HEAT AND MOISTURE TRANSFER IN A DESICCANT AIRFLOW

UNIT FOR AIR-CONDITIONING APPLICATIONS

Wei-Lun 1,*
Hsu , Soumyadeep 1,2
Paul , Jubair A. 1
Shamim , Hirofumi Daiguji1
1Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221-005, India

INTRODUCTION
Vapor Compression Systems Rotary Desiccant Wheels
Background
Inefficient energy usage High pressure drop
Conventional vapor compression air-conditioning systems have some
Ozone depleting refrigerants Low dehumidification capacity
known energy efficiency and environmental issues. Desiccant-based air-
High temperature increase
conditioning systems have emerged as a promising technology.
High regeneration temperature
Nevertheless, current desiccant systems using rotary wheels have yet to be
optimized in terms of water adsorption efficiency and power consumption.
Objective
To construct a high performance desiccant dehumidification system using
distinct porous silicates, with the help from computational simulations in
guiding experimental design and validating experimental results.
Int. J. Low-Carbon Tech. 60 (2016) 1-17. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 12 (2008) 1485-1528.

METHODS
2) Modeling
1) Experimental
We used a non-spinning desiccant unit. Five desiccant layers (DL) Langmuir-Sips isotherm
carrying distinct porous silicates were inserted into the dehumidification
unit. Wet air was supplied into the unit for the dehumidification tests. b1 pv n
b2 pv
Variations of average humidity and temperature of the air at the outlet were Qeq qm ( )
1 b1 pv 1 b2 pv
n
monitored by thermocouples and humidity sensors, respectively.
Dehumidification unit Experimental setup Momentum balance
Front view

vv p v 2
v
K
Mass balance
dw silica dQ
v w Dair w
2
Side view Inlet plenum dt dt
Energy balance
dT hsilica Asilica silica
v T air T
2
(T Tsilica )
dt Cp, air

RESULTS
1) Pressure drop (p)
p < 5 Pa for 1 mm thick DL (v < 1 m/s).
p Increased remarkably when the DL
thickness > 3 mm.
Vortices occurred near the outlet when
the DL thickness > 2 mm.
0.2 mm
3) Temperature increase (T)
T (< 6 oC) was lower than conventional rotary wheel systems using
silica gel particles.
Different DL thickness Different inlet velocity
2 mm
T < 6 oC

Conclusions
Rotary
2) Dehumidification capacity (DC) Desiccant
Current
We have constructed a novel
Study
Wheels
DC winlet woutlet desiccant unit that achieves (i) a
Pressure
drop
> 50 Pa < 5 Pa lower pressure drop, (ii) a lower
Achieved higher DC than typical rotary temperature increase and (iii)
Dehumidifi- <7 up to 10-14
wheels in similar inlet conditions. cation g water/kg dry g water/kg dry higher dehumidification capacity
Experimental results were in close capacity air air than conventional desiccant
agreement with theoretical predictions Temperature rotary wheels.
increase
10 - 25 0C < 6 0C
in adsorption behavior. Int. J. Heat Mass Tran. 60 (2013) 51-60.

*Corresponding Author: wlhsu@thml.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp