CAL-IN Technology Transfer, L.L.C.
CAL-IN's engineers have significant experience designing dehumidification systems for indoor air, which is a highly specialized area of HVAC design engineering. We are the second-generation of engineers and executives with a family history of over 45 years, dating back to 1963, in the IAQ sector.
Improved construction methods, better insulation and high efficiency windows have helped reduce energy consumption resulting in a reduction of sensible heat gains while latent heat gains have increased. This reduction in energy consumption has increased humidity related issues. One method for dealing with these issues is to dehumidify the indoor air. Conventional indoor air dehumidification systems are costly to operate and the refrigeration controls are sensitive, susceptible to failure and difficult for field technicians to troubleshoot.
CAL-IN's engineers have resolved these problems for a number of applications and understands that humidity can have a catastrophic effect on product quality and your ability to operate efficiently. We offer a number of solutions including:
Rental Units: CAL-IN's rental program offers a reliable and efficient dry air-solution right to your doorstep. We offer long-term and short-term rental programs, along with CAL-IN's Rent-To-Own (RTO) Program, which allows you to affordably attain efficient and reliable indoor air dehumidification for your facility.
Preventative Maintenance: CAL-IN CARE is a program designed to allow you to maintain peak equipment performance, prevent costly downtime and extend the life of your system.
Dehumidification Technical Assistance: CAL-IN is available to answer a wide array of questions. If you need assistance with a particular moisture removal problem, help in sizing a unit, or just need to talk to an expert, please contact us.
Dehumidification by Adsorption The
two principles differ substantially as regards mode of operation,
price, and efficiency. Each application is different and as such, the
choice depends upon the task in question.
CAL-IN
represents both types of dehumidifiers. However, some of the
advantages/applications of adsorption dehumidifiers are discussed
below: Dehumidification Process Drying Advantages
Hygroscopic materials are known
for absorbing water from the air. Many products within the
pharmaceutical industry must be produced in environments where the
relative humidity is low, (30 … 5 %RH). These low humidity conditions
cannot be obtained without dehumidification.
Applications A
large amount of hygroscopic materials are used in both the
pharmaceutical and food industries (the manufacturing of pills, milk
powder, sugar, lithium batteries, chocolate, wine gums and chewing
gums). Pharmaceutical Some
pharmaceutical products are hygroscopic and have a water content
related to the relative humidity of the surrounding air. In order to
obtain high quality and durability of the product, the product must be
produced and stored in low humidity conditions, often below 30%RH. Production
rooms in this application are usually clean rooms, which use a high
fresh air exchange without re-circulated air. CAL-IN’s line of
dehumidifiers are connected to standard AHU equipment as pre-coolers
and/or post-coolers. CAL-IN’s line of dehumidifiers can
also be supplied as a total system, which includes pre- and
post-cooling. A total system will control the relative humidity and
the temperature in the production room. The
dehumidifier cabinet is made of stainless steel, which is suitable for
pharmaceutical production. The rotor is used is silica gel, which
allows for non-bacterial dry air production. Upon request, we can
supply the dehumidifier with a hygienic rotor or a lithium chloride
rotor. The belt driven process air fan can be selected to achieve the
external pressure needed for the total installation. For
the pharmaceutical production, the dehumidifiers typically use
electric- or steam heaters for the regeneration process. Using
silencers in the ducting, the CAL-IN’s line of dehumidifiers is nearly
silent. Confectionary Many products in confectionery industry are coated with sugar or a sugar-substitute. The
coating is applied in a water-based suspension. This is sprayed over
the center in a rotating pan. Air is then blown on to or through the
product in order to evaporate the moisture. This process is repeated
many times over to obtain the final percentage of coating required.
Many of these centers are thermally sensitive, so a high air
temperature is not desired. Most of the time the product is dried in sequential cycles. The drying time is often 90% of the total coating time. The
majority of attention has been focused on achieving a constant flow of
dry air in order to maximize production capacity. This has to be
achieved by following a uniform drying process throughout the year.
Drying time is not affected by seasonal variations. The optimal system
for this application is one that produces dry air via sorption
dehumidification combined with refrigeration and heating. Ambient
air is filtered and pre-cooled, reducing it’s moisture content with
CAL-IN’s line of Sorption Dehumidifiers. This cooling is essential
during the summer season as it enables the system to reach the low dew
points required. After dehumidification, the air is cooled or re-heated to obtain the required temperature for the process. CAL-IN’s combined air handling systems have the following advantages:
- Clean filtered air
- Ambient air is used, affording an energy savings from the factory's HVAC equipment
- There are no seasonal variations because the conditioned air is constant throughout the year
- This creates a predictable production process
- The total process time is reduced by up to 35%
- The very low moisture level of the air allows for a rise in production capacity and affords a better quality product
- Payback time of the initial investment is no more than 10 to 12 months
Dehumidification Condensation Protection
The
prevention of condensation on cold surfaces is another application of
CAL-IN’s line of adsorption dehumidifiers. Free water on the surface of
materials will often result in a quick depreciation: paper/cartons will
ripple and iron will corrode within a short time. Condensation
takes place when humid air meets a cold surface. The air around the
cold surface cools down and the water is condensed. This occurs when
the dew point in the atmosphere (or the dew point temperature) is
higher than the temperature of the cold surface. Condensation
is found in waterworks, where cold pipes are "sweating" during the
summertime, the dew point of the air is high and the pipes are cold.
