Does a heat exchanger remove humidity?

A standard air-to-air heat exchanger primarily transfers heat between two airstreams and does not directly remove humidity. The airstreams remain separate, so moisture (humidity) in one airstream typically stays within that airstream. However, there are nuances depending on the type of heat exchanger:

  1. Sensible Heat Exchangers: These (e.g., most plate or heat pipe exchangers) only transfer heat, not moisture. Humidity levels in the incoming and outgoing air remain unchanged, though relative humidity may shift slightly due to temperature changes (warmer air can hold more moisture, so heating incoming air may lower its relative humidity).
  2. Enthalpy (Total Energy) Exchangers: Some advanced designs, like rotary wheel or certain membrane-based exchangers, can transfer both heat and moisture. These are called hygroscopic or enthalpy recovery ventilators (ERVs). The core material or wheel absorbs moisture from the humid airstream (e.g., warm, humid indoor air) and transfers it to the drier airstream (e.g., cold, dry outdoor air), effectively managing humidity levels to some extent.
  3. Condensation Effects: In certain conditions, if the heat exchanger cools humid air below its dew point, condensation may occur on the exchanger’s surfaces, removing some moisture from that airstream. This is incidental, not a primary function, and requires a drainage system.

So, a standard heat exchanger doesn’t remove humidity unless it’s an enthalpy-type ERV designed for moisture transfer or if condensation occurs. If humidity control is a goal, you’d need an ERV or a separate dehumidification system.

How does the air to air heat exchanger work?

An air-to-air heat exchanger transfers heat between two separate air streams without mixing them. It typically consists of a heat-conductive core (like a series of thin metal or plastic plates or tubes) where one airstream (e.g., warm indoor air) passes over one side, transferring its heat to the core, while the other airstream (e.g., cold outdoor air) passes over the opposite side, absorbing that heat.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Warm Air Input: Warm, stale indoor air (from a building) enters the exchanger.
  2. Heat Transfer: As this air flows through the core, it transfers heat to the core’s walls, which are made of a conductive material like aluminum.
  3. Cold Air Input: Simultaneously, cold, fresh outdoor air flows through adjacent channels in the core, picking up heat from the core’s walls.
  4. Exhaust and Supply: The now-cooled indoor air is exhausted outside, while the warmed outdoor air is supplied into the building.

The process can reverse in cooling mode (e.g., in summer), where cool indoor air transfers its "coolness" to warm outdoor air. The airstreams are kept separate to avoid contamination, often using counterflow or crossflow designs to maximize efficiency. Efficiency can reach 50-80%, depending on the design and conditions.

Common types include:

  • Plate heat exchangers: Use stacked plates for heat transfer.
  • Heat pipe exchangers: Use sealed tubes with a working fluid that evaporates and condenses to transfer heat.
  • Rotary wheel exchangers: Use a rotating wheel to transfer heat and sometimes moisture.

It’s used in HVAC systems to save energy by pre-conditioning incoming air, reducing the load on heating or cooling systems.

Heat recovery system for paint booth

The heat recovery system of the paint booth mainly recovers the heat from the exhaust gas discharged from the paint booth through a heat exchange device, which is used to preheat the fresh air or other heating needs entering the paint booth, in order to achieve energy-saving purposes.
In the heat exchanger, the high-temperature exhaust gas discharged from the paint booth and the fresh air (or other heated medium) entering the paint booth flow on both sides of the partition wall, and heat is transferred through the partition wall. Due to the lack of direct contact between exhaust gas and fresh air, the mixing of the two is avoided, ensuring the cleanliness of the air. The heat of high-temperature exhaust gas is transferred to the partition wall, which then transfers the heat to fresh air, raising the temperature of the fresh air and achieving heat recovery and utilization.

Application of Commercial Ventilation Heat Exchanger

Our commercial ventilation heat exchanger is a device used in the ventilation system of commercial buildings. Its main application principle is to use heat exchange technology to recover heat or cold from indoor polluted air while discharging it, in order to preheat or pre cool the fresh outdoor air introduced, thereby achieving energy conservation and improving indoor air quality. The specific principle is as follows:
Ventilation principle
Commercial ventilation heat exchangers are usually installed in the ventilation systems of commercial buildings, which use mechanical ventilation to expel polluted indoor air and introduce fresh outdoor air into the room.
This can ensure the freshness and circulation of indoor air, meet people's breathing needs in commercial environments, and also help maintain appropriate indoor temperature and humidity.
Heat exchange principle
There is a special heat exchange core inside the heat exchanger. When the air discharged from indoors and the air entering from outdoors flow in the heat exchange core, heat transfer occurs due to the temperature difference between the two.

The role of heat exchanger in sludge drying process

Heating medium: The heat exchanger transfers heat to the drying medium (such as air, nitrogen, etc.) to increase its temperature. The hot drying medium comes into full contact with the sludge and transfers heat to the sludge through convection, conduction, and other means, causing the water in the sludge to absorb heat and evaporate into steam, thereby achieving the drying of the sludge.
Recycling waste heat: During the sludge drying process, a large amount of exhaust gas containing heat is generated. The heat exchanger can cool the exhaust gas and recover the heat from it. The recovered heat can be used to preheat fresh air or drying medium entering the dryer, as well as for other process links that require thermal energy, thereby improving the energy utilization efficiency of the entire drying system and reducing energy consumption.
Removing moisture: During the sludge drying process, the heat exchanger can not only heat the drying medium, but also condense the water vapor in the drying medium into liquid water through cooling, thereby achieving dehumidification of the drying medium. Dehumidification of the drying medium is beneficial for improving its ability to absorb moisture from sludge and enhancing the drying effect. For example, in some sludge drying systems that use circulating drying media, by setting up cooling heat exchangers to dehumidify the circulating air, the drying speed of sludge can be increased by 20% -30%.

