Drying Technology

An International Journal

ISSN: 0737-3937 (Print) 1532-2300 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ldrt20

Experimental Investigation of a Desiccant

Dehumidifier Based on Evacuated Tube Solar
Collector with a PCM Storage Unit

Neeraj Mehla & Avadhesh Yadav

To cite this article: Neeraj Mehla & Avadhesh Yadav (2016): Experimental Investigation of a
Desiccant Dehumidifier Based on Evacuated Tube Solar Collector with a PCM Storage Unit,
Drying Technology, DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2016.1180300

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2016.1180300

Accepted author version posted online: 19

May 2016.
Published online: 19 May 2016.

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 Experimental investigation of a desiccant dehumidifier based on evacuated tube
solar collector with a PCM storage unit

Neeraj Mehla1 , Avadhesh Yadav1

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra,
Haryana, India

Corresponding author Postal Address: Research scholar, Department of Mechanical

Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana-136119, India. E-
mail: neerajmehla471@gmail.com
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Abstract

A rotary desiccant dehumidifier based on evacuated tube solar air collector with a phase

change material (PCM) storage unit has been experimentally investigated. The PCM

(acetamide) simultaneously store and transfers the heat to the air during day hours. The

stored heat of the PCM is utilized to produce hot air during night hours. The performance

of the system is analyzed for different air flow rates at different rotational speed (rph) of

εA εR
desiccant wheel. The dehumidification effectiveness ( ), regeneration effectiveness (

) and dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP) are 8.17%, 10.35% and

0.0327 respectively at 16 rph of the desiccant wheel with 127.23 kg/h air flow rate. The

system is also used to generate dry air for 14 hours a day with PCM, which shows that

acetamide used as the PCM has an ability to store an adequate amount of heat to

regenerate the desiccant wheel during off-sunshine hours.

KEYWORDS: Evacuated tube solar air collector; Desiccant wheel; Phase change

material; Air flow rate; Regeneration; Dehumidification

1
 1. INTRODUCTION

In conventional air conditioning system, the cooling unit cools the air and the

dehumidification of the air is achieved by condensation of the water vapor below the dew

point temperature and it consumes high grade energy as per Daou et al.[1] and suggested

that the solid desiccant dehumidifier was a promising alternate to the conventional air

conditioning system. Hatzilyberis et al.[2] and Cubillos et al.[3] previously studied that

condensing dehumidification system was costly and contained harmful refrigerants. In

the past, Joudi and Madhi[4] carried out an experimental investigation of solar assisted
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desiccant evaporative air-conditioning system and concluded that the coefficient of

performance (COP) of the system was higher for higher regeneration temperature and

higher mass flow rate. Jain and Dhar[5] described an evaluation of different solid

desiccant air-conditioning system in hot and humid climates. It was found that among the

ventilation, recirculation and Dunkle cycles, the better performance was obtained by

using the Dunkle cycle for a wide range of outdoor conditions. They also suggested that

the desiccant air-conditioning system consumed low electricity and free from chloro-

fluoro-carbon (CFC). Lamp and Ziegler[6] reviewed the literature on the solar desiccant

cooling system and concluded that the results were valid across the globe. These results

were also concerned with the optimum combination of collector and cooling system for

achieving the cooling demand. Techajunta et al.[7] performed an experimental evaluation

of desiccant cooling system and investigated the use of silica gel as desiccant. It was

found that regeneration rate was highly affected by solar radiation and slightly depended

on air flow rate. In dehumidification process, the adsorption rate decreased with

irradiation and slightly increased with air flow rate. Renaud et al.[8] and Sang et al.[9]

