Air humidifier, method for operating an air humidifier, and system having at least one air humidifier

An air humidifier comprising:

• an atomizing nozzle configured to discharge a liquid as a spray mist;
• a mixing chamber, the atomizing nozzle disposed in the mixing chamber, the mixing chamber being configured such that a gas conveyed along a main flow path through the mixing chamber is mixed with the spray mist and discharged at an outlet opening of the mixing chamber,
• the atomizing nozzle having a swirl imparter configured to impart a swirl to droplets of the spray mist in order to emit the spray mist as a straight circular spray cone opening along the main flow path with a cone angle,
• the mixing chamber having a separator configured to catch droplets of the circular spray cone that move from the atomizing nozzle along a hollow cone having a predetermined interior angle, to discharge liquid recovered by catching the droplets at a separation outlet of the separator, and to supply droplets that move inside the hollow cone to the outlet opening of the mixing chamber.

A method for operating an air humidifier having a mixing chamber, an atomizing nozzle disposed in the mixing chamber, the method comprising:

• conveying gas along a main flow path through the mixing chamber;
• discharging a liquid by the atomizing nozzle as a spray mist;
• and
• mixing the gas with the spray mist in the mixing chamber and discharging the gas mixed with the spray mist at an outlet opening of the mixing chamber;
• a swirl being imparted to droplets of the spray mist by a swirl device of the atomizing nozzle, and due to the swirl of the droplets, the spray mist is emitted by the atomizing nozzle as a straight circular spray cone opening along the main flow path with a cone angle, droplets of the circular spray cone that move from the atomizing nozzle along a hollow cone having a predetermined interior angle being caught by a separator of the mixing chamber, a liquid recovered by catching the droplets being discharged by the separator at a separation outlet of the separating device, and droplets that move inside the hollow cone being supplied by the separator to the outlet opening of the mixing chamber.