A Full-Solid-State Humidity Pump for Localized Humidity Control

Abstract

Summary Humidity management is essential and widely needed in various fields. Traditional moisture removal technologies are mostly based on cooling condensation or desiccant dehumidification. These methods come with inherent defects of energy efficiency and are bulky and complex for small-space humidity-control applications. Here, we demonstrate a full-solid-state humidity pump using the advantages of commercial thermoelectric coolers and silica gel materials. Silica gel is coated on the surface of heat sinks to minimize contact thermal resistance between the material and heat source while maintaining enough heat and mass transfer area between the desiccant and the air. The humidity pump device exhibits 0.61 g W−1 h−1 humidity transfer efficiency, corresponding to a humidity transfer rate of 28.38 g h−1. The proposed device neither uses refrigerant nor introduces liquid water. It opens up the possibility of use in localized humidity control applications with higher efficiency and a wider ambient temperature range than traditional technologies.