2
 discussed the adsorbent design based on adsorption isotherm shape and thermal capacity

to enhance the performance of the rotary air dehumidifier. La et al.[10] reviewed the rotary

desiccant dehumidification and air conditioning. Air conditioning based on desiccant

wheel was thermally activated technology and consumed low grade heat sources such as

solar energy, bioenergy and waste heat. Panaras et al.[11] studied the influence of the

parameters such as the weather conditions, the air flow rate and the regeneration

temperature on the desiccant air-conditioning system. They theoretically developed a

model and experimentally validated it in real scale system. They concluded that the
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thermal energy consumption was affected by the operating time of the wheel and the

temperature of the air stream entering the regeneration heat source. Yadav and Bajpai[12]

experimentally investigated the regeneration and adsorption rate with different desiccants

by using evacuated tube air solar collector. They concluded that silica gel was easily

regenerated by evacuated tube solar air collector and gave better performance than

activated alumina and activated charcoal. Yadav and Bajpai[13] experimentally

determined the performance of the desiccant dehumidifier. They also concluded that

desiccant wheel performed well in adsorption process and it was regenerated in the

temperature range of 54.3-68.3°C at different flow rates. They suggested that higher

regeneration temperature provides higher adsorption and regeneration rate. Hurdogan et

al.[14] described a novel desiccant based air-conditioning system and found that the

utilization of solar in the system increases the coefficient of performance (COP) from 0.5

to 1.2. Nkwetta and Smyth[15] compared the performance of the concentrator augmented

evacuated tube heat pipe array (CAETHPA) and an array of evacuated tube heat pipe

collectors (ETHPC). They provided concentrator augment to ETHPC to overcome the

3
 heat losses at medium to high temperature range and found that CAETHPA was more

efficient. Nkwetta and Smyth[16] studied the performance of concentrated evacuated tube

heat pipe solar collectors with single-sided (SSACPC) and double-sided absorber

(DSACPC). They concluded that SSACPC was suitable for single-effect solar absorption

system in the economical aspect while DSACPC was suitable for double-effect solar

absorption system. Wang et al.[17] reviewed the rotary desiccant dehumidifier. They

concluded that with the increase in adsorption heat, the temperature of adsorbent

increased and hence adsorption capacity decreased. Sheng et al.[18] studied the
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performance of the desiccant wheel (DW) based on correlation method and effectiveness

concept. They concluded that higher effect on the dehumidification was due to the

regeneration temperature and humidity ratio of outdoor air. Goldsworthy et al.[19]

experimentally regenerate the desiccant wheel with superheated steam. The result showed

that the regeneration temperature of superheated steam was more than the regeneration

temperature of air. Abasi et al.[20] valuated the performance of the desiccant wheel

incorporated with recirculating dryer. With the use of desiccant wheel, the drying rate

increased and the drying time decreased, which lead to decrease the energy consumption

of the system.

As per Kabeel[21] solar energy has adequate ability to regenerate the desiccant wheel

during sunshine hours. However to regenerate the desiccant wheel during off-sunshine

hours, it requires thermal energy storage to store solar energy in the form of sensible heat.

But sensible heat storage materials have some disadvantages such as low storage capacity

per unit volume, difficult to clean and use more space as per Charvat et al.[22]. Hence

4
 latent heat thermal storage system using phase change material is widely used in the area

of thermal energy storage unit. Summers et al.[23] reported the air heating solar collector

integrated with phase change material and concluded that the PCM has ability to produce

hot air throughout the day and night. Chaabane et al.[24] reported that the latent heat

storage unit performs better than the sensible heat storage unit when myristic acid was

used as the PCM. Nkwetta et al.[25] simulated the performance of the domestic hot water

tank (HWT) with phase change materials (PCM) using TRNSYS software. They

concluded that the heat storage capacity of the water tank was increased with integration
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of PCM in it. Sodium acetate trihydrate + 10% graphite as PCM took less time to charge

completely. Nkwetta and Haghighat[26] reviewed different designs of the domestic hot

water tank (HWT) and the transpired solar collector (TSC) with PCMs for domestic

purpose. It was informed that thermo-physical properties of PCMs with different

configurations in HWT and TSC had certain limitations. Mehla and Yadav[27] coupled the

latent thermal storage unit (PCM) with evacuated tube solar air collector and concluded

that the maximum measured temperature difference between the heated air and the

ambient air during day hours and night hours was 37 oC and 20.2oC respectively by using

a circular fin configuration at a flow rate of 0.018kg/s.

Many researchers had experimentally investigated the use of evacuated tube solar air

collector to regenerate the desiccant wheel during sunshine hours. But no research work

has been done to regenerate the desiccant wheel during off-sunshine hours by using

evacuated solar air collector integrated with the PCM storage unit in Indian climatic

conditions. The performance of a desiccant dehumidifier based on evacuated tube solar

5
 collector coupled with PCM storage unit is presented. The objective of this manuscript is

to produce the dry air during sunshine and off-sunshine hours. The performance

εA εR
parameters such as dehumidification effectiveness ( ), regeneration effectiveness ( ),

εT
thermal effectiveness ( ) and dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP) has

been evaluated experimentally. The experiments have been carried out at NIT,

Kurukshetra, India [29° 58' (latitude) North and 76° 53'(longitude) East].
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2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram and the photographic view of the experimental

setup. It consists of a desiccant wheel, evacuated tube solar air collector integrated with

PCM. The regeneration of the desiccant wheel has been done by evacuated tube solar air

collector which produces hot air during sunshine and off-sunshine hours. The

dehumidification and regeneration process occurs simultaneously in this setup.

2.1. Evacuated Tube Solar Air Collector With Phase Change Material

Figure 2 (a, b) shows the dimensions of the solar air heating unit. The surface area of the

collector is 4.44 m2 and it consists of forty evacuated tubes. The evacuated tube made up

of two co-axial glass tubes, one is an outer glass tube (transparent tube) and the other is

an absorber tube (coated with Al-N/Al). The length of an evacuated tube is 1500 mm and

outer diameter of the outer glass tube and the absorber tube are 47 mm and 37 mm

respectively. Figure 3 (a, b) shows the schematic diagram of the header with its cross-

sectional view. The annular space between two rectangular boxes is used for the flow of

water while the annular space between the small rectangular box and circular tube is

6
 filled with 50 kg of acetamide (PCM). The air is blown through the central hollow

circular tube. The length of the header is 1500 mm and diameter of the circular tube is 75

mm. The evacuated tube solar air collector contains 100 liters of water and it acts as a

medium for convective heat transfer. Water inside the tubes is heated by solar radiation

and this heat energy is transferred to the PCM. The energy stored in the PCM is delivered

to the air flowing through the hollow circular tube. A 350 W blower with a regulator is

used to blow the air through the hollow circular tube.

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2.2. Desiccant Wheel

Figure 4 (a) shows the schematic diagram of the desiccant wheel. It is the most important

part of the desiccant dehumidifier. It is an air to air heat and mass exchanger that rotates

at low speed. The desiccant wheel consists of a sinusoidal matrix having layers of

desiccant material (silica gel) as shown in Figure 4 (b). The desiccant wheel has two

equal zones which are separated by the air seal. When the desiccant wheel rotates, one

zone is exposed to the process air known as the adsorption zone, while other is exposed

to the regeneration air called as the regeneration zone. Table 1 shows the dimensions and

properties of the desiccant wheel. The desiccant wheel is driven by a rotary motor with a

power rating of 6 W at different rotational speed.

3. MEASURING DEVICES AND INSTRUMENTS

RTD PT100 temperature sensor with a digital temperature indicator has been used to

measure the temperature range which varies from 0°C to 200°C with an accuracy of ±

0.3°C and resolution of 0.1°C. Relative humidity and temperature of the air has been

7
 measured with a multi-functioned digital Hygro-thermometer (model RHT–200C). The

range of relative humidity and temperature varies from 0% to 100% and -10°C to 60°C

respectively. It measures the relative humidity with a resolution of 0.1% and accuracy

±2%, and the temperature with a resolution of 0.1°C and accuracy ±0.3°C. The specific

humidity of the process air has been calculated from the dry bulb temperature and relative

humidity by utilizing a psychometric calculator. The air flow rate is measured with the

help of digital anemometer (AM-4208). It has an accuracy of {± (2%+dpipe)} and

resolution of 0.1 m/s. Solar intensity during day hours has been measured with the help of
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a pyranometer (Model-CM11). It has an accuracy of ±2 W/m2 and resolution of 1 W/m2.

4. SYSTEM OPERATION

The filled water inside the evacuated tube solar air collector is heated by solar radiation.

This heat energy is transferred to the PCM. It starts to store the heat and simultaneously

transfers the heat to the air passing through the hollow circular tube during day hours.

The stored energy of the PCM is utilized to heat the air during night hours. This hot air is

used to regenerate the desiccant wheel. Figure 5 shows the sketch of the desiccant wheel.

The process air (ambient air) enters into the desiccant wheel from point ‘1’ and exits

from point ‘4’. During this process, the dehumidification of air takes place which occurs

due to the vapour pressure difference between process air and the surface of the desiccant

material. Heat of adsorption is released during process 1 to 4. So we get hot and dry air at

point ‘4’. In the regeneration zone, hot air from the evacuated tube solar air collector

enters at point ‘2’ and exits at point ‘3’ and the humidification of air takes place and

during this process, the desiccant wheel is regenerated.

8
 5. ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA

5.1. Performance Analysis

The performance parameters such as dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and dehumidification coefficient of performance

(DCOP) are analyzed.

The adsorption rate indicates the removal of moisture from the air during

dehumidification and it is given by

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MA m p ( w p ,in w p ,out )
(1)

w p ,in w p ,out
where is the humidity ratio of the inlet process air; is the humidity ratio of the

mp
outlet process air and is the air flow rate of process air.

The regeneration rate indicates moisture added to the air during regeneration and it is

given by

MR mr ( wr ,out wr ,in )
(2)

wr ,in wr ,out
is the humidity ratio of the inlet regeneration air; is the humidity ratio of the

mr
outlet regeneration air and is the air flow rate of regeneration air.

As per Kabeel[21] the dehumidification effectiveness is given as

( wp ,in wp ,out )
εA
( wp ,in wp ,out , ideal )
(3)

w p ,out , ideal 0
In case of ideal wheel for adsorption

9
 moisture change in process
εA =
moisture change when wheel is ideal (4)

(wp ,in wp ,out )

εA
wp ,in
(5)

The regeneration effectiveness is defined as the ratio of the moisture change in the

regeneration zone to the initial moisture [Kabeel[21]]

moisture change in regeneration

εR =
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initial moisture (6)

( wr ,out wr ,in )
εR
wr ,in
(7)

Thermal effectiveness indicates the removal of sensible heat in dehumidification process

and the energy consumption during the regeneration process. Thus, it is defined as the

ratio of the thermal power gained by the air during dehumidification process to the

thermal power supplied to the regeneration air [Sheng et al.[18]]

Thermal power gained by air during dehumidification

εT =
Thermal power suplied to the regeneration air
(8)

mp (Tp ,out Tp ,in )

εT
mr (Tr ,in Tp ,in )
(9)

T p ,in Tp ,out
and are the temperature of the inlet and the outlet process air respectively, and

Tr ,in
is the temperature of the inlet regeneration air.

