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Travis Engineers utilizes desiccant dehumidification for the
majority of its water damage restoration projects. Desiccant dehumidification, in conjunction with sufficient air flow and
the proper techniques, can produce the highest level of restoration available in the industry. Our SATS SD2-5500 CFM dehumidification
system is capable of producing a relative humidity below 10% and dewpoints of below ten degrees Fahrenheit. The dewpoint
temperature is often used to describe the dryness of the air. It is the temperature at which condensation will occur in a
volume of air, or the saturation temperature. If a volume of air has a dewpoint of 40° F, the moisture in that air will condense
when the temperature of the air reaches 40° F and below. Dewpoint is directly related to the amount of moisture in the air
(often described as grains of moisture per pound of air) while relative humidity (RH) is dependent on the temperature. Relative
humidity is the ratio of the water vapor pressure to the vapor pressure of saturated air at the same temperature. For example,
air at 70° F, 50% RH is dryer than air at 85° F, 35% RH air.
Desiccant dehumidification reduces moisture levels in
air by passing the wet process air through a rotating silica gel impregnated rotor. Silica gel, a type of desiccant, is an
adsorbent. Adsorbents capture water vapor by “grabbing” the water molecules and “holding” them. They are not absorbed by
the desiccant and the desiccant does not physically change. Once the process air is passed through the desiccant it becomes
dry and is sent back to the water damaged region.
Through the course of adsorption, the desiccant becomes saturated
and is not be able to hold any more water vapor. In the case of the SD2 dehumidification system, the desiccant is reactivated
by passing warm air through the rotor. Reactivation occurs since warm air can hold more moisture than cool air. For every
twenty (20) degrees of temperature rise the air can hold twice the moisture. When the heated reactivation air passes through
the saturated desiccant, it “pulls” the moisture off of the desiccant and is vented to the atmosphere.
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