HUMIDIFICATION/

DEHUMIDIFICATION

HUMIDIFICATION/DEHUMIDIFICATI
ON

involves the transfer of material between

a liquid phase and a fixed gas that is
nearly insoluble in the liquid

operations are simpler than those for

absorption and stripping for when the
liquid contains only one component,
there are no concentration gradients
and no resistance to mass transfer in
the liquid phase

DEFINITIONS

vapor gaseous form of the

component that is also
present as liquid
gas component present only in the
gaseous form

Saturation Humidity (HS or Ys)

saturated gas gas in which vapor is in equilibrium
with the liquid at the gas temperature
Pvapor in saturated gas = Pliquid at the gas temperature

M A PA'
Hs =
M B P - PA'

'
where: PA - vapor pressure of the liquid

PERRYS 8TH ED

Absolute Humidity (H or Y)
mass of vapor carried by a unit mass of vapor-free
gas

M A pA
H=
M B ( P - pA )
where: MA & MB molecular weights of components
A & B, respectively.
pA partial pressure of the vapor

Absolute humidity (Y)

Mass of water (or solvent) vapor

carried by unit mass of dry air (or
other carrier gas). It is also known
as the mixing ratio, mass ratio, or
dry-basis humidity. (Perrys 8th ed.)

Specific Humidity (Hw or Yw)

Mass of vapor per unit mass of gas-vapor
mixture. Also known as mass fraction or wetbasis humidity, and much more rarely used
than dry-basis absolute humidity. (Perrys 8th
ed.)

Y
YW = H W =
1+ Y

Relationship of H to mole fraction

y in the gas phase
H

Y=

MA
1
H
+
MB
MA

Note: Since H /MA is usually small

compared to 1MB, y may be considered to
be directly proportional to H

Relative Humidity (HR or YR)

ratio of the partial pressure of the vapor to the
vapor pressure of the liquid at the gas
temperature

pA
H R = 100 '
PA
Note: HR = 100% means saturated gas
HR = 0% means vapor-free gas

Percentage Humidity (HA or YA)

ratio of the actual humidity H to the saturation
humidity HS at the gas temperature

pA

P - pA )
H
(
P - PA'
H A = 100
= 100 '
= HR
PA
Hs
P - pA
P - PA'

Note: HA < HR

Volumetric Humidity ( Hv or Yv)

mass of vapor per unit volume of gas-vapor
mixture

preferred units are kg/m3 or lb/ft3

sometimes, confusingly, called the absolute

humidity, but it is really a vapor concentration

It is proportional to the specific humidity (wet

basis); YV = YWg, where g is the humid gas
density (mass of gas-vapor mixture per unit
volume, wet basis).

M v Pnv
Yv =
RT ng + nv

Humid Heat (cS)

heat energy necessary to increase the
temperature of 1 g or 1 lb of gas plus whatever
vapor it may contain by 10C or 10F

cs = c pB + cpA H
where: CpB - specific heat of gas
CpA - specific heat of vapor

Humid Heat (cS)

Heat capacity of unit mass of dry air and the
moisture it contains. Cs = CPg + CPvY, where CPg
and CPv are the heat capacities of dry air and
water vapor, respectively, and both are
assumed constant.

For approximate engineering calculations at

near- ambient temperatures, in SI units, Cs = 1
+ 1.9Y kJ/(kgK) and in U.S. units, Cs = 0.24 +
0.45Y (Btu/(lbF).

Humid Volume (vH)

total volume of a unit mass of vapor-free gas plus
whatever vapor it may contain at 1 atm at the gas
temperature
vH =

0.0224T 1
H
+
273 M B M A

where : vH = in m3/g
T = in K

Humid volume in fps

359T 1
H
vH =
+

492 M B M A
where: vH = ft3/lb
T =R
Note:
For vapor-free gas, H = 0, vH is specific
volume for the fixed gas
For saturated gas, H = Hs and vH becomes the
saturated volume

Sample Problem 1
The air in the room is at 26.7 deg C and a
pressure of 101.325 kPa and contains water
vapor with a partial pressure pA = 2.76kPa.
Calculate the Humidity, Saturation Humidity,
Percentage Humidity and Percentage Relative
Humidity.

Dew Point Temperature (Td)

temperature to which a vapor-gas mixture must
be cooled (at constant humidity) to become
saturated

temperature at which vapor begins to condense

when the gas phase is cooled at constant
pressure

dew point of a saturated gas phase equals the

gas temperature (PA = PA)

Total Enthalpy (Hy)

enthalpy of a unit mass of gas plus whatever
vapor it may contain

H y = c pB (T - To ) + H lo + C pA H (T - To )
where : To = datum temperature = 32 0F
T = temperature of the gas
H = humidity
o = latent heat of the liquid at To

H y = cs (T - To ) + H lo

Relation of ye to Hs
Hs

ye =

MA
Hs
1
+
MB
MA

ye = equilibrium mole fraction

Equilibria for the system air-water at 1 atm

Adiabatic Saturation Temperature (TS)

temperature that would be attained if the
gas were saturated in an adiabatic
process

H s - H cs c pB + c pA H
= =
T - Ts
ls
ls

Measurement of Humidity

Dew-point Method

a cooled polished disk is inserted into gas of

unknown humidity and the temperature of the
disk gradually lowered

temperature at which mist just condenses on the

disk is the temperature of equilibrium between
the vapor in the gas and the liquid phase

note the temperature at which mist just

disappears

humidity can be determined from the humidity

chart by using the average temperature
(temperatures of mist formation and
disappearance)

Psychrometric Method
determine simultaneously the wet-bulb and dry
bulb temperatures

reading of humidity is found by locating the

psychrometric line intersecting the saturation line
at the observed wet-bulb temperature and
following the psychrometric line to its intersection
with the ordinate of the observed dry-bulb
temperature

Direct Method
vapor content of a gas
can be determined by
direct analysis by using
an appropriate analytical
device

Sample Problem 2
Air entering a dryer has a temperature (dry bulb
temperature) of 60 deg C and a dew point of
26.7 deg C. Using the humidity chart, determine
the actual humidity, percentage humidity, humid
heat and humid volume in SI units.

Sample Problem 3
An air stream at 87.8 deg C having a humidity
H = 0.030 kg H2O/kg dry air is contacted in an
adiabatic saturator with water. It is cooled and
humidified to 90% saturation. What are the
final values of H and T? For 100% saturation,
what would be the values of H and T?

Sample Problem 4
A water vapor-air mixture having a dry bulb
temperature of 60 deg C is passed over a wet
bulb and the wet bulb temperature obtained is
29.5 deg C. What is the humidity of the
mixture?

-END-