Desiccant Dehumidification System Research Articles

Review on dehumidification technology in low and extremely low humidity industrial environments

Many industrial environments have low-humidity requirements. However, most research focuses on dehumidification systems in civil buildings, while research on industrial low humidity environments is extremely limited. This paper aims to summarize the research of dehumidification systems in low-humidity industrial environments, and provide some suggestions for the selection and improvement of dehumidification systems. Firstly, the environmental control requirements of industrial plants are reviewed and categorized into low humidity and extremely low humidity based on a relative humidity of 45 %. Then, the performance and applicability of condensation dehumidification systems, desiccant wheel (rotary dehumidifier) dehumidification systems and liquid desiccant dehumidification systems in typical industrial environments are summarized. Several preliminary system selection and configuration methods are presented. It is shown that the traditional condensation system is only suitable for low humidity plants. The desiccant wheel-based system is more capable of deep dehumidification, with a humidity ratio of less than 4 g/kg of supply air, while the liquid desiccant-based system can achieve high air volume operation of 10000 m3/h. Furthermore, their ranking under different scenarios is still outstanding issues. Evaluation indicators that weigh factors such as initial investment, operating costs, and control effectiveness need to be urgently proposed. Long term on-site testing is strongly recommended.

Investigation of purge angle on the air inhomogeneity reduction and energy efficiency improvement of the desiccant wheel dehumidification system

ABSTRACT The rotary desiccant wheel dehumidification system has been extensively applied to achieve deep dehumidification in the modern environment with low humidity ratio. The effect of mixing destruction caused by the temperature and humidity inhomogeneity on the thermodynamic performance of the desiccant wheel deep dehumidification (DWDD) system has not been thoroughly illustrated. This research aims to reduce the mixing destruction and improve the overall energy efficiency of the DWDD system. Numerical analyses were carried out to investigate the mixing destruction characteristics of the deep dehumidification process. The results revealed that the mixing exergy destruction gradually becomes a prominent factor as regeneration temperature and humidity ratio increase under deep dehumidification, and there is a significant temperature and humidity ratio gradient in the transition angles from the regeneration side to the process side. The purge angle is regulated to reduce the average temperature and humidity ratio on the process side and lower the air inhomogeneity. The exergy efficiency of the desiccant wheel can be improved from 44.8% to 73.9% at the regeneration humidity ratio of 20 g/kg under the effective purge angle of 30°, indicating a considerable enhancement of exergy efficiency under the effective purge angle at a high regeneration humidity ratio.

Optimizing the amount of solution in packed liquid desiccant systems for sustained dehumidification

Liquid desiccant dehumidification technology, driven by renewable energy, presents an energy-efficient solution to dehumidification. However, a large solution amount is always configured to extend the dehumidification process and address the unavailability of renewable energy. This is due to a lack of design guidance regarding the optimal desiccant solution amount. This study aims to address this gap by offering guidelines, with a particular focus on the dehumidification duration. Initially, a benchmark for the solution amount is defined for convenient quantification in further study. Then, a theoretical analysis of the dehumidification degradation process is conducted. Results reveal that dehumidification duration is primarily constrained by the temperature rise of the desiccant solution, rather than the solution amount. Consequently, a natural cooling unit, instead of mechanical cooling, is introduced to remove the temperature rise. Following this guideline, multiplying the benchmark for the solution amount can significantly extend the dehumidification duration from minutes to hours, while increasing it by tens of times can extend further to days. Furthermore, the solution amount can be reduced by over 90 % with the design guideline compared to the traditional method. This study paves a way to significantly reduce the solution amount and relevant costs for liquid desiccant dehumidification systems.