Application of Heat Pump Heat Exchanger in Food Drying Field

Provide a drying heat source: Heat pump heat exchangers can raise the temperature of environmental heat or waste heat, providing a stable heat source for the food drying process. For example, in the process of drying fruits and vegetables, a heat pump drying system can heat the air to a suitable temperature (such as 50-70 ℃), allowing the moisture in the fruits and vegetables to slowly evaporate at a lower temperature. This not only preserves the nutritional content and flavor of the food, but also improves the drying efficiency. Compared with traditional hot air drying methods, it can save a lot of energy.
Recycling of Waste Heat from Drying Exhaust Gas: The exhaust gas emitted during the food drying process contains a certain amount of heat and moisture, which can be cooled by a heat pump heat exchanger to recover the heat and condense the moisture in the exhaust gas. The recovered heat can be used to preheat fresh air or other process steps, reducing energy consumption during the drying process. Taking mushroom drying as an example, recovering exhaust heat through a heat pump heat exchanger can reduce drying energy consumption by 20% -30%.

Application of Heat Pump Heat Exchanger in Drying Chemical Materials

Heating of drying medium: In the drying process of chemical materials, it is necessary to heat the drying medium (such as air, nitrogen, etc.) to a certain temperature to improve the drying efficiency. Heat pump heat exchangers can elevate the temperature of thermal energy or industrial waste heat in the environment and use it to heat drying media. For example, when drying pesticide intermediates, a heat pump heat exchanger is used to heat the air and raise the air temperature to 60-80 ℃, providing the required heat for the drying process. Compared with traditional electric or gas heating methods, it can significantly reduce the drying cost.
Recycling of waste heat from drying exhaust gas: The exhaust gas emitted during the drying process of chemical materials usually contains a certain amount of heat and moisture. If directly discharged, it will cause energy waste and environmental pollution. A heat pump heat exchanger can cool dry exhaust gas, recover its heat, and condense the moisture in the exhaust gas, achieving the goal of waste heat recovery and energy conservation and emission reduction. The recovered heat can be used to preheat fresh drying media or other processes, improving energy utilization efficiency.

The role of heat pump heat exchangers in the chemical industry

1. Maintain reaction temperature: Many chemical reactions require specific temperature ranges to ensure reaction rate and product quality. The heat pump heat exchanger can adjust the temperature inside the reaction vessel to timely remove or supplement the required heat generated by the reaction, so that the reaction can proceed under stable temperature conditions. For example, in the polyester synthesis reaction, it is necessary to strictly control the reaction temperature at around 200-250 ℃. The heat pump heat exchanger can accurately adjust the temperature of the reaction kettle to ensure the smooth progress of the reaction.
2. Recycling reaction waste heat: Some chemical reactions are exothermic reactions, and if the large amount of waste heat generated is not utilized, it will not only cause energy waste, but also may cause thermal pollution to the environment. Heat pump heat exchangers can recover the heat from high-temperature hot water or steam discharged from the reaction kettle, raise it to a higher temperature level, and use it for other processes that require heat, such as preheating reactants, heating process water, etc., thereby improving the energy utilization efficiency of the entire chemical production process.

Introduction to Surface Coolers and Their Applications

A surface cooler (table cooler) is an efficient heat exchange device widely used in central air conditioning, industrial refrigeration, and ventilation systems. It operates by circulating chilled water or refrigerant through copper tubes, exchanging heat with air via aluminum fins to lower air temperature and remove moisture. Compact in structure and highly efficient, surface coolers are applied in the following scenarios:

  1. Commercial Buildings: Such as malls, hotels, and offices for air conditioning and dehumidification.
  2. Industrial Settings: Such as electronics and pharmaceutical plants to control temperature and humidity.
  3. Data Centers: To maintain a constant temperature and humidity for server operations.
  4. Hospitals: For precise temperature and humidity control in operating rooms and wards.
  5. Transportation: In air conditioning systems for subways and train stations.
    Surface coolers enable energy-efficient and precise environmental control, meeting diverse needs across various applications.

What industrial fields are heat pump heat exchangers used in?

Process heating in industrial production: In some industrial production processes that do not require particularly high temperature but require a large amount of heat energy, such as food processing, textile printing and dyeing, wood drying, etc., heat pump heat exchangers can use industrial waste heat or environmental heat energy to provide the required heat for the production process, achieving energy recovery and energy conservation and emission reduction.
Industrial wastewater waste heat recovery: Many industrial production processes generate a large amount of wastewater, which often contains a certain amount of heat. Heat pump heat exchangers can extract heat from wastewater and use it to preheat production water or other processes that require thermal energy, reducing energy consumption and production costs for enterprises.

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