Benefits
Managing humidity to prevent evaporation has many benefits
Improved Yields
Products retain their mass providing greater sales value when sold by weight.
Enhanced Quality
Materials that retain their original moisture content maintain integrity and quality.
Improved Profits
Less waste, better quality and increased yield all result in more profits.
Using Humidity to Prevent Evaporative Losses
Using Humidifiers to Create a Moisture Balance
Organic materials have an internal moisture content and will lose moisture to the atmosphere when exposed to air with a low humidity. Humidifiers are used to create an environment with perfect balance between the material’s internal moisture content and the air’s relative humidity. At this ideal level, moisture movement from the material is inhibited.
This ideal air humidity level for a material is called the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH). Different materials will have different ERHs and even the same material can have varying ERH needs, depending on its own internal moisture content. To determine a material's ERH, sorption isotherm charts are used. These charts plot material-specific ERHs at varying levels of internal moisture content for the product in question.
This ideal air humidity level for a material is called the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH). Different materials will have different ERHs and even the same material can have varying ERH needs, depending on its own internal moisture content. To determine a material's ERH, sorption isotherm charts are used. These charts plot material-specific ERHs at varying levels of internal moisture content for the product in question.
Temperature’s Impact on ERH and Moisture Movement
A material’s temperature in relation to its environment has a significant impact on ERH and moisture movement. When a product’s temperature is greater than its environment, the potential for evaporation is increased. This is due to the heating effect the product has on the air adjacent to its surface and the resultant drop in relative humidity inside this micro-climate. The greater the temperature difference between material and the air, the greater this effect.
Conversely, if a product is colder than its environment, the potential for condensation and absorption of moisture by the material is increased. This can be seen most obviously when condensation forms on a cold glass on a hot day. But the effect is the same on chilled materials such as powders, paper or food stuffs. A low temperature and higher relative humidity by cold surfaces increases the risk of moisture movement into the material from the air.
If there is an unavoidable temperature difference between the air and materials sensitive to moisture, it's important to closely control the humidity levels. This might mean increasing humidity to keep cooked foods or freshly harvested warm products from drying out or lowering humidity to prevent chilled items from reaching dew point and developing condensation.
Conversely, if a product is colder than its environment, the potential for condensation and absorption of moisture by the material is increased. This can be seen most obviously when condensation forms on a cold glass on a hot day. But the effect is the same on chilled materials such as powders, paper or food stuffs. A low temperature and higher relative humidity by cold surfaces increases the risk of moisture movement into the material from the air.
If there is an unavoidable temperature difference between the air and materials sensitive to moisture, it's important to closely control the humidity levels. This might mean increasing humidity to keep cooked foods or freshly harvested warm products from drying out or lowering humidity to prevent chilled items from reaching dew point and developing condensation.
Improving Profitability by Maintaining Humidity
Investing in humidification to prevent evaporative losses can offer significant financial rewards. By maintaining the ideal humidity level, moisture is retained in the materials being processed or stored. This has an immediate impact on profits for any product sold by weight, as there is simply more product to sell. A decrease in evaporative losses of 2% can represent an immediate 2% increase in profit.
For manufacturers who deliver orders by weight, preventing evaporative loss will mean less raw materials are needed for a specific quantity of end product. This can also result in faster production and therefore lower energy bills.
Quality is often improved by preventing evaporative losses. Food produce will stay fresher with a longer shelf life. Materials such as paper or textiles retain their integrity and elasticity, so behave better during manufacturing and result in better quality product. Processes may also be enhanced with materials that have higher moisture content, leading to improved reactions or flavors, and a higher market value.
For manufacturers who deliver orders by weight, preventing evaporative loss will mean less raw materials are needed for a specific quantity of end product. This can also result in faster production and therefore lower energy bills.
Quality is often improved by preventing evaporative losses. Food produce will stay fresher with a longer shelf life. Materials such as paper or textiles retain their integrity and elasticity, so behave better during manufacturing and result in better quality product. Processes may also be enhanced with materials that have higher moisture content, leading to improved reactions or flavors, and a higher market value.
Preventing Evaporative Loss is Beneficial in Many Industries
Discover Condair in action
Fenêtres MQ
Founded in 1975, Fenêtres MQ has built a reputation for creating luxury custom engineered windows and doors for the most demanding criteria. Their manufacturing facility in Ste-Agathe, Quebec, sources exceptional materials that requires a precise environment to maintain the final product quality expected by their customers.
Harrier Group, UK
Harrier Group, a leading UK digital printing firm, has invested in four Condair RS restive steam humidifiers to maintain the perfect production environment in its newly-designed, high-tech print room.
Bajrang Tea, India
JetSpray humidifiers from Condair are maintaining an optimum 95% relative humidity (%RH) above the continuous fermentation machines at Bajrang Tea factory in West Bengal, maximizing the quality of the tea produced there. The improved humidity control has resulted in enhanced fermentation of the tea with better infusion and liquor, and ultimately a higher market value.