Application of biomass-based wood shaving packing in a liquid desiccant dehumidification system – a source of sustainable energy

ABSTRACT The present work focuses on the construction of a counter flow dehumidification test rig where calcium chloride liquid is used as the desiccant and is made to spray on the novel organic packing made of wood shaving with different densities and porosities. The mass flow rate of the air is varied and the performance parameters such as moisture removal rate (MRR), dehumidification effectiveness, coefficient of performance (COP), sensible heat factor (SHR) and mass transfer coefficient have been investigated. Results demonstrated an increase in the relative humidity, mass transfer coefficient and drop in the COP, MRR and dehumidification efficiency with the increase in the flow airflow rate. On increasing the CaCl2 concentration, dehumidification performance parameters such as MRR, COP and mass transfer coefficient are found to be increased. Out of the three different densities tested, 500 kg/m3 shows best performance with MRR, ΔRH and dehumidification effectiveness being 9.7%, 18.7% and 4.9% lower than the Celdek pad when measured at 5 m/s of air velocity for 30% desiccant concentration. Optimisation of the input parameters has been done and the results revealed that air velocity should be maintained within the range of 4–5 m/s to minimise energy consumption and optimum performance.

Solar driven liquid desiccant dehumidification system: Measurements and annual system simulations

Liquid desiccant air conditioning (LDAC) systems are used for dehumidification of air to low dew point temperatures. In the presented study a TRNSYS model of a LDAC unit is developed and validated with laboratory measurements. This model is coupled with a solar thermal system that provides heating water for the regeneration process. With this model dynamic annual system simulations can be carried out to simulate the dehumidification of a building. The solar fraction is evaluated for various infiltration rates of the building and solar collector areas with an internally cooled as well as an adiabatic absorption process.The simulation results reveal that high solar fractions of 70% to 81% can be achieved when dimensioning the solar thermal system to cover the regeneration heat demand on a good summer day. This is due to the good correlation of solar irradiance and dehumidification load. Without internal cooling of the absorption process (adiabatic conditions), the solar fraction is reduced by about 10percent points for the same size and operating conditions.

Direct solar regenerated desiccant dehumidification system for sustainable ventilation in hot and humid climate

Conventional vapor-compression cooling for outdoor air dehumidification is energy intensive, especially in hot and humid regions. To reduce energy consumption, desiccant dehumidification wheels and packed beds are integrated with the air conditioning systems. However, these systems have large pressure drops and require external heating sources for regeneration. In this study, a two-stage direct solar-regenerated desiccant dehumidification rotating belt (SR-DDRB) system is proposed. The aim is to sustainably dehumidify the outdoor air while meeting the indoor humidity levels at enhanced indoor air quality and minimal energy. The system was sized, and its operation was optimized using artificial neural network for a case study of a typical office space located in hot and humid climate. The supplied outdoor air flowrate varied between 0.055 kg/s and 0.085 kg/s, which is much higher than the minimum required of 0.0392 kg/s. During months of high humidity, the operating conditions were affected by outdoor air humidity conditions such that higher outdoor air flowrate and bypass factor were achieved at low outdoor humidity, and vice versa. During months of low humidity, the operating conditions were primarily influenced by the outdoor air temperature rather than outdoor air humidity to minimize energy consumption. Over the cooling season and while operating at optimal conditions, the SR-DDRB system was able to meet an indoor relative humidity (RH) of 58 ± 1.5 %. Additionally, it maintained the CO2 concentration of 780 ± 41 ppm, well below the allowable 1,000 ppm, whereas electrical energy consumption was 78.8 kWh over the entire cooling season.

