Adiabatic FAQs: An Explanation of Adiabatic Processes

Adiabatic humidification is an energy-efficient way to increase the humidity in industrial buildings, with added health and cooling benefits. Determining if adiabatic humidification is right for your business relies on your understanding of the adiabatic process in general.

To help you decide, we’ve compiled a few frequently asked questions about the adiabatic process, including how it differs from isothermic processes and how industrial systems use the process to humidify and cool air.

 

What Is an Adiabatic Process?

In simple terms, the adiabatic process is a type of thermodynamic process — which includes the movement of heat between locations or forms — where no heat is transferred to the system’s surroundings. The temperature of the system can vary because of internal energy changes, but no heat leaves the system.

So, what causes a thermodynamic state change if it’s not the heat or temperature? According to thermodynamics, there is a relationship between heat, temperature, energy and work. If the heat is constant and the temperature changes, the energy change is caused by the work done. With gas, the work is the expansion or contraction of the gas without adding or removing heat.

In adiabatic processes, transformations are fast so that heat is not transferred outside the system.

 

Example of an Adiabatic Process

A common occurrence of an adiabatic process is pumping air into a bicycle tire. By adding air to the tire, the air inside the tire compresses. This is a form of work, which will change the internal energy within the tire, causing an increase in temperature. No heat is added or taken out of the tire to cause this change in temperature, making it an adiabatic process.

 

Is an Adiabatic Process Isothermal?

An adiabatic process is not isothermal. To understand this, you must first know what an isothermal process is.

An isothermic process is another type of thermodynamic process that occurs when the temperature of a system is constant. To ensure the temperature doesn’t change, heat must be added to or subtracted from the system. This is where an isothermal process differs from an adiabatic one — for an adiabatic process to occur, the total heat of the system must remain constant.

You may be wondering how heat differs from temperature. While they’re interconnected, they’re not the same. Heat is the transfer of thermal energy — the total kinetic energy or movement of molecules — in a substance. The transfer of this energy causes changes in temperature, which is how hot or cold something is.

In an isothermal process, the work done to cause an energy change is from the heat. Think of boiling water on a stove — you need to keep adding heat to reach the boiling point, where water evaporates into steam. Once you stop adding heat, the boiling point temperature can’t be maintained, and the water stops evaporating.

 

How Does Adiabatic Cooling Work?

adiabatic cooling systems reduce the temperature of air by adding tiny water droplets, otherwise known as atomized water

Adiabatic cooling systems reduce the temperature of air by adding tiny water droplets, otherwise known as atomized water. These droplets of water in the air require a lot of energy to transform into a gaseous state, which it draws from the air in the form of heat. The result is that the surrounding air loses energy and decreases in temperature.

The process of adding water to the air without adding external heat is called adiabatic humification. While their primary focus is to increase humidity, adiabatic humidification systems also reduce the air temperature in buildings because of the adiabatic cooling effect.

 

What Is Isothermal Humidification?

Before we explore adiabatic humidification, it can help to understand how isothermal humidification works. Industrial isothermal humidification systems use heat to create water vapor — like the boiling stove example — which raises the humidity. This is an isothermic process because heat is added externally, and the temperature needs to remain constant for the evaporation to occur.

Here are a few types of isothermal humidifiers:

  • A gas-fired humidifier uses gas to heat the water instead of electricity.
  • A direct steam humidifier takes steam directly from a boiler and injects it into the air.
  • A steam-to-steam humidifier is similar to a direct steam humidifier but with the addition of a heat exchanger that intercepts the steam from the boiler. This process treats the steam to remove any chemicals from the boiler.
  • An infrared humidifier uses high-intensity quartz infrared lamps that use heat energy to evaporate water.

Isothermal humification systems typically require a large amount of energy to work and need a lot of maintenance. As a result, they’re not the best method for humidification.

 

What Is Adiabatic Humidification?

Adiabatic humidification refers to the process of atomizing water to create fog — air filled with tiny water droplets — without adding heat from an external source. Adiabatic humification uses the heat within the air to evaporate the water droplets, which has a cooling effect on the air. The humidity increases as the water evaporates.

Various humidifier types atomize water to create fog, including:

  • High-pressure humidifiers use a volumetric pump that pushes water through nozzles, breaking it into smaller droplets that disperse through the air. This process generally doesn’t produce non-wetting fog, resulting in wet surfaces.
  • Ultrasonic humidifiers consist of a water tank with transducers at the bottom. The transducers vibrate at high speeds, generating sound waves that cause water droplets to form. Ultrasonic humidifiers require a lot of maintenance and upkeep.
  • Compressed-air humidifiers use compressed air to force water through a small nozzle to create incredibly fine water droplets.

 

Benefits of Adiabatic Humidification

The main benefit of adiabatic humidification is its energy efficiency. Especially when compared to isothermal humidification, which uses large amounts of heat, adiabatic humidification uses significantly less energy. This aspect reduces operational costs and makes them more environmentally friendly.

Adiabatic humidification also reduces the need for cooling systems, as the evaporation of the atomized water in the air has a cooling effect. Companies that use adiabatic humidifiers see much cooler temperatures than the air outside.

 

Choose Smart Fog® for Innovative Commercial Humidification

Smart Fog® is a leading manufacturer of dry fog commercial humidification systems. Our systems use one-of-a-kind technology to create the smallest water droplet sizes in the industry at 4.2 microns. These droplets evaporate at lightning-fast speeds before they reach surfaces, allowing for precise adiabatic humidity control for industrial processes, the added benefit of air cooling, and a reduction of dust, bacteria, viruses and mold.

Our Smart Fog® systems are easy to install and come with comprehensive warranty plans. They require low maintenance and are designed to last 20 years with daily usage. With our industrial humidifiers, your business will save money on energy, water and maintenance.

We’d love to start working with you to find the perfect solution for your business. To contact us, call us at 888-961-9709 or request a free quote through our online contact form.

 

choose smart fog for innovative commercial humidification

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