There are numerous applications for a spray dehumidifier including dairy and food processing. It is used to dry moisture from surfaces by spraying in a fine mist using an airless spray process.
This type of system can control or eliminate microbial growth in certain locations. As a result, the safety and shelf life of a variety of food items may be improved.
To know more about what is a spray dehumidifier, read this article in its entirety.
Spray Dehumidifiers
A spray dehumidifier is an appliance that converts water into mist. It removes excess moisture and relative humidity from the air, food, and even surroundings. It also captures pollutants for which they are sometimes called an "air washer."
So long as the water temperature is below the dew point on the airflow, an air cleaner or spray dehumidifier is possible. Dehumidifying the air is achieved once moist water enters the ground.
This type of dehumidifier has been used for a long time in various industries just like air conditioning units and desiccant dehumidifiers.
There are also spray dehumidifiers that can be used in homes or offices to reduce excess humidity as well as in museums and other places where excess humidity causes corrosion on equipment.
Some of the Most Common Applications of Spray Dehumidifiers:
Cleaning
Spray drying applications as cleaning tools for removing oil and other residues from surfaces. Generally, spray dehumidifiers will remove light to medium residues without leaving any equipment residue behind.
The high volume and pressure allow the spray dehumidifier to clean hard-to-reach areas, narrow openings, and recesses where it would be difficult to maneuver a cloth or mop.
Dairy
The spray drying process is used to keep equipment dry for dairy products applications. One of the most important factors in milk production is cleanliness and hygiene for the milk quality to not suffer.
Soap and water can be used in conjunction with spray dehumidifiers to create a powerful cleaning combination. The dairy workers can get inside hard-to-reach areas like teat ends, where every speck of dirt can affect milk quality.
Cleaning & Drying
The spray dehumidifier is used to remove moisture and clean surfaces. It uses an airless spray process that prevents the equipment from reusing the same dirty water.
This will help maintain hygiene standards while prolonging the life of your cleaning equipment.
The Spray Drying Process
The spray drying process consists of three major components such as fan, spray nozzle, and compressed air supply.
The compressed air from a central compressor pulls in outside air that passes through an intake filter to remove debris and particulates before it enters the unit.
The dehumidification process begins with the compressed air passing through a filter into a mist generator. The fan moves the air through an atomizing nozzle that creates a fine spray of water droplets that fall to the floor as moisture.
This pure, filtered air then passes over coils in an evaporator where it is cooled, reducing the amount of moisture content in the surrounding air.
The moisture-laden air then passes through a desiccant where the remaining excess water is removed, and finally exits through an exhaust duct.
This process provides a constant supply of clean, dry air to prevent microbial growth in the surrounding area.
Benefits of the Spray Drying Technology
With the spray drying process, you can get rid of excess moisture and keep your environment clean.
Some of the benefits of using a spray dehumidifier include:
1. Continuous Cleaning
Spray dehumidifiers provide a constant source of fresh, dry air to prevent microbial growth. Since it uses a closed-loop system with filtration and cooling, it can continuously spray clean air throughout the day.
2. Low Operating Costs
Spray dehumidifiers have a low operating cost since it doesn't require water or energy consumption to work as long as you have compressed air.
3. Easy-to-Clean Equipment
Spray dehumidifiers have coils in the evaporator that provide easy access for cleaning.
4. No Residue
The water droplets in a spray dehumidifier are high pressure enough to remove dirt and grime within machines but won't leave any equipment residue behind.
Spray Drying Dairy Products
In hot and humid climates with major weather fluctuations, the spray dryer operator constantly must deal with dryer performance issues.
The changing in the ambient weather influences the conditions in the inlet air of the drying process. It results in limited drying power heavy process fluctuations and difficulty in drying the most sensitive products.
A dehumidifier such as a spray drying is a widely used technique across the entire dairy industry.
Dry Air for Fluidized Beds or Spray Drying Towers
The fluidized bed dryers are commonly used in the food industry for gentle and uniform drying and to preserve the quality of chemical molecules and ingredients.
They are all used to dry and cool cellulose particles (powders, agglomerates), sugared tablets, or granulates of fins. The air supply turns the wet bulk products to powder and reduces the risk of clogging and causing caking.
What Makes Spray Drying So Effective?
There are three major benefits to the spray drying process.
First, liquid water is turned into gas water (moisture) through a process called atomization. By using compressed air to break up the water droplets,
Efficiency can be increased because there is less physical space for moisture in the surrounding environment.
Secondly, it is cost-effective because it is a closed-loop technology that does not require any chemicals.
Finally, the air never touches the surfaces you are trying to dry so there is no risk of water or chemical damage.
As long as clean, filtered air can enter and exit the system, your contaminated surfaces will be protected in an enclosed environment.
One of the best aspects of this type of equipment is its ability to not only remove moisture but also clean all types of surfaces without touching them with any chemicals. This type of dehumidifier is safe for surfaces and humans.
Challenges in Spray Drying
Spray dryers require huge amounts of hot air for drying. The quality of the finished product affects the inlet air of the dryer. Injected air should dry without pollution, be free of contaminants, and be odorless.
The drying temperature and drying time within a dryer require close monitoring to limit the loss due to the varying levels of humidity present at the water outlet conditions.
Dryer stirs heated air into an atomized (sprayed) liquid flow in a vessel (drying chamber) that leads toward evaporation and produces free-flowing dry powder with controlled average particle size.
Absorption Dehumidifiers and Spray Dehumidifiers
Spray dehumidifier and absorption dehumidifier are used to dry water vapor, acid gas, organic solvent vapors, and polluted air. The humidifying process is used in the chemical industry for drying and cooling (like an air conditioner).
In addition to the absorption dehumidifier, the sorbent material contains numerous microscopic pores into which the water is assimilated. At its saturation in the sorbent, the material is dehumidified using hot gas.
It is an intermittent process where complicated airflow control through a humidifier is required. The process is intermittent and requires more complex control about the airflow to occur.
Related Article: Desiccant Dehumidifier: What Is It & How It Works? (Absorption)
Refrigeration Dehumidifiers and Spray Dehumidifier
A refrigeration dehumidifier is designed with a reversible heat pump comprising one compressor, two condensers, and two evaporators.
The air evaporates under a cool surface where some moisture evaporates. The surface of the coil is cooled with a refrigerant unit and the air is pushed out of the evaporator.
A spray dryer is used in the food industry to make whey protein concentrates from milk serum proteins. The hot air for spray drying is supplied by a direct-fired or steam-fired heater and it is then dried in a hot-air equipped spray dryer.
Related Article: What Is a Refrigerant Dehumidifier? (Industrial, Commercial)
What Are Spray Dehumidifiers FAQ
When Should You Use a (Spray) Dehumidifier?
If you have air quality issues due to excess humidity in a certain room or one with heavy use, then using a spray dehumidifier can help the air become more breathable.
During the winter, if your living space is too humid and it causes condensation on cold surfaces, a spray dehumidifier can alleviate the problem.
What Is the Difference Between a Spray Humidifier and Spray Dehumidifier?
A spray humidifier adds steam or water vapor into the air for humidity control in industrial settings. A spray dehumidifier replaces moisture-laden air with dry, filtered air to prevent microbial growth.
Related Article: Dehumidifier vs Humidifier
