Volume 5 Issue 2 ( June 2018 )

The current research highlights the potential of using desiccant dehumidification technology with the merits of low initial energy consumptions. The system consists of desiccant (DSC) block units, dehumidification and regeneration air sources, air flow control valves, and a set of the heat exchanger. Attention was given to the DSC blocks. The blocks were made of hydrophilic polymer with honeycomb shaped. The present study focuses on the heat and mass transfer (HMT) characteristics to enhance the performance of the system. Three different process air temperatures of 20oC, 25oC, and 35oC were investigated under constant regeneration air temperature of 55oC and inlet air velocity of 0.1 kg/s. For each process air temperature, four different switching time ratios were also introduced to examine the HMT balance of the DSC blocks. The results revealed that the dehumidification capacity of the DSC system has high potential as air conditioning devices. The discrepancy of HMT found was less than 8%. Hence, the experimental methods were reliable to conduct the further experiments.

Keywords: desiccant, dehumidification, regeneration, heat transfer, mass transfer