On-site measurement and optimization of energy efficiency of the cascading desiccant wheel deep dehumidification systems in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing factory

The desiccant wheel deep dehumidification system in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing factory is significantly energy intensive, which substantially treats the process air from the ambient to the supply air state with a dew point temperature below −20 °C. On-site measurements were conducted in this study to investigate the actual performance of the deep dehumidification systems. The air treatment process and energy consumption during the operation were continuously monitored. The results reveal that the coefficient of performance of the dehumidification process of the systems ranges from 0.54 to 0.63 under basic winter conditions and ranges from 1.15 to 1.25 under basic summer conditions. The deep dehumidification processes of the systems are divided into multiple stages, and with the deepening of the process air humidity ratio from above 6 g/kg to below 0.3 g/kg, the partial energy efficiency of the treatment stages decreases. The efficient operational strategies are further elaborated for the improvement of the deep dehumidification system, including the proper match between the dehumidification gradient and the dehumidification stages, and the appropriate use of outlet process air with low humidity ratio as the regeneration air. The energy consumption of the cascading desiccant wheel dehumidification system can be reduced by lowering the cooling temperature of the cooling coil to undertake more latent load in the preliminary dehumidification stage. The effect of the bypass air state as the regeneration air is revealed, and the energy efficiency of the system is enhanced by up to 32 % by applying appropriate bypass air. This study offers guidance for the future design of the cascading desiccant wheel deep dehumidification system in similar applications.

Study on the heat transfer characteristics of CO2 and liquid desiccant CaCl2 aqueous solution in the gas cooler and evaporator

The heat exchangers are essential components in the CO2 heat pump-driven liquid desiccant dehumidification system since the heat transfer performance of heat exchangers directly affects the energy efficiency of the system. However, the heat transfer characteristics of CO2 and liquid desiccant in the heat exchanger have yet to be fully revealed, resulting in a lack of appropriate strategies to improve the heat transfer performance. To address this issue, numerical gas cooler and evaporator models are developed and verified. The effects of parameters such as the weight concentration of the CaCl2 aqueous solution, the CO2 inlet pressure, mass flow rates, and the length of the heat exchanger on the heat transfer performance are investigated respectively under various operating conditions. Results show that the heat exchange load of the gas cooler can be significantly impacted by various inlet parameters of both fluids. In particular, the increase in the weight concentration from 36 to 54 wt.% deteriorates the heat exchange load by over 15 %. Nevertheless, the heat exchange load of the evaporator is hardly influenced by the weight concentration. This is attributed to a great gap in the two fluids’ heat capacity rates, causing the evaporator to be in the maximum heat transfer state. The sign of the maximum heat transfer state of the heat exchanger is whether the thermal effectiveness is close to 1, which is related to the heat transfer area. Therefore, modifying the heat exchanger length could avoid the thermal effectiveness approaching 1. Results indicate that the appropriate length of the evaporator is 3–4 m under the designed operating conditions.

Study on the optimal solution recirculation ratio of liquid desiccant dehumidification system based on matching rate evaluation

The recirculation of dehumidification and regeneration solutions has shown promising moisture removal rates and energy-saving effects in liquid desiccant dehumidification systems. The different combinations of dehumidification solution recirculation ratio and regeneration solution recirculation ratio under varying operating conditions can have different impacts on the system. Nevertheless, the system performance under full operating conditions has not been comprehensively studied. To address this research gap, this study proposes a liquid desiccant dehumidification system with a solution recirculation structure, defines a new evaluation index — matching rate, and conducts a parameterized study and optimization of the steady-state performance of the liquid desiccant dehumidification system with a solution recirculation structure within the range of solution recirculation ratios under all operating conditions, by integrating the system cooling capacity and energy effectiveness ratio. The performance of the system is studied by varying seven key parameters: dehumidification solution recirculation ratio, regeneration solution recirculation ratio, total solution mass flow rate, dehumidification solution inlet temperature, regeneration solution inlet temperature, and ambient air temperature-humidity ratio. The results show that under design conditions, the solution recirculation ratio within the full operating range can process air to a range of 17.8℃～18.5℃ and 12.5 g/kg～17.4 g/kg. The maximum system cooling capacity, energy effectiveness ratio and matching rate values are 21.5 kW, 0.21 and 0.42 respectively. The recommended (dehumidification solution recirculation ratio, regeneration solution recirculation ratio) schemes for high, medium and low demand of system cooling capacity are (0.7～0.9, 0～0.5), (0.4～0.6, 0～0.7) and (0～0.3, 0.4～0.7) respectively, based on the requirements of system cooling capacity.

