Desiccant Process-Airflow Sizing for Deep and Low-Temperature Drying
Process airflow a desiccant dehumidifier needs to carry a target water-removal rate.
Example
You enter
- Water-removal demand (pints/day) 300
- Design grain depression (grains/lb across the wheel) 60
- Candidate unit process airflow (cfm) 2000
You get
- Removal rate 13.04 lb/hr
- Required process airflow 338 cfm
- Desiccant units needed 1 unit(s)
Details, formula, and sources
Sizes a desiccant dehumidifier by the process airflow needed to carry a target water-removal rate across the wheel at the deep grain depression it can hold - the deep, low-temperature and specialty Class 4 drying path. The manufacturer's performance map governs the achievable depression; reactivation air must be ducted outside.
lb_per_hr = required_pints_per_day x 1.043 / 24; process_cfm = lb_per_hr x 7000 / (4.5 x design_grain_depression); units_needed = ceil(process_cfm / nameplate_process_cfm). 4.5 = 60 min/hr x 0.075 lb/ft^3 standard air; 7000 grains/lb; 1.043 lb/pint.
Psychrometric mass balance and the desiccant process-airflow method, by name; ANSI/IICRC S500. The 4.5 / 7000 / 1.043 constants are not edition-bound.
The same psychrometric mass balance the grains-removed tile uses, in reverse: process airflow carries the water-removal rate across the wheel at the design depression.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: required_pints_per_day, design_grain_depression, nameplate_process_cfm, lb_per_hr, process_cfm, units_needed
- Standard air 4.5 lb/hr per cfm per (grains/lb/7000) = 60 min/hr x 0.075 lb/ft^3 standard air densitypure-math.js convention
- Constants 7000 grains/lb, 1.043 lb/pint water densitypure-math.js convention
- Achievable depression the manufacturer's performance map governs the inlet->outlet grain depression; reactivation exhaust air must duct outsidemanufacturer performance map