalpy scale.
Enthalpy deviation: the curves of enthalpy deviation (kJ/kg DA) on the
psychometric chart are almost vertical with negative values and convex to
the left. These curves are used to determine the enthalpy of humid air that is
not saturated, according to the following steps: 1. For the conditions that
you have, find on the chart the enthalpy deviation. 2. Follow the constant
wet-bulb temp. line to the enthalpy scale above the saturation curve, read
the value on the scale, and 3. Add this value to the enthalpy deviation value.

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8.5

Example

saturated air at 25C and 1 atm-which has an absolute humidity ha = 0.0202 kg H2O/kg DA
has a specific enthalpy of 76.5 kJ/kg DA. (Verify these values of both ha and H on Figure
8.4-1.)
Solution
The enthalpy is the sum of the enthalpy changes for 1.00 kg dry air and 0.0202 kg water
going from their reference conditions to 25C. The computation shown below uses heat
capacity data from Table B.2 for air and data from the steam tables (Table B.S) for water.

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8.8

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8.9

Ref: Tao and Janis (2001)

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8.10

Ref: Tao and Janis (2001)

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8.11

Ref: Tao and Janis (20

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12

Ref: Tao and Janis (20

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13

Relative Humidity

Humidity refers to the amount of moisture (water

vapor) in the surrounding air.
Relative Humidity is a measure of the amount of
moisture in the air compared with the amount of
moisture the air can hold.
Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage of how
much moisture the air could possibly hold at the
temperature it happens when you measure it.
The "wetter or damper" you feel,, the higher is the
relative humidity. If you feel the air is dry around you,
the relative humidity is low.

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8.14

Relative Humidity

We are very sensitive to humidity. Sweating keeps

our body cool and maintain its current
temperature.
If the air is at 90% relative humidity, sweat will
not evaporate into the air. As a result, we feel
much hotter than the actual temperature when
the relative humidity is high.
If the relative humidity is low, we can feel much
cooler than the actual temperature because our
sweat evaporates easily, cooling the body
Humidity is measured by means of a hygrometer.
There are different types of hygrometers.
The most common hygrometers are Wet- and DryBulb Psychrometer and Hair Hygrometer

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8.15

How relative humidity (RH) is measured?

(1) Wet- and Dry Bulb Psychrometer

It consists of two identical mercury
thermometers,
one of which has a wet cotton or linen wick
around its bulb.
Evaporating water from the wick absorbs heat
from the thermometer bulb, causing the
thermometer reading to drop.

The difference between dry-bulb and wet-bulb

temperatures is compared on psychrometric
charts.

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8.16

Wet - and Dry Bulb Psychrometer

If the difference between

wet and dry bulb is 6 F
and the temperature is
72 F (dry bulb), then the
RH is 54%.
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8.17

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8.18

Hair Hygrometer

Humidity stretches

the hair (human /

animal / synthetic)
while dryness
shortens it.

The hygrometer

has the job of

stretching a hair
between a fixed
and a movable point
to measure humidity
over time.

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8.20

The Psychrometric Chart

Use the psychrometric chart to estimate (1) the absolute humidity, wetbulb temperature, humid volume, dew point, and specific enthalpy of
humid air at 41C and 10% relative humidity, and (2) the amount of water
in 150 m3 of air at these conditions.

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8.21

Material and Energy Balances on an Air Conditioner

Air at 80F and 80% relative humidity is cooled to 51F at a constant

pressure of 1 atm. Use the psychrometric chart to calculate the fraction
of the water that condenses and the rate at which heat must be removed
to deliver 1000 ft3/min of humid air at the final condition.
Basis: 1 Ibm Dry Air?
Since the psychrometric chart plots the mass ratio kg H2O/kg dry air rather than the mass
fraction of water, it is usually convenient to assume a quantity of dry air in a feed or product
stream as a basis of calculation if the chart is to be used in the solution.

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8.22

Adiabatic Cooling

In adiabatic cooling, a warm gas is brought into contact with a cold liquid, causing
the gas to cool and some of the liquid to evaporate. Heat is transferred from the
gas to the liquid but no heat is transferred between the gas-liquid system and its
surroundings (hence "adiabatic cooling).
Some common processes of this type are described below.
Spray cooling, spray humidification. Liquid water is sprayed into a relatively
dry warm air stream. Some of the water evaporates and the temperature of the
air and of the unev aporated liquid both decrease. If the object is to cool the
water or the air, the operation is called spray cooling; if the point is to increase
the moisture content of the air, the operation is spray humidification.
Spray dehumidification. Warm humid air is dehumidified by spraying cold water
into it. Provided that the liquid temperature is low enough, the air is cooled below
its dew point, causing some of the water vapor in it to condense.
Drying.
Spray drying. (Dried milk)

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Adiabatic Cooling

It can be shown, air undergoing adiabatic cooling through contact with

liquid water moves along a constant wet-bulb temperature line on the
psychrometric chart from its initial condition to the 100% relative humidity
curve
Further cooling of the air below its saturation temperature leads to
condensation and hence dehumidification.

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Adiabatic Humidification

A stream of air at 30C and 10% relative humidity is humidified in an adiabatic spray tower
operating at P = 1 atm. The emerging air is to have a relative humidity of 40%
1. Determine the absolute humidity and the adiabatic saturation temperature of the entering
air.
2. Use the psychrometric chart to calculate (i) the rate at which water must be added to
humidify 1000 kg/h of the entering air, and (ii) the temperature of the exiting air.

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MIXING AND SOLUTION

When two different liquids are mixed or when a gas or solid is dissolved
in a liquid, bonds are broken between neighboring molecules-and
possibly between atoms- of the feed materials, and new bonds are
formed between neighboring molecules or ions in the product solution.
If less energy is required to break the bonds in the feed materials than is
released when the solution bonds form, a net release of energy results.
This energy goes into raising the solution temperature
An ideal mixture is one for which the heat of mixing or solution is
negligible

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8.27

Heats of Solution and Mixing

The heat of solution is defined as the change in enthalpy for a process

in which 1 mole of a solute (gas or solid) is dissolved in r moles of a
liquid solvent at a constant temperature T.
As r becomes large, heat of solution approaches a limiting value known
as the heat of solution at infinite dilution
The heat of mixing has the same meaning as the heat of solution when
the process involves mixing two fluids rather than dissolving a gas or
solid in a liquid.

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8.28

Production of Hydrochloric Acid

Hydrochloric acid is produced by absorbing gaseous HCI (hydrogen chloride) in

water. Calculate the heat that must be transferred to or from an absorption unit if
HCI(g) at 100C and H20(l) at 25C are fed to produce 1000 kg/h of 20.0 wt%
HCI(aq) at 40C.

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8.31