Desiccant Dehumidification System Developed Using Additive Manufacturing and Biodegradable Materials

Traditional dehumidification equipment is based on vapour compression units. However, they depend mainly on electrical energy and use polluting gases. An alternative to this equipment is desiccant dehumidification systems, which is based on adsorbent materials. These desiccant systems are an efficient way of removing moisture from the air in buildings with high latent loads. This work presents a new way to manufacture fixed-bed desiccant elements that can remove moisture from an air flow. The desiccant element is obtained by material extrusion-based additive manufacturing (fused filament fabrication or FFF). This technology is cost-effective and provides a precision and finish suitable for the intended use. The filament used is Pine, consisting of an easy printable thermoplastic matrix (polylactic acid, PLA, 80 wt%) and a filler based on pine wood powder (20 wt%). This composite material reached a water absorption capacity of 11.5 %. The experimental results of the desiccant air unit demonstrated high dehumidification capacity, up to 39 mg/s, for a regeneration air temperature of 50 °C. The volumetric adsorption rate was also high, up to 30 g/s·m3, for low pressure drop values, below 522 Pa. The proposed method allows the customised, on-demand and just-in-time manufacturing of air dehumidification systems based on the use of biodegradable desiccant materials of organic origin. Such solutions contribute to the circular economy promoted by The United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Membrane-based packed-sheet liquid desiccant dehumidification system

Humidity control plays a vital role in both buildings and greenhouses. The thermally-driven liquid desiccant dehumidification systems are getting an increasing traction because of their high moisture removal capacity and the possibility of their integration with waste-heat or renewable energy sources. In this work, a novel design concept for liquid desiccant dehumidification systems is proposed to overcome the practical challenges of the conventional systems, such as solution carryover, crystallization, and corrosion. The presented system utilizes a compact “packed-sheet” sorption bed that houses spherical membrane-based micro-absorbers with LiBr as a liquid desiccant. A bench-scale system is designed and tested under the typical dehumidification working conditions. The experimental results showed that the proposed design has up to two-fold higher moisture removal rate per volume (MRR = 75 g/s-m3) than a conventional LiBr liquid desiccant dehumidification system (MRR = 35 g/s-m3). In addition, a one-dimensional coupled heat and mass transfer mathematical model is developed to simulate the transient behavior of the proposed system. An optimization study, using the validated model, suggested that the performance of proposed design can be maximized to realize moisture removal rates of up to 135 g/s-m3 (270% higher than the conventional liquid desiccant systems) with a coefficient of performance of 0.25.

Performance characteristics of a compact self-circulating liquid desiccant air dehumidification system coupled with a heat pump: A comprehensive parametric study

Integration of a heat pump with a liquid desiccant system for air dehumidification has received growing attention in recent years in view of its more compact size and lower electricity consumption. This paper presents a compact combined heat pump and self-circulating liquid desiccant air dehumidification system targeted at small cooling load applications. The compactness lies in the integration of the dehumidifier and evaporator as well as the integration of the regenerator and condenser. Besides, the design of solution self-circulation (SSC) is intended for energy savings and the auxiliaries are employed to help achieve energy matching between the heat pump and the air dehumidification system. First, a comparative study is performed to identify the more energy efficient one of the two strategies for energy matching. Based on this, a thermodynamic model-based parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of various influencing factors on the energy matching relationship and performance of the proposed system, as well as the energy-saving potential relative to the basic system without SSC. The results show that there exists an optimum solution self-circulation ratio (SCR) to achieve the maximum COP under a given condition. Basically, the proposed system with a proper SCR could yield a significant energy-saving effect regardless of the performance variations under studied operation conditions. It is found that a reduction of 29.68 % in energy consumption and an improvement of 42.20 % in COP are achieved under the ambient condition of 30 ℃ temperature and 20 g/kg humidity ratio. Furthermore, a correlation analysis is used to reveal the association strength and direction between any two main operation and performance parameters. Finally, the heat recovery is proved to effectively reduce the cooling coils load. This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the energy matching relationship and demonstrates the energy-saving performance benefiting from SSC for future practical applications of the proposed system.