Condensation also occurs in breweries where the water content of the
air is condensing on the surface of the tanks. The same problem occurs
in Ice Rinks. Although the ice cools down the building, during the summertime, air condenses on the walls, resulting in damage from humidity. In
all the above-mentioned cases, the solution is to lower the dew point
of the air to a value inferior to the temperature of the coldest
surface. This is how you avoid condensation of the air. The only way to
lower the dew point is by means of dehumidification. There are no other
alternatives. When it is a question of cold rooms and/or lower dew
point environments, the adsorption dehumidifier will usually be the
correct choice. CAL-IN’s economical line of adsorption dehumidifiers are used as condensation protection for:
In
the defense sector there are a vast quantity of materials that must be
protected against humidity damage in order to ensure long shelf life
and the best operational reliability with minimal operational costs. The application methods for CAL-IN’s line of dehumidifiers are varied and include:
Ammunition Storage
In
order to ensure that the ammunition is not damaged from humidity, an
adsorption dehumidifier is installed in ammunition storage rooms. This
kind of installation is in principle a question of dry Air Storage.
Protection of Tanks and Aircraft
For
tanks and aircraft, it is often a question of "point- or object
dehumidification", meaning that dry air is blown into the cabin of the
aircraft or the internal part of the tank.
As
such, electronic and optic equipment are protected against damage from
humidity, which results in greater operational reliability, less errors
of equipment, and a longer shelf life.
The dry-air protection takes place while the aircraft is grounded and when the tank is garaged – but it may also take place in the field by means of mobile dehumidifiers.
General Dry Air Storage
Other materials such as boots, uniforms, and parachutes are kept in dry air storage.
Explosion Proof
All
of CAL-IN’s line of dehumidifiers are designed to be suitable for
military type explosion proof applications, i.e. all mechanical or
electrical failure in the dehumidifier will not in any way affect the
surroundings.*
*The air around the dehumidifiers and the regeneration and process air must be free from explosive gases and explosive solids.
Dry air storage is a non-heated storage room with a dehumidification installation. Non-heated also means that the temperature indoors is close to the temperature outdoors.
During
storage and warehousing of goods (paper, textiles, furniture, steel
products, ammunition, etc.), it is necessary to provide a low level of
humidity, otherwise you risk damage to the goods.
Only
few materials tolerate exposure to high atmospheric humidity for longer
periods of time. Most materials will be ruined (iron will corrode, salt
and fertilizers will get lumpy, wood and textiles build mold and rot,
cardboard boxes lose their firmness and sustainability).
Damage
from humidity occurs around 55-60%RH. If further free water is present
(condensation on cold surfaces) the decomposition will take place more
quickly.
In
storage rooms, the humidity comes from the outside. If no heating or
dehumidification takes place, you will have the same atmospheric
humidity inside and outside.
Heating
can be a good as well as efficient way of preventing damage from
humidity. If the room (and thereby the air) is being heated, the air
will be able to retain more water, and the relative humidity will
decrease.
However,
heating requires a well-insulated building in order to meet the demands
of building rules and regulations and in order to keep down the cost of
energy. Additionally, the installation of a heating system is needed.
If you heat the room to a constant temperature of 20°C, the relative humidity will fluctuate throughout the year (from 20%RH during the wintertime and up to 80%RH during the summertime) when no heating takes place. The fluctuation in %RH itself may be damaging to certain materials. Even so, heating may in many cases represent a good and necessary solution.
Usually
materials do not have special demands for temperature, but only for the
humidity of the air. Consequently, an installation of a
dehumidification system, that will maintain a constant relative
humidity all year round, is the right solution for most materials.
- Energy savings compared to heating alternative
- The installation of a dehumidification system is usually more simple and economic than the equivalent installation of a heating system
- There’s no need for insulation of a hall
Military ammunition magazines, stores, warehouses
- Storage of seed grain, industrial storehouses, automatic storage
- Storage of raw materials containing steel
- Storage of furniture
- In containers
- In the cargo compartments of vessels
Dehumidification Corrosion Protection
Water in the air at a high relative humidity is sufficient for the corrosion process to take place.
The limit lies at 45-50% RH: If the humidity falls under that value you can store steel without risk of corrosion. If, however, the atmospheric humidity lies above 60%, corrosion takes place. From 60 to 100% RH, the corrosion process is quickly accelerated. In the case of free-standing water on a surface, corrosion commences immediately.
By
keeping a constant, low atmospheric humidity, CAL-IN’s line of
dehumidifiers can protect iron/steel against corrosion when the
material is stored in a hall or dry air storage room. Consequently,
further surface treatment of the materials is not necessary.
Dehumidifer Flood
CAL-IN represents a series of small-sized, low weight mobile dehumidifiers that are ideal for drainage after
flood damage. Apart from being operational at low temperatures, one of
the most important advantages of the adsorption dehumidifier, compared
to the condensation dehumidifier, is that the dry air can, at a high
pressure, be led to the place where it is most needed. This might be
under a floor, between two walls, or spread to several different rooms. The use of a condensation dehumidifier is better known in this application, as it is easier to install. However,
the adsorption dehumidifier has important advantages, such as a lower
weight, a lower demand for space, and during transportation, and it is
more "universal" in its use due to the fact that its capacity is not as dependent on temperature and humidity conditions on site. Both
of CAL-IN’s dehumidifiers may be used for this application, though our
line of adsorption dehumidifiers is recommended for the drying of new
buildings.
Dehumidification of Ice Rinks Ice rinks are a typical application for CAL-IN’s line of desiccant dehumidifiers. In
Ice Rinks, walls, ceilings, pipes, and other components of the building
are cooled by a large ice surface. As such, low dew point of the air is
needed in order to prevent misty air and condensation on cold surfaces.
CAL-IN’s line of desiccant dehumidifiers are designed for low dew point
/ low temperature applications, and from a technical and economical
point of view, no other systems should be considered. For
this installation, we recommend a low energy series dehumidifier that
can be even further reduced in power consumption for certain air
conditions. Generally, we recommend air conditions of 4-6°C dew point.