Patent ID: 6966364

Claim:
A system for controlling the temperature and humidity of gas, comprising: a contactor, including contact media, a gas inlet and a gas outlet, a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, wherein the liquid inlet admits a liquid above the contact media and the gas inlet admits gas below the contact media, and the liquid and gas flow external to the contact media such that the gas leaves through the gas outlet in saturated state; a heater; a chiller for chilling the liquid; a gas outlet line connecting the gas outlet to the heater; a liquid outlet line connecting the liquid outlet to the chiller, wherein the liquid flows through the liquid inlet, the contactor, the liquid outlet and the chiller; a saturated temperature sensor associated with the gas outlet line and upstream of the heater; a dry bulb temperature sensor associated with the gas outlet line and downstream of the heater; a gas temperature set point; a relative humidity set point; a controller, including a computer, coupled to the saturated temperature sensor, the dry bulb temperature sensor, the gas temperature set point, the relative humidity set point, and the computer, wherein the saturated temperature sensor, the relative humidity set point, and the gas temperature set point are inputs to the computer to produce a command signal adjusting the cooling rate of the chiller, wherein the dry bulb temperature sensor and the gas temperature set point are inputs to the computer to produce a command signal adjusting the heating rate of the heater, wherein the controller adjusts the heater and the chiller to deliver the gas from the heater at a desired temperature and relative humidity; and a sprinkler above the contact media and within one inch of the contact media to distribute the liquid uniformly on the contact media; a gas outlet at least four inches above the sprinkler; a duct coupled to the gas outlet having a heater and a blower, the duct coupled to a diffuser box, the diffuser box having a sloped wall and coupled to a filter such that gas exiting from the diffuser box through the filter is uniformly distributed.