Techno-economic and emission analysis of solar assisted desiccant dehumidification: An experimental and numerical study

In humid climates, it is challenging to maintain moisture content in the air for human thermal comfort and industrial applications. Commercial dehumidifiers rely on conventional electric heaters to regenerate desiccant material, which accounts for significant energy consumption by such dehumidifiers. As a green solution to this problem, the present study integrates a flat plate solar air collector (FPSAC) with a desiccant dehumidifier to effectively use solar thermal energy and reduce electrical consumption. Performance evaluation of glazed and unglazed FPSAC-assisted desiccant dehumidifier has been conducted at process air flow rates of 33, 51 and 62 m3/h with a constant regeneration flow rate of 42 m3/h. Both glazed and unglazed FPSAC assisted desiccant dehumidification systems had the highest dehumidification effectiveness and percentage increase in temperature at the flow rate of 33 m3/h, while the highest moisture removal capacity was at 51 m3/h. Maximum dehumidification effectiveness, percentage temperature increase, and moisture removal capacity for the glazed case were 0.4, 66.67%, and 6.14 kg/h, respectively. Experimental results showed that the glazed FPSAC-integrated desiccant dehumidification system outperforms unglazed FPSAC in all performance evaluation parameters. Using Transient System Simulation software (TRNSYS), the proposed glazed and unglazed assisted desiccant dehumidification system was modeled and validated with experimental results. Furthermore, a techno-economic analysis of the solar hybrid desiccant dehumidification system has been carried out. The FPSAC used in this study showcased a 33.57% yearly solar fraction with a solar hybrid system having a payback period of 4.23 years. In addition, the hybrid system can reduce greenhouse gas emissions yearly by 0.352 tons of CO2 equivalents.

Study on the optimal circulation structure of liquid desiccant dehumidification system based on composite model

Liquid desiccant dehumidification systems have demonstrated good energy savings and dehumidification effects in extremely hot and humid areas. However, to improve system performance, the matching problem between the desiccant-regeneration solution recirculation ratio and system performance has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, in this study, we constructed a liquid desiccant dehumidification system with solution recirculation and set four circulation modes: NS mode without solution recirculation, CS mode with only desiccant solution recirculation, RS mode with only regeneration solution recirculation, and CRS mode with both desiccant and regeneration solution recirculation. The orthogonal test method was used to determine the influence of solution recirculation on the evaluation indicators, and multi-objective optimization of the major parameters under the four circulation modes was performed based on the NSGA-II and TOPSIS algorithms. The results showed a clear conflict between the moisture removal rate (MRR) and energy consumption (Q). In extremely hot and humid areas, a high air flow rate is suitable for use in the regenerator to process small-flow-rate solutions or set larger sizes. Under typical environmental conditions, it is recommended to set up a liquid desiccant dehumidification system with a solution recirculation structure: when MRR demand is high, the CS mode should be used, where MRR is 6.72 g/s; when Q demand is high, the RS mode should be used where Q is 35.34 kW; considering both MRR and Q effects, the CRS mode should be used where unit energy consumption moisture removal rate is 0.1196 g/(s·kW).

