Chapter 2

Psychrometric Processes

I. Basic Processes of Conditioning Air

Using the psychrometric chart, the different properties of air can be plotted as well as the path it
took as it undergoes changes. As can be seen, any change on one of its property will alter the other
properties. The basic processes that air conditioning undergone can be seen from Figure 2.1

Figure 2.1

Process 0 – A: Sensible cooling

Process 0 – B: Sensible heating
Process 0 – C: Humidifying
Process 0 – D: Dehumidifying
Process 0 – E: Cooling and dehumidifying
Process 0 – F: Cooling and humidifying
Process 0 – G: Heating and dehumidifying
Process 0 – H: Heating and humidifying

Process 0 – C and process 0 – D cannot be achieved in ideal processes. Since this can only occur
if the process will undergo purely mass transfer, which means that the spray water should have a constant
temperature that is the same with the moist air. The rest of the processes will be discussed further.

a. Sensible Cooling

When the moist air comes in contact with a dry, cold coil, the air exchanges heat with the cooling
coil. During this process, the dry bulb temperature of the air lowers while maintaining its moisture
content. This is only possible if the surface of the coil that comes in contact with the air is completely dry,
thus there is no possibility of transfer of mass of water vapor. This is purely heat transfer process.

The amount of heat transferred by the moist air can be calculated using the equation:

( ) ( )
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

Where: h is the enthalpy of the moist air at the start (point 0) and end (point A) of the process
t is the temperature of the moist air at point 0 and point A
cpm is the specific heat of moist air = 1.0216 kJ/kgdry air

b. Sensible Heating

The principle behind this process is the same with the cooling process except that instead of a
cooling coil, a heating coil is present. The equation will be likely the same as the sensible cooling process
except that instead of point A, point B will be used.

Example:
2.1 Determine the quantity of heat required to raise 14 m3/min if air at 200C and 80% relative humidity to
350C. What is the final relative humidity?

2.2 Determine the quantity of heat removed from 14 m3/min of air when cooled from 370C dry bulb and
210C wet bulb temperatures to 150C. What is the initial and final relative humidity?

c. Cooling and dehumidification

Figure 2.2

When moist air is brought into contact with a cold surface which has a temperature below the
dew point temperature of the moist air, some of the water vapor in the air condenses and leaves in liquid
form. The result is moist air that has less moisture content and lower temperature than that of the intake
air. In this process both heat and mass is transferred, thus the equations that will be used for the analysis
are as follows:

By mass balance of water:

Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

By heat balance:

Combining the equations will yield:

( )

( ) ( )

The second term of the left hand side of equation is small compared to that of the first term so
that it can be neglected.

The total heat of the system can be divided to sensible and latent heat, since there is a phase
change and temperature change occurring in the process.

( ) ( ) ( )

Since the humidity ratio remains constant at sensible cooling, the equation will then be:
( ) ( ) ( )

( ) ( ) ( )

Since the temperature for latent heating/cooling is constant, the equation will be reduced to:
( ) ( ) ( )

Note: The equation for enthalpy of moist air base on previous chapter is given by the equation of
h = ha + Whg
wherein ha is the enthalpy for dry air and the second term is the enthalpy of the water vapor
hg is the enthalpy of water vapor at the particular temperature

h = cpt + W(hfg + cpwt)

wherein cpw is the specific heat of water vapor with an approximate value of 1.88 kJ/kg-K and
hfg is the latent heat of vaporization at 00C with an approximate value of 2501 kJ/kg

The equation can be further simplified by substituting the cpm or the specific heat of moist air
given by the equation:
cpm = cp + Wcpw
which will yield to an approximate value of 1.0216 kJ/kg-K

The equation will now be reduced to:

h = cpmt + Whfg
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

The value for this case will be negative since the enthalpy of point 0 is higher than that of E. This only
shows that the heat is rejected by the moist air. The value will be the same with the equation
( ) ( )

Knowing the heat transfer rate using the sensible and latent heat a factor known as Sensible heat
factor can be defined. SHF tells the amount of sensible heat that is being removed or added by the
equipment with respect to the total energy of the equipment.

