[labnetwork] Humidification System Design

[Weaver, John R]

John –
The issue here is not so much particles as airborne molecular contaminants (AMCs). If the work that you are doing is sensitive to these airborne materials, then this is definitely a bad idea. If your work is sensitive only to particles, you can probably get away with this approach.
At the BNC, we went to extremes in this regard. We use specialized clean-steam generators (heat exchangers with campus steam) and our full ultrapure water. This minimizes – virtually eliminates – AMCs from the humidification process. It is a relatively expensive approach, but we also operate at ISO 3 (Class 1) as we have several very sensitive areas of research.
I would think that using pure RO water would be a good compromise, but it really depends on what your process and device sensitivity is.
John


John R. Weaver
Strategic Facilities Officer
Birck Nanotechnology Center
1205 West State Street
West Lafayette IN 47907
(765) 494-5494
jrweaver at purdue.edu<mailto:jrweaver at purdue.edu>
nano.purdue.edu



From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu] On Behalf Of John Nicholson
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 5:22 PM
To: Labnetwork
Subject: [labnetwork] Humidification System Design

Hello all,
       We are currently in a design review process for a new class 1000 clean room on campus and the design architects have come up with a scheme that mixes RO steam with the existing building steam (containing softeners and whatever minerals the local city water has) to humidify the clean room. I am of the opinion this is a bad idea. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated as well as references to any design standards (ASHRAE?) you may know of for this type of humidification system.

Regards,
John
--
John Nicholson
Nanofabrication Laboratories Manager
MassNanoTech Nanofabrication Facility
Conte Center for Polymer Research, Rm. B111
University of Massachusetts Amherst
120 Governor's Drive
Amherst,MA 01003-9305
Phone: 413-545-2772
Fax: 413-577-0165
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