Numerical investigation and comparison on energy performance and exergy destruction of cascading deep dehumidification systems with dehumidification amount exceeding 95%

Liquid desiccant and desiccant wheel systems are feasible approaches for the dehumidification process in modern buildings. Some specialized buildings and industrial fields have the demand for deep dehumidification process to produce supply air with low dew point temperature below 0 °C. In this study, the numerical investigation has been conducted to evaluate the energy and exergy performance of multiple cascading deep dehumidification systems assisted with liquid desiccant and desiccant wheel under a great dehumidification gradient. To process the air from 21 g/kg to 1 g/kg, the results indicate that the cascading liquid desiccant and desiccant wheel deep dehumidification system (LD-DW system) driven by two stages of heat pump exhibits the lowest demand of power consumption compared with the conventional dehumidification systems. It also shows less exergy loss and significantly higher exergy efficiency than other systems. The effects of influencing parameters on the dehumidification performance are also evaluated. The LD-DW system can effectively match the air state with the proper treatment dehumidification process, thus achieving a superior coefficient of system performance (COPsys) of 3.70, and it is an energy and exergy efficient method for advancing the deep dehumidification process.

Exergy destruction comparison of facial area ratio on dehumidification performance of the rotary desiccant wheel system under conventional and deep dehumidification

The rotary desiccant wheel has been extensively applied for humidity control in air conditioning systems, and it is also capable of deep dehumidification processes in various areas. The differences in the exergy destruction characteristics of the desiccant wheel between deep dehumidification and conventional dehumidification were still unclear. This study conducted numerical investigations to illustrate the impact of operating parameters, especially the facial area ratio, on the transfer exergy destruction and the mixing exergy destruction of the desiccant wheel components. The results revealed that the desiccant wheel with a facial area ratio of 1 has a higher exergy efficiency in conventional dehumidification due to low transfer and mixing exergy destruction. However, it shows a lower exergy efficiency than that of 3 under the deep dehumidification depth when operated at a high regeneration air humidity ratio. In the deep dehumidification process, the mixing exergy destruction caused by the distribution inhomogeneity of temperature and humidity ratio becomes a prominent factor to influence the exergy efficiency along with the transfer exergy destruction. It is concluded that the efficient design of the desiccant wheel dehumidification system highly depends on the dehumidification depth, the operating parameters, and the proper facial area ratio.

Optimization of a multistage liquid desiccant dehumidifier by neural networks & particle swarm techniques

To overcome the inconsistent and limited dehumidification by single stage dehumidification system, a novel multistage, reciprocating dynamic liquid desiccant dehumidification system has been proposed to dehumidify larger space consistently. Experimental investigation on the proposed unit has been conducted by varying air velocity, cam shaft speed, and inlet relative humidity (RH). System's performance in terms of moisture removal rate (MRR), dehumidification efficiency (DE) and energy consumed has been compared with that of a single stage system. It is observed that multistage system performed better than the single stage system in terms higher MRR and efficiency. To optimise the system performance, neural network-based Particle Swarm optimization (PSO) has been employed. Inertia weight distribution for PSO has been obtained by the statistical Taguchi method. PSO optimized results for randomly distributed weights have been compared with the Taguchi given weights. It is found that the performance of the PSO with this method is better than the former in terms of optimized paramters. PSO predicted optimum input variables are found as air velocity of 8.2 m/s, inlet RH of 90% and cam speed of 15.16 rpm. The maximum performance parameters obtained are MRR of 7.549 g/s, Dehumidification efficiency of 0.762 and energy consumption of 2165.4 Watts. Confirmation experiments indicated that PSO predicted results are in well agreement with the experimental results with a maximum deviation of 1.8%. Current work predicts and optimizes the dehumidification performance which minimizes experimentation time and also the cost involved.

