Characteristics and enhancement of a disk type humidifier with hydrophilic rough surface

The performance of portable disk humidifiers relies on water vaporized into dry air. Among various kinds of humidifiers, a disk humidifier comprises of disks as a water vaporizing means. An experimental study was conducted to improve humidifier performance using three kinds of polymer disks: polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and compounded PP. The hydrophilicities of PP, ABS, and compounded PP were 86°, 90°, and 55°, respectively. Wetested the humidification rates of humidifiers with disks roughened by 24, 30, and 40 μm (9.45 × 10^-4, 1.18 × 10^-3, and 1.57 × 10^-3 in.) of fine sand using a sandblasting process for three kinds of disks. The compounded PP humidifier vaporized about 1.3-1.4 times more moisture than the other types. The 24 μm (9.45 × 10^-4 in.) sand treated disk humidifier showed the best results, humidifying 1.57-1.7 times more than the original disk humidifier. These results suggest that humidifier performance could be enhanced with the use of hydrophilic rough disks without requiring any additional electrical energy.