Experimental evaluation of metal–organic framework desiccant wheel combined with heat pump

Abstract

Reducing the consumption of high-grade energy on the regeneration side is crucial to decreasing the energy consumption of the desiccant wheel system. Metal-organic framework desiccants exhibit superior moisture absorption performance. However, there has been no research on the application of metal–organic framework materials in desiccant wheel systems for low-grade heat source regeneration. To address this research gap, this study applied a composite adsorbent of the metal–organic framework in a heat pump-desiccant wheel system and experimentally evaluated the performance of the heat pump-metal–organic framework desiccant wheel system using low-grade heat sources under different operating conditions. A comparison was made with electrically heated desiccant wheel systems and heat pump-desiccant wheel systems using traditional silica gel adsorbents. The results showed that the optimal desiccant wheel rotational speed was 8.63 r·h−1, and the optimal airflow was 300 m3·h−1. The energy consumption of the heat pump-metal–organic framework desiccant wheel system was only 42.77% of that of the electrically heated desiccant wheel system, and its dehumidification energy factor was 2.07, which is higher than that of the heat pump-silica gel desiccant wheel system. This demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of utilizing low-grade heat sources for regeneration using metal–organic framework desiccants in practical applications.