Comparative analysis of a new desiccant dehumidifier design with a traditional rotary desiccant wheel for air conditioning purpose

Abstract

Rotary desiccant dehumidifiers for air conditioning purposes are considered one of the most promising air conditioners for regions that suffer from high humidity and temperatures. The heat generated by the adsorption effect represents the most important problem facing the rotary desiccant dehumidifier. So, the present study aims to suggest an innovative design of a desiccant dehumidifier that has a higher dehumidification capacity, in addition, to cooling the process air with cooling rates higher than the heat generated by the adsorption effect. To evaluate the performance of the proposed desiccant dehumidifier, a comparative experimental study was conducted for both the novelty innovative configuration of the desiccant dehumidifier (NICDD) and traditional rotary desiccant dehumidifier (TRDD) under the same weather conditions. The experimental results presented that the utilization of NICDD represents a good choice that can reduce the temperatures of the process air that leaves the desiccant dehumidifier by rates varying between 17.8 and 23.8 °C as compared to TRDD. Also, the use of NICDD causes improved average dehumidification capacity from 5.57 to 9.82 gw/kgda, with an improvement of 70.2%. Moreover; the use of NICDD causes improved the dehumidification coefficient of performance from 0.268 to 1.012, with an improvement of 277.6% compared to TRDD.