Study on the regeneration process and overall performance of a microencapsulated phase change material slurry dehumidification system

Building on previous findings that showed the efficacy of microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCM) in augmenting liquid desiccant dehumidification performance, this study endeavors to further explore the extent of the impact of MicroPCM in the regeneration and the entire dehumidification system. The results of the regeneration experiment on the microencapsulated phase change material slurry (MPCMS) reveal that the addition of MicroPCM impedes regeneration. Specifically, as the concentration of MicroPCM increases, both the regeneration rate and the MPCMS concentration after regeneration decrease, while the regeneration effectiveness exhibits an initial decline followed by an increase. An empirical correlation was proposed to predict the regeneration rate of MPCMS for their future application. The results showed that the addition of MicroPCM led to a decrease in the regeneration rate by as much as 48.1%, when compared to a pure LiCl solution. However, a simulation analysis of the entire system revealed that within a certain concentration range of MicroPCM addition, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system could still be increased by up to 4.28%. This finding suggests that if a more suitable non-heating regeneration method were used, the addition of MicroPCM could further enhance the overall performance of the liquid desiccant dehumidification system.

Performance analysis and optimization of a coupled open and close liquid desiccant sorption system using LiCl solution

The efficient utilization of low-grade heat for air conditioning has been a topic of world concern, especially for low-grade heat below 80℃. In this study, a novel coupled open and close liquid desiccant sorption system driven by 70 ∼ 80℃ low-grade heat is proposed. This system employs a generator to provide strong solution for both the dehumidifier and absorber, achieving the air temperature and humidity independent control to reduce driving temperature and enhance system performance. A mathematical model is developed to simulate the proposed new system, and a comparative analysis is conducted with a traditional combined absorption refrigeration with liquid desiccant dehumidification system using LiCl solution. It is found that the COP of the new system is 0.76, which is higher than 0.65 of the traditional system when the hot water temperature is 75℃, the reason is that the new system avoids the sensible heat consumption of regenerated air which accounts for 17% of the total heat consumption in the traditional system. Furthermore, it is observed that the outlet concentration difference between the absorber and dehumidifier exists in the new system. The cycle is optimized to improve the concentration difference, leading to a 5.5% increase in the COP. After that, economic performance analysis shows a payback period of 2.65 years for a 150 kW cooling capacity system, with a reduction of 86.6 tons of CO2 emissions per year due to the decrease in power consumption.

A cleaner and more efficient energy system achieving a sustainable future for road transport

A novel integrated cooling system is developed for future medium to large electric vehicles by integrating the fuel cell, battery, metal-hydride, heat pump, and liquid desiccant dehumidification system to reduce power consumption and extend vehicle's driving range. The system benefits from the reuse of the normally wasted energy in the form of pressure difference and wasted thermal energy, from the hydrogen vessel, the fuel cell stack, and the battery pack. A numerical model for the proposed system and a finite element model for the dehumidifier and regenerator are developed and validated by experimental results from published data. A comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of the ambient air temperature and humidity, fuel cell current output, battery discharging C rate, and air mass flow rate on the Coefficient of Performance (COP), outlet air temperature, and cooling capacity is conducted. Two operating modes, namely non-compressive mode and heat pump supplemental mode are investigated and a detailed comparison between these two modes is undertaken. Furthermore, the proposed system under heat pump supplemental mode has been compared to other published cooling systems and dehumidification systems. Under non-compressive mode, results indicate that the proposed system can provide sufficient cooling capacity without the need of the compressor when the supply air mass flow rate is lower than 0.03 kg/s, under the specific operating situation. Under the heat pump supplemental mode, the proposed system can operate at 36 °C with a COP greater than 4, which is 56% higher than the cited published results, although the COP of the proposed system also considers battery cooling. Heat pump supplemental mode drastically reduces the 12-s insufficient cooling period that occurs at the beginning of the charging to discharging transition between the two metal hydrides to 2 s compared to non-compressed mode. Overall, this study provides a potential solution for future zero-emission vehicles by utilizing the heat and electric co-generation characteristic of the fuel cell, the isothermal characteristic of the metal hydride, and dehumidification and cooling characteristics of the liquid desiccant dehumidification system to extend the driving range of the electric vehicles and reduce energy consumption for cooling. Moreover, the proposed system can also provide domestic cooling loads and power by integrating the system into residential buildings.