Study on the performance of solar interfacial evaporation for high-efficiency liquid desiccant regeneration

Abstract

Liquid desiccant air conditioning system (LDAS) was considered a promising air conditioning system due to the advantages of low-grade heat utilization, effective humidity control and environment-friendly. The performance of LDAS significantly depends on the heat and mass transfer components, namely dehumidifier and regenerator, while the regeneration process of traditional regenerator is energy-inefficient. Inspired by the high-efficiency solar interfacial evaporation which can produce drinking water from seawater, this method was introduced in this work for liquid desiccant regeneration to overcome the inefficiency of the regeneration process. Wood was prepared as the regenerator by alkali-assisted method and surface carbonization. The regeneration performance of solar interfacial regeneration was experimentally investigated and compared with that of packed-bed tower regeneration and membrane distillation regeneration. Results show solar interfacial regeneration is very competitive due to the high regeneration rate and efficiency, which can reach 0.57 kg m−2 h−1 and 42.5% for 40% LiCl solution under 1-sun irradiation. Moreover, the low temperature rises of concentrated solution, cheap construction costs and operating costs make LDAS more energy-saving. This work is expected to supply a novel method for liquid desiccant regeneration.