Abstract
The performance of an adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator based on a silica gel–sodium sulphate composite adsorbent was studied. The correlation between the adsorbent composition and structural characteristics of the laboratory-scale device was investigated. An algorithm for the calculation of the efficiency factors of the adsorptive regenerator was further developed. The suggested algorithm calculates the operational parameters, including the temperatures, humidities and volumetric flows of internal and external air, and estimates the regenerator’s performance via temperature and moisture efficiency factors, total adsorption and time needed to achieve maximum adsorption, air pressure loss and fan power input. The validity of the calculation results obtained using the proposed algorithm was confirmed experimentally. Temperature efficiency factor, air pressure loss and fan power consumption are crucial parameters for the estimation of the optimal operating regime of an adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator. The correlation between meteorological conditions and efficiency factors was assessed and applied in a simulation of residential house-scale air conditioning unit operation. Maximal values of temperature efficiency factor were found at internal and external air temperatures of 15 to 20 °C and −5 to 0 °C, respectively. Moisture efficiency factors were observed to reach their maximum at the absolute humidities of external and internal air of 4.0 to 5.0 g/m3 and 2.75 to 3.0 g/m3, respectively. The fan power consumption of the adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator was found to be comparable to or even lower than that of commercial air conditioning units used in comparably voluminous interiors.
Highlights
The monotonic growth of energy consumption is one of the crucial challenges for the modern power industry
The performance of an adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator based on a silica gel–sodium sulphate composite adsorbent was studied
The fan power consumption of the adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator was found to be comparable to or even lower than that of commercial air conditioning units used in comparably voluminous interiors
Summary
The monotonic growth of energy consumption is one of the crucial challenges for the modern power industry. Other intensely studied adsorbents include various composite materials [20,21,22] containing plastics, metals or even pulp They can be further integrated with membrane-based systems [21,23] to improve their performance and used with various air conditioning unit layouts including solar collectors [24] and heat pumps [25]. The present work is focused on the combined temperature-humidity-power input performance characteristics of an adsorptive heat-moisture regenerator based on silica gel–sodium sulphate composite with the aims of increasing its efficiency and decreasing its energy consumption, contributing to more sustainable and greener air conditioning units. Regenerator power consumption is found to be comparable or even lower compared with conventional air handling units in heating mode, reaching high (around 90%) temperature and humidity efficiency factors, confirming the viability of the studied regenerator concept. Optimal heat-moisture regenerator design and operation parameters are summarised in the Conclusions
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