Application of Dehumidifiers for Various Industries

Improve / Regulate Product Quality

Prevent Condensation

Prevent Fungal & Bacterial Growth

Prevent corrosion

Food Industry

Excess humidity causes bacterial growth, condensation on cold products, damaging packaging and spoiling the product resulting in poor consumer experience. A dehumidifier will boost operational productivity by ensuring that humidity doesn’t affect surrounding materials or product quality. It ensures that your facility maintains the right levels of humidity and controlling the moisture content, which leads to perfect coating and longer shelf life of the food products

Pharmaceutical Industry

Maintaining an optimal level of moisture during manufacturing and storage of medicines is absolutely critical to ensure effectiveness of the medicines. Uncontrolled humidity can damage the medicines manufactured and may even lead them to cause certain adverse effects in people when consumed. During the processing stage, most of the medicines are in powdered form and are highly hygroscopic. Excess of moisture absorption leads to organic corrosion, biochemical reactions and micro-organism growth on the product. Dehumidifiers help in keeping the required humidity parameters for processing, drying, storing and transportation of medicines.

Lithium Batteries

The primary requirement for manufacturing of lithium batteries is a dry room with very low humidity. Lithium is extremely sensitive to moisture; thus, high moisture content leads to a reduction in performance and life of the product. Industrial dehumidifiers ensure that the processing areas have the required amount of moisture in the air which is less than 14gms of moisture per kg of dry air.

Electronic & Semiconductors

Components used in assembling or processing of semiconductors are hygroscopic and highly sensitive to excess humidity. Excess moisture results in corrosion of PCB, transistor failures, and condensation on integrated circuits. The RH in semiconductor manufacturing area must be 30% at 20oc. Industrial dehumidifiers also help in protecting the vacuum and EPI equipment.

Leather Industry

Leather is a hygroscopic material; it is prone to absorbing moisture from air at every stage of processing. Excess moisture leads to the growth of mold and mildew on leather. Without proper humidity control, leather loses its shine, produces the foul smell, loses its strength and starts decomposing. Relative humidity above 40% leads to micro-organism growth that results in decomposition of leather. Ideally, the relative humidity should be below 40% to preserve leather in proper condition. Dehumidifiers help in providing controlled moisture conditions during the processing of leather products.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets are a complex environment and standard air conditioning systems are often not effective for the various store configurations. Humidity can affect refrigeration operation and customer purchasing decisions if the store is too cold or because frozen products are not visible or iced up.  Humidity is a hidden energy issue. Often over half the store energy is refrigeration and air conditioning, and designs based on the first cost can leave a substantial energy legacy for the owner. Desiccant dehumidification offers an array of benefits to store operation energy and comfort, which can outweigh the initial investment.

Greenhouses

In greenhouses, there’s a tendency to have high moisture content during the day. This is because of high temperatures in the greenhouse whereas at night the condensation rate of the moisture in the air is high due to low temperatures. As a result, condensate forms on cooler surfaces, creating a conducive environment for mildew and fungi such as botrytis which in turn damages the yield. The introduction of a dehumidifier to such an environment would regulate humidity and temperature within the greenhouse. In so doing it will ensure that condensation is avoided, and the threat of crop-robbing pests and diseases is greatly reduced. Furthermore, by regulating temperature and humidity, optimum climate conditions for plant growth can be achieved resulting in maximum yield.

Laboratories

Various tests are carried out in laboratories to ascertain quality of different types of products and raw materials. Biological tests are carried out in pathological laboratories. All these tests are required to be performed under controlled conditions with specific temperature and humidity levels. The equipments used in these laboratories are quite expensive and they need to be preserved in ambient humidity condition. For instance, medical imaging equipments like CT Scan, MRI machines are best preserved in low humidity, else condensation in imaging areas can damage the equipments. Likewise, excess moisture triggers photo-catalytics reaction on X-ray films leading to poor image quality and inaccurate diagnosis. Failure to maintain specific level of moisture in the laboratory can lead to inaccurate and invalid test results. Use of White Westinghouse dehumidifiers is imperative to avoid this kind of situations.

Wood Storages

Dried and sawn wood that is used for furniture production shouldn’t have a moisture ratio in excess of 8-9%. Wood is used for doors and windows should have a moisture ratio of 12%. If this kind of timber is stored in an area without dehumidification, the quality may vary greatly. Varying moisture levels may cause the structure of the wood to change, which may cause problems with processing the wood during final production. This can lead to the end customers are not satisfied with their product. So the biggest threat to the quality of the wood is sharp fluctuations in climate and varying humidity of the surrounding air. The purpose of dehumidification of wood storage for the wood products industry is to always achieve a constant indoor climate so that the timber supplier can guarantee its end customers consistently high quality of its products.

Plastics Industry

Injection and blow molding operations utilize thermoplastics which are heated to plasticity and shaped into forms via the use of a mold. The majority of systems employ the use of chilled water to maintain a cold surface on the mold, resulting in a quicker forming time of the component, and thus higher production volumes. In fact, generally the colder the mold, the quicker the cycle time and the greater the production outputs. Operating at low mold temperatures creates problems with condensation on the mold surface, especially during the summer period. This will result in unacceptable watermarks on the product and corrosion on expensive molds and guide pins, necessitating repair or even replacement. This problem of sweating can easily be overcome by simply increasing the mold surface temperature. This, however, will not be the preferred choice as it will mean increasing the cycle time of the components and decreasing output. By incorporating a dehumidifier, a mold temperature of 5°C or lower can be achieved, without the risk of sweating.