This means that if the equipment is rated to have 0.8 SHF, 80% of the energy of the equipment is used to
lower the temperature of the surrounding while only 20% is for the reduction of moisture in the air
Upon rearranging the equation:

( )
( )

( )
( )

Upon viewing the path of line of 0 to E, there is an angle formed and can be termed as θ. This can
be represented by the equation:

Combining the above equations, this will yield to the equation:

( )

The idea above shows that the knowing the initial point and the SHF, one can plot the path the
process will take. One can see that ideally, the temperature of the output air should be the same with the
temperature of the cooling coil surface. The cooling coil surface temperature is also known as the
apparatus dew point (ADP) temperature. However, in actual cases, the output temperature will always be
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

higher than that of the ADP, this states that the efficiency of the coil is not one hundred percent.
Therefore, the efficiency of the coil can be calculated using the equation:

BPF is known as the by-pass factor, which is the difference between the outlet air to the cooling
coil temperature to the inlet air to the cooling coil temperature. This can also be defined by the contact
factor (CF).
CF = 1 – BPF

d. Cooling and humidification

In this process, instead of a cooling coil, a cold water sprayer is used to cool and humidify the
incoming air. For this to occur, the temperature ofFigure 2.3
the incoming water should be lower than the initial air
condition but higher than the dew point temperature to avoid condensation.

The amount of heat transfer depends on the water temperature. If the water temperature is higher
than the wet bulb temperature of the moist air, the net heat transfer is from water to air, thus the latent
heat is greater than the sensible heat. If the wet bulb temperature is higher than the water temperature, the
sensible heat is greater thus the net heat transfer is air to water. If the case is the wet bulb temperature is
the same with the water temperature, the sensible heat and latent heat is the same. This concept is
typically used for evaporative coolers, cooling towers to name a few.

The equations that will be used will be the same with that of the cooling and dehumidification
process.

Example:

2.3. How much heat and moisture must be removed to cool 28 m3 per minute of air from 350C dry bulb
and 260C wet bulb temperatures to 210C and 50% relative humidity?
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

2.4. Air at 330C dry bulb and 190C wet bulb temperatures is cooled and humidified by passing it through
an air washer in which the water is continuously recirculated. The air leaves the air washer at 230C dry
bulb temperature. Determine the moisture added per kilogram of dry air. What is the efficiency of the
washer?

e. Heating and dehumidification

Air can be dehumidified by passing it over the chemicals or hygroscopic materials. Hygroscopic
materials are the material that absorbs or adsorbs the water vapor from the moisture. By doing this
process, the latent heat is reduced thus the temperature of the air increases. The absorption of water is an
exothermic reaction, wherein the heat is transferred to the air and the enthalpy of the air increases.
This process is common for driers.

Figure 2.4

f. Heating and humidification

For this process to occur, the air will come in contact to the heating coil and will be humidified by
spraying steam through nozzles. The process analysis will be the same with the previous processes.

Figure 2.5
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Psychrometric Processes

Example:

2.5. How much heat and moisture must be added to 28 m3/minute of air at 240C and 40% relative
humidity to raise it to 380C dry bulb and 270C wet bulb temperatures?

2.6. Air at 240C dry bulb and 150C wet bulb temperatures enters a dehumidifier and leaves at 410C dry
bulb and 190C wet bulb temperatures. How much moisture has been removed per kilogram of dry air?

II. Application of Processes

Understanding the basic processes of air conditioning is not only useful to design of air
conditioning units but with other equipment as well. Cooling and humidification is the basic concept
behind cooling towers while heating and dehumidification for dryers.

a. Cooling Towers
Cooling tower is a device commonly used to provide cooled water for condensers in power and
refrigerating plants. The concept is similar to an air washer although the output that is being considered is
the condition of the water. Figure 2.6 shows a simplified diagram of a cooling tower.

Figure 2.6
(https://www.power-eng.com/articles/print/volume-114/issue-7/Features/cooling-
tower-heat-transfer-101.html

Using the mass balance and energy balance equations, the properties of air and water can be
calculated.

By balancing the mass of water inside the cooling tower:

Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

( )
By energy balance:

( )

Wherein m3 = amount of water entering the cooling tower

m4 = amount of water leaving the cooling tower
ma = mass of dry air
h1 = enthalpy of air entering the cooling tower
h2 = enthalpy of air leaving the cooling tower
h3 = enthalpy of water entering the cooling tower
h4 = enthalpy of water leaving the cooling tower

A cooling tower is said to be completely effective if the temperature of the water leaving the
cooling tower is equal to that of the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the cooling tower. Knowing
that, the effectiveness of a cooling tower is given by the equation:

Additional parameters are the range and approach. Range refers to the difference in temperature
of the water entering and leaving the cooling tower while approach is the temperature difference of the
water leaving the cooling tower and the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the cooling tower.

