What Are The Advantages of Using Desiccant Wheel Dehumidifiers in Shipyards?

What Are The Advantages of Using Desiccant Wheel Dehumidifiers in Shipyards?

Highly adaptable to low-humidity environments, overcoming limitations of traditional dehumidification

Shipyards frequently encounter “low-temperature, high-humidity” scenarios (e.g., winter workshops, enclosed ship compartments with temperatures between 5-15°C and humidity exceeding 85% RH). Traditional air conditioning dehumidification or air-cooled dehumidifiers experience a sharp drop in dehumidification efficiency—or even fail to operate—when temperatures fall below 10°C due to evaporator frosting.

Rotary desiccant dehumidifiers utilize the physical dehumidification principle of “moisture-absorbing wheel (silica gel/molecular sieve material) + regenerative heating.” This method operates independently of temperature differentials, enabling stable humidity reduction below 30% RH even in low-temperature, high-humidity environments approaching dew point. This precisely meets the stringent humidity requirements for critical shipbuilding processes such as: electrical equipment installation (requiring 30%-50% RH), and welding pre-treatment (requiring 40%-60% RH). This prevents work stoppages caused by non-compliant humidity levels.

Withstands harsh production environments with dust and vibration

Shipyard workshops (e.g., pre-treatment sandblasting areas, welding shops) contain air laden with metal dust and welding fumes, while equipment vibration occurs during production. Traditional dehumidifiers (e.g., compressor-based units) are prone to evaporator clogging from dust and vibration damage to precision components (e.g., compressors, capillary tubes), resulting in high failure rates.

Advantages of desiccant wheel dehumidifiers:

Simple, durable construction: Core components consist solely of a “desiccant wheel + fan,” eliminating vulnerable compressors and refrigerant lines for low mechanical failure rates.

Dust filtration compatibility: Primary/medium-efficiency filters can be installed at the air intake to intercept metal dust and welding slag particles, preventing rotor clogging. The rotor's solid porous structure allows dust to adhere only to its surface, requiring periodic cleaning without internal penetration. This ensures long-term operational stability far surpassing conventional equipment.

Flexible deployment for complex shipyard environments

Shipbuilding/repair involves “large-span workshops + confined compartments” (e.g., engine rooms, ballast tanks, living quarters) with complex spatial configurations: high workshop ceilings, winding compartment passages, and areas lacking fixed mounting points—making traditional large dehumidifiers difficult to access or install.

Rotary desiccant dehumidifiers offer two deployment options:

Mobile units feature compact designs (typically vertical or horizontal, available as cart-mounted with swivel casters) that can be directly wheeled into confined compartments, delivering targeted dehumidification via flexible ducting.

Modular units can be disassembled (e.g., separate installation of desiccant wheel, fan, and regeneration heater), allowing entry through hatches or narrow passages for on-site assembly. This eliminates the need for major modifications to existing shipyard spaces, offering far greater adaptability than fixed-installation dehumidification systems.

Stable Operation and Low Maintenance Costs

Shipyard production typically operates 24/7, requiring dehumidification equipment to function reliably over extended periods while controlling operational costs. Rotary desiccant dehumidifiers offer significant advantages in this regard:

No consumable replacement costs: The desiccant wheel requires no periodic replacement. It can be reused after “high-temperature regeneration (moisture removal via 120-140°C hot air heating),” with a service life of 5-8 years. This eliminates the frequent consumable costs associated with replacing desiccants in traditional adsorption dehumidifiers.

Simple maintenance: Routine upkeep involves only cleaning the intake filter, inspecting the fan belt (if belt-driven), and periodically performing wheel regeneration. No specialized technicians are required; factory workers can operate the system after minimal training.

Controllable energy consumption: Regeneration heating can be adjusted based on humidity requirements (e.g., higher temperatures for low-humidity needs, lower temperatures for standard dehumidification), eliminating the high-energy fluctuations caused by compressor cycling. Long-term operation consumes 15%-30% less energy than traditional dehumidifiers.

Ensures construction quality and indirectly reduces corporate costs

Prevents quality issues at the source through precise humidity control, reducing rework costs and schedule delays:

Prevents coating failure: Moist environments cause steel coatings to bubble, rust, or develop pinholes, requiring re-sanding and recoating—a single rework costing tens of thousands. The dry environment maintained by desiccant dehumidifiers ensures uniform coating curing, extending ship anti-corrosion cycles by 3-5 years and lowering maintenance costs.

Reduce welding defects: High humidity causes “hydrogen-induced cracking” (where moisture decomposes into hydrogen at high temperatures and infiltrates welds), necessitating cutting and rewelding. This wastes steel and labor while potentially compromising hull structural integrity. Dehumidification reduces welding rework rates by over 60%.

Protects electrical equipment: Moisture exposure to precision systems like navigation and power distribution can cause short circuits and degraded insulation, resulting in extremely high repair costs (single-unit repairs may reach hundreds of thousands of yuan). The low-humidity environment maintained by desiccant dehumidifiers reduces electrical failure risks by over 80%, ensuring safe sea trials.