The entire structure of the MISTRAL humidifier, built by Varese-based company Elsteam SRL, was created with technical support and self-extinguishing compounds from LATI.
The control of ambient temperature and humidity are crucially important considerations, not just when it comes to the environments in which we live and work, but also in all settings where industrial activities and processes influenced by these factors are carried out.
This is something that is well appreciated by Varese-based company Elsteam SRL (ELSTEAM – Humidifiers), a member of the Belluno group EVCO SPA, which for over forty years has designed and manufactured isothermal and adiabatic humidification equipment for all kinds of industrial, residential and public applications.
Why do we humidify? In the first place, to safeguard people’s health: a relative humidity of 40–60% minimises the risk of allergies, irritation and proliferation of bacteria, mildew and other biological contaminants.
Also, many environments need to have the right air humidity in order to allow sensitive processes to be safely carried out in them. This applies to food production and storage, the wood and paper industry, the textile industry and plastic processing, farms, greenhouses and particular environments such as museums and cellars: Elsteam offers a humidification system for each of these.
In particular, Elsteam’s Mistral humidifiers delivers the perfect solution for indoor domestic environments and to ensure living comfort, as well as for the food preservation sector.
Mistral appliances, with their hourly output of 1 kg of nebulised water, are suitable for solving humidification problems during seasoning processes, in cellars, and in cold storage rooms; they are also ideal equipment for bakeries, cake shops and fresh food counters.
It is worth noting that in Mistral appliances the water evaporation occurs as an effect of ultrasound waves and not through boiling, and this has benefits in terms of energy saving and ease of management.
Elsteam uses LATI self-extinguishing compounds to build the entire structure of its MISTRAL humidifier, including the water storage and nebulisation tank and the housing of the control electronics, elements potentially exposed to the risk of fire in the event of disconnection of an electrical conductor inside the appliance.
In order to select the correct material, it was necessary first to evaluate the chemical resistance of the base polymer, its dimensional stability, its flame resistance and glow wire resistance, as well as its surface resistance to bacterial proliferation. Mechanical performance, necessary for the structure of the device and indispensable even in the presence of water, is another fundamental aspect considered.
The material chosen for Elsteam is LATENE AG7 H2 G/30-V0HF, a polypropylene reinforced with 30% glass fibre and rendered self-extinguishing without the use of halogenated additives.
Given the complex geometry of the parts, LATI had the feasibility of the project checked by its FEM simulation and calculation service. This made it possible to anticipate deformation and injection mould filling problems.