Example:

2.7. In a cooling tower 28.34 m3/min of air at 320C db and 240C wet bulb enter the tower and leave
saturated at 290C.
a. To what temperature can the air stream cool a spray of water which enters at 380C, with a flow of 34
kg/min of water?
b. How many kilogram per hour of make – up water is needed to compensate for the water that is
evaporated?

2.8. Water enters a cooling tower at 520C and leaves at 380C. Air enters at 290C and 50% relative
humidity and leaves in a saturated condition at 400C. Determine a) the mass and volume of air needed per
kg of water entering, and b) the quantity of water that can be cooled by 1 m3/second of air.

2.9. Fifty gallons per minute of water enters a cooling tower at 460C. Atmospheric air at 160C and 55%
RH enters the tower at 2.85 m3/sec and leaves at 320C saturated. Determine a) the volume of water that
leaves the tower, and b) the exit temperature of the water.
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

2.10. Water at 550C is cooled in a cooling tower which has an efficiency of 65%. The temperature of the
surrounding air is 320C dry bulb and 70% relative humidity. The heat dissipated from the condenser is
2,300,000 kJ/h. Find the capacity in liters per second of the pump used in the cooling tower.
2.11. An atmospheric cooling tower is to provide cooling for the jacket water of a four stroke, 800 kW
Diesel generator. The cooling tower efficiency is 60% at a temperature approach of 100C. If ambient air
has a relative humidity of 70% and dry bulb temperatures of 320C, determine the cooling water supplied
to the diesel engine in liters per hour. Generator efficiency is 97%.

b. Driers
Drying process can be accomplished with the use of hot, dehumidified air or hygroscopic
materials. Hygroscopic materials are substances that have particular variable moisture content at different
times. Some of these materials are wood, leather, paper, tobacco, cloth to name a few.

Hygroscopic materials have three properties that need to be addressed. First is the bone dry
weight which is the final constant weight reached by the material after drying; regain is the moisture
content of the material expressed as a percentage of the bone dry weight of the material; and moisture
content is the amount of moisture contained by the material expressed as a percentage of the gross weight
of the material. The properties can be calculated using the following equation:

The regain of the common hygroscopic materials can be referred to table 2.1.

Regain of Hygroscopic Materials

Relative humidity of air
Material Description 40 50 60 70 80
Bread White 4.5 6.20 8.8 11.1 14.5
Flour 6.5 8 9.9 12.4 15.4
Leather Oak – tanned 13.6 16 18.3 20.6 24
Paper Newsprint, wood pulp 4.7 5.3 6.1 7.2 8.7
Paper White bond, rag 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.8 10.8
Rubber Solid tire 0.44 0.54 0.66 0.76 0.88
Tobacco Cigarette 13.30 16 19.5 25 33.5
Wood Timber (average) 7.6 9.3 11.3 14 17.5
Activated charcoal Steam activated 26.20 28.30 29.2 30 31.1
Domestic coke 0.81 1.03 1.24 1.46 1.67
Silica gel 15.20 17.20 18.8 20.2 21.5
Cotton Absorbent 15.7 18.5 20.8 22.8 24.3
Cotton Cloth 5.2 5.9 6.8 8.1 10
Cotton Raw fibers 5.5 6.6 7.9 9.5 11.5
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Psychrometric Processes

Hemp Manila and sisal rope 7.2 8.5 9.9 11.6 13.6
Linen Table cloth 4.3 5.1 6.1 7 8.4
Rayon Fiber 1.9 2.4 3 3.6 4.3
Silk Skein 8 8.9 10.2 11.9 14.3
Wool Skein 10.80 12.8 14.9 17.2 19.9

Example:

2.12. A 10-kg sample from a batch of material under test is found to have a bone dry weight of 8.5 kg.
This material is processed and is then found to have a regain of 20%. How much weight of product
appears for each kilogram of original material?

2.13. Raw cotton has been stored in a warehouse at 290C and 50% relative humidity. a) The cotton goes
through a mill and passes through the weaving room kept at 310C and 70% relative humidity. What is the
moisture in 200 kg of cotton? b) For 200 kg of cotton from the warehouse, how many kilograms should
appear in the woven cloth, neglecting lintage and thread losses?

