Humidity control, dehumidification and process steam

Laboratory test results, the behaviour of hygroscopic materials and the operation of certain measuring instruments depend on the relative humidity in the room. Sudden variations can affect the repeatability of samples and introduce errors that are hard to identify later. The target value and the permitted tolerance are established together with the client, according to the working standard, the type of sample and the requirements of the instruments in use.

Very dry air encourages the build-up of static electricity, which can affect sensitive electronic components, precision instruments and certain sample handling processes. Keeping humidity within the range set for each application reduces this risk and complements the earthing and ESD protection measures already in place in the space.

In cleanrooms, the cleanliness class sets the maximum permitted concentration of airborne particles. Maintaining it depends on the design and operation of the ventilation, filtration and air handling systems.
Humidification and dehumidification equipment must be integrated so as to preserve the conditions set for filtration, pressure and air circulation, and to limit the risk of condensation forming or water accumulating in the installation.

Differential pressures and air flow rates are set by the HVAC design in order to control the direction of air flow and contamination between zones.
The choice and placement of humidification and dehumidification systems must be matched to these values, so that the installation preserves the operating regime specified for each room.

In spaces with high contamination control requirements, the configuration of the humidification system and the management of the water must be analysed together with the requirements of the installation. For such applications, systems with dedicated hygiene solutions can be used. For example, Condair-Systems BioSafe uses a closed water circuit and automatic drainage of the waste water.

Some cleanrooms and testing laboratories operate at very low target humidity levels, hard to reach with standard dehumidification equipment. The choice between condensation dehumidification and desiccant dehumidification depends on the working temperature, the target humidity and the moisture load in the space.

Some processes carried out in laboratories and cleanrooms use steam for heat treatment, cleaning, sterilisation or other technological applications.
Before choosing the generator, it must be established whether the process uses process steam, clean steam or pure steam. The source is sized according to the required steam quality, the flow, the pressure and the operating regime of the application served.

Cleanrooms often operate with continuous monitoring of the environmental parameters. For equipment that supports communication over standard protocols, the operating values and alarm signals can be transmitted to the BMS or SCADA system.
TEXCO configures the available interface of the equipment and supplies the necessary technical information, while the integration, the data logging and the configuration of alerts are carried out together with the automation specialist.