Mondi Group, Sonneberg (Germany)
The Mondi Group is a manufacturer of paper-based packaging made of corrugated and solid board. More than 3,000 employees in 15 plants at a total of 13 European locations produce individual packaging solutions in all required sizes and finished in a wide variety of ways.
Fogra Forschungsinstitut für Medientechnologien e.V., Aschheim (Germany)
In-room humidification ensures controlled humidity in the printing room. This guarantees a standard climate for the reliable testing of identity cards and banknotes.
BluePrint AG, München (Germany)
To protect against electrostatic charges, BluePrint uses energy-saving in-room humidification with high-pressure nozzles from Condair.
V-ZUG, Switzerland
As a manufacturing company for household appliances for kitchens and laundry rooms, V-ZUG has a dual impact on the environment: they design appliances to be as efficient in use as possible, and they produce these appliances with maximum resource efficiency and minimal emissions.
The new Zephyr Hangarœ building at the Zug site houses a new sawtooth-roof structure that includes the pressing facility, where manufactured parts are also enameled. These production processes generate large amounts of waste heat, resulting in extremely dry indoor air, which in winter can drop to just 10 percent relative humidity. This presents a major challenge for the comfort of employees and the wood-intensive building, as the wooden structure requires a minimum humidity level of 30 percent relative humidity. Additionally, this situation poses a significant challenge for sustainable cooling.
This is where Condair comes into play! The solution involves Condair˜s high-pressure nozzle system,
ML-FLEX, with 152 nozzles providing a nethumidification capacity of approximately 280 liters per hour and a simultaneous, calculated evaporative cooling effect of 16 Kelvin, meaning the room air is sustainably cooled from around 38 degree centigrade to approximately 22 degree centigrade during the humidification process.
The new Zephyr Hangarœ building at the Zug site houses a new sawtooth-roof structure that includes the pressing facility, where manufactured parts are also enameled. These production processes generate large amounts of waste heat, resulting in extremely dry indoor air, which in winter can drop to just 10 percent relative humidity. This presents a major challenge for the comfort of employees and the wood-intensive building, as the wooden structure requires a minimum humidity level of 30 percent relative humidity. Additionally, this situation poses a significant challenge for sustainable cooling.
This is where Condair comes into play! The solution involves Condair˜s high-pressure nozzle system,
ML-FLEX, with 152 nozzles providing a nethumidification capacity of approximately 280 liters per hour and a simultaneous, calculated evaporative cooling effect of 16 Kelvin, meaning the room air is sustainably cooled from around 38 degree centigrade to approximately 22 degree centigrade during the humidification process.
Nordan, Wolsztyn (Poland)
Protected wood through optimal humidity The NorDan Group is one of the leading manufacturers of wooden windows and doors. High-pressure air humidification ensures quality at all stages of production at the Group's Wolsztyn site. The Polish site in Wolsztyn has been one of the NorDan Group's largest production facilities since 2006: over 200 members of staff produce 10.000 wooden windows there for Scandinavia and the United Kingdom each year. Stable processes and production conditions are enormously important for us. It is therefore essential to have constant, optimal humidity, explains the chief engineer, Maciej Sosiński.
Preston Sp. z o.o., Poznan (Poland)
A constant relative humidity of 50 per cent ensures that Preston Packaging’s printing process runs smoothly, without any material distortion, and with a high degree of registration accuracy during the subsequent die-cutting and gluing stages.
Fritz Hansen, Rawicz (Poland)
The international design brand Republic of Fritz Hansen is famous for exclusive design classics such as the EggTM lounge chair or the 7TM chair series. With innovative craftsmanship and premium quality, the Danish company, founded in 1872, sets standards worldwide.
EPDB Nyomtatási Központ Zrt., Budapest (Hungary)
Speed and reliability are the biggest challenges for EPDB. To achieve this, the digital printing presses require optimal humidity levels.
WERNER KENKEL Sp. z o.o., Krzycko Wielkie (Poland)
For packaging manufacturer Werner Kenkel, controlled humidity has a direct impact on production and quality assurance. More speed, consistent quality and less waste are the most important advantages.
Varga Nyomda, Eger (Hungary)
As a Hungarian family business, Varga Nyomda specializes in the production of high-quality labels for the wine industry. Controlled humidity makes an important contribution to this.
Bart Sp. z o.o, Świecie (Poland)
The packaging specialist Bart Sp. z o.o not only ensures the quality of its products with modern direct room air humidification, but also lowers the temperature and dust generation in production at the same time.
Gelbert ECOPrint, Budapest (Hungary)
Reduced static electricity and less paper warping are the benefits of controlled humidity at Gelbert. Humidifying the air directly in the room ensures optimum humidity levels.
Frequently asked questions
What else influences evaporative loss?
What additional measures can be taken, alongside humidification, to mitigate evaporative losses?
Will humidification cause materials to absorb moisture?
How can the potential return on investment of a humidifier be determined?
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