Energy-Saving Benefits of Adiabatic Humidification in the Air Conditioning Systems of Semiconductor Cleanrooms

Min-Suk Jo,Won-Jun Kim,Jae-Weon Jeong,Jang-Hoon Shin

doi:10.3390/en10111774

Abstract

This paper aimed to evaluate the applicability of adiabatic humidification in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of semiconductor cleanrooms. Accurate temperature and humidity control are essential in semiconductor cleanrooms and high energy consumption steam humidification is commonly used. Therefore, we propose an adiabatic humidification system employing a pressurized water atomizer to reduce the energy consumption. The annual energy consumption of three different HVAC systems were analyzed to evaluate the applicability of adiabatic humidification. The studied cases were as follows: (1) CASE 1: a make-up air unit (MAU) with a steam humidifier, a dry cooling coil (DCC), and a fan filter unit (FFU); (2) CASE 2: a MAU with the pressurized water atomizer, a DCC, and a FFU; and (3) CASE 3: a MAU, a DCC, and a FFU, and the pressurized water atomizer installed in the return duct. The energy saving potential of adiabatic humidification over steam humidification has been proved, with savings of 8% and 23% in CASE 2 and CASE 3 compared to CASE 1, respectively. Furthermore, the pressurized water atomizer installed in the return duct exhibits greater energy saving effect than when installed in the MAU.

Highlights

Cleanrooms are special spaces that maintain the controlled environments required for the manufacture of certain products [1]
In large-scale industrial cleanrooms that have high energy demands, such as semiconductor fabrication plants, a large amount of outdoor air is introduced into the cleanroom to maintain cleanliness and a positive pressure [5]
The air is in direct contact with water, which is not heated

Summary

Introduction

Cleanrooms are special spaces that maintain the controlled environments required for the manufacture of certain products [1]. ISO standards for cleanliness are applied depending, on the size of the particles that affect the products [2]. Cleanrooms require precise control of environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and pressure, depending on the production requirements of the particular products [3,4]. In large-scale industrial cleanrooms that have high energy demands, such as semiconductor fabrication plants, a large amount of outdoor air is introduced into the cleanroom to maintain cleanliness and a positive pressure [5]. Generally, the energy consumed in the facility systems (e.g., air conditioning system, nitrogen plant, lighting and water treatment components) is approximately 60% of the total energy consumption in semiconductor cleanrooms and the rest is used by the tools for making semiconductor products [6]

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