2.14. Eight hundred kilogram of dry air is saturated at 460C, then heated to 1060C, passed through an
adiabatic dryer and discharged at 610C. Determine the following:
a. total kilogram of water in air before heating per hour
b. final kilogram of water in air when discharged per hour
c. water evaporated from material in the dryer per hour
d. relative humidity of air leaving the dryer
e. dew point of air leaving the dryer
f. percentage of saturation of air leaving the dryer
g. number of cubic meter per second before dryer

2.15. A drier is to be designed to reduce the moisture content of copra from 52% to 6%. Atmospheric air
at 310C dry bulb and 240C wet bulb temperatures, is heated by steam coils to 880C before entering the
drier. Steam enters the reheater at a pressure of 133.9 kPa and 95% quality. The air leaves the drier at
400C with a relative humidity of 80%. Copra enters the drier at the rate of 1.30 kg/s. Determine the mass
flow rate of air and steam.

2.16. The temperature of the air in a dryer is maintained constant by the use of steam coils within the
dryer. The product enters the dryer at the rate of one metric ton per hour. The initial moisture content is 3
kg moisture per kg of dry solid and will be dried to a moisture content of 0.10 kg of moisture per kg of
dry solid. Air enters the dryer with a humidity ratio of 0.016 kg moisture per kg of dry air and leaves with
a relative humidity of 100% while the temperature remains constant at 600C. If the total pressure of the air
is 101.3 kPa, determine:
a. total required amount of air in kilogram per hour under entrance conditions
b. capacity of the forced draft fan to handle this air in cubic meters per minute.
Chapter 2
Psychrometric Processes

Exercises:
Provide complete solution for the following problems. That includes, diagram and psychrometric chart
analysis.

2.17. A mechanical draft cooling tower receives 115 m3/s of atmospheric air at 101.325 kPa, 320C dry
bulb temperature, 55% relative humidity and discharges the air saturated at 36 0C. If the tower receives
200 kg/s of water at 400C, what will be the exit temperature of the cooled water?

2.18. In a cooling tower, water enters at 520C and leaves at 270C. Air at 290C and 47% RH also enters the
cooling tower and leaves at 460 fully saturated with moisture. It is desired to determine a) the volume and
mass of air necessary to cool one kilogram of water, and b) the quantity of water that can be cooled with
142 cubic meter per minute of atmospheric air.

2.19. A cooling tower receives 6 kg/s of water of 600C. Air enters the tower at 320C dry bulb and 270C
wet bulb temperature and leaves at 500C and 90% relative humidity. The cooling efficiency is 60.6%.
Determine a) the mass flow rate of air entering, and b) the quantity of make – up water required.

2.20. Tobacco in warehouse held at 300C and 40% relative humidity, is placed in a room at 320 and 70%
relative humidity preparatory to being worked on. For each 50 kg of tobacco moved from the warehouse,
what is the bone dry weight? What is the actual weight of this quantity of tobacco staying in the working
room?

2.21. Air enters an adiabatic drier at 6 m/s through a 2-m diameter duct at 290C dry bulb and 220C wet
bulb temperatures. It is heated to 800C before reaching the material to be dried and leaves the drier at
440C and 80% relative humidity. The material enters the drier with a moisture content of 24% and leaves
with a moisture content of 8%. Determine a) the mass of water removed per kg of dry air, b) the volume
flow rate of air entering the reheater, c) the kilogram of water evaporated per second, d) the mass flow
rate of material leaving the drier, and e) the heat requirement of drier per kilogram of water evaporated.

2.22. A drier is to be designed to reduce the water content of a certain material from 55% to 10%. Air at
290C dry bulb temperature and with a humidity ratio of 0.005 kgv/kga is heated to 500C in a reheater
before entering the drier. The air leaves the drier at 380C with 70% relative humidity. On the basis of
1000 kg of product per hour, calculate a) the volume flow rate of air entering the reheater, and b) the heat
supplied in the reheater.

2.23. A dryer is to deliver 1000 kg/h of palay with final moisture content of 10%. The initial moisture
content in the feed is 15% at atmospheric condition with 320C dry bulb and 210C wet bulb. The dryer is
maintained at 450C while the relative humidity of the hot humid air from the dryer is 80%. If the steam
pressure supplied to the heater is 2 MPa, determine the following:
a. palay supplied to the drier in kilogram per hour
b. temperature of the hot humid air from the drier
c. volume flow rate of air supplied to the drier in cubic meters per hour
d. heat supplied by the heater in kW
e. steam supplied to the heater in kg/h