Frozen Food’s Enemy is Excessive Humidity. Here’s How Desiccant Dehumidifiers Come to the Rescue.

May 8, 2023
Shahid Idrees

The food industry has long struggled with ice and condensation build-up in low temperature freezers, which can lead to a multitude of issues, including compromised food quality and safety. At the heart of this problem is excessive humidity, which can be effectively managed with engineered climate control solutions. One such solution is the use of a right-sized desiccant dehumidification system that can manage airflows.

These systems work by using a pre-cool air handling unit (AHU) and a post-cool coil to regulate the temperature and humidity of the air within the freezer. With a blend of outside air and air from within the freezer, the system is able to maintain optimal conditions for food storage.

For a deeper dive into the world of dehumidification systems and their role in the food industry, Mart Wicker, the Product Manager of Food at Polygon, reviews how he and the Polygon team solved excessive humidity, condensation and ice build up issues at an Oklahoma poultry facility.

Mart’s Thoughts

“Hello, I’m Mark Wicker with Polygon. I’m product manager over food. Here behind me, I’m in Oklahoma at a poultry facility that was experiencing some ice and condensation build up in their low temp freezer. So what we did, we were able to do a pre and post cool desiccant dehumidification system at 9,000 CFM. We’ll take a look and further review the equipment.

Here we have a hundred ton chiller. This chiller is feeding our pre-cool AHU and our post-cool coil. Here you’ll see we’re taking 50% air out of the space and blending it with 50% of outside air here. And this is a 120 AHU that is feeding the HC9000 CFM dessicant dehumidifier. This dehumidifier is actually conditioned air down to 5% RH and at two grains. We’re post cooling it back down to conditions to deliver back into the space to help keep from ice building and condensation forming in the freezer.”

Article written by Adrienne St. Clair.

Recent Episodes

fast food value meals
View episode

This summer, fast food chains are responding with a competitive push towards value meals in an effort to combat the rising cost of living and inflation, which has hit wallets worldwide. And $5 dollar value meals seem to be the magic answer. As families seek ways to stretch their budgets further, the fast food…

FBD products
View episode

FBD products are making a difference in quick service restaurants. Amidst escalating costs and demands for customization in the food service industry, the popularity of frozen beverages continues to rise across all demographic groups. To meet these challenges, FBD offers innovative, practical solutions. Our advanced bag-in-box machines simplify preparation and reduce labor costs, assisting…

Regenerative agriculture
View episode

As the global conversation around sustainable food systems intensifies, regenerative agriculture has emerged as a transformative approach to farming that prioritizes ecosystem health, soil vitality, and nutritional quality. This episode of Retail Refined explores why regenerative agriculture is capturing the attention of consumers, policymakers, and investors alike. With nearly 90 regenerative farms funded and…