DCOP indicates the removal of latent heat in dehumidification process and the energy

consumption during the regeneration process. So it is defined as the ratio of the thermal

10
 power due to dehumidification to the thermal power supplied to the regeneration air

[Sheng et al.[18]]

Thermal power due to the air dehumidification

DCOP=
Thermal power suplied to the regeneration air (10)

mp hvs (wp ,in wp ,out )

DCOP
mr (hr ,in hp ,in )
(11)

h p ,in hr ,in
where and are the enthalpy of the inlet process air and inlet regeneration air

hvs hvs
respectively, and is the latent heat of vaporization of water. The value of is
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evaluated by using the empirical relationship:

hvs 0.614342 10 4 T 3 p,in 0.158927 10 2 T 2 p,in 0.236418 10Tp,in 0.250079 104

(12)

5.2. Uncertainty Analysis

The uncertainty analysis in this paper is based on the root mean square method as per

Kline and McClintock [28]. The relationship for uncertainty analysis is given as

1
2 2 2 2
f 2 f 2 f 2
z y1 y2 ... yn
y1 y2 yn
(13)

Where z is the dependent variable and z is its absolute uncertainty and f is a function

y1 y1
of the independent variable , is the absolute uncertainty. The relative uncertainty is

given as
1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
z f y1 f y1 f y1
...
z y1 z y2 z yn z
(14)

11
 According to these relationships, a detailed uncertainty error analysis indicated that an

εA εR εT
overall accuracy within ±5.7% for and , ±13.2% for and ±7.9% for DCOP.

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Data were recorded from 10:00 h to 24:00 h at the interval of 1 h from September 17,

2014 to September 30, 2014. Variation of ambient temperature and moisture were in the

range of 25.6°C to 37.3°C and 0.0143 to 0.0209 kg water vapour/kg dry air respectively. The
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rotational speed of the desiccant wheel varied from 13 rph to 19 rph and air flow rate

varied from 63.62 kg/h to 127.23 kg/h.

Case 1: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 63.62 kg/h at

13 rph (27/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

On September 27, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (63.62 kg/h) at 13 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 6 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity and

temperature difference between the outlet air temperature of the evacuated tube solar air

collector and ambient air. Initially the temperature difference increases slightly from

10:00 h to 12:00 h. This is because the solar intensity is increasing during this time period

and PCM stores heat during this time period and transfers only a small amount of heat to

the air. In the duration of 12:00 h to 14:00 h, the temperature difference of air starts to

12
 increase sharply, because PCM is not storing heat significantly and it transfers maximum

heat to the air. Then in the duration of 14:00 h to 17:00 h, the air temperature difference

remains almost constant because the solar intensity decreases. During this period the

PCM starts to deliver its stored heat to the air. From 17:00 h to 21:00 h, the air

temperature difference decreases rapidly, because of the unavailability of the solar

intensity. Thus the only way to get the heat is from the stored heat of the PCM. Finally

from 21:00 h to 24:00 h, the air temperature difference decreases slightly. This is

because; the PCM is delivering only sensible heat to the air at low temperature. The
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maximum solar intensity is 882 W/m2 at 12:00 h and achieves the maximum air

temperature difference 34.6°C at 16:00 h. It can be seen from the graph that a significant

temperature difference of 16.6°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 7 shows the variation of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air

flow rate of 63.62 kg/h. With the increase in regeneration temperature the

dehumidification effectiveness increases and reaches its maximum value (16.74% at

15:00 h) and then it decreases with decrease in regeneration temperature. The

regeneration effectiveness follows the same pattern as those observed for the

dehumidification effectiveness. The maximum regeneration effectiveness is 19.09% at

16:00 h. From the graph it is observed that the thermal effectiveness decreases as the

regeneration temperature increases and vice versa. This is because the thermal

13
 effectiveness is inversely proportional to the regeneration temperature. The maximum

thermal effectiveness is 46.24% at 11:00 h. The average regeneration effectiveness,

dehumidification effectiveness and thermal effectiveness are 9.25%, 7.78% and 33.57%

respectively.

(iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

Figure 8 illustrates the variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time. As the
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regeneration temperature increases the DCOP decreases and vice versa. This is because

with the higher regeneration temperature the adsorption rate increases up to the optimum

limit because a further increase in temperature does not affect the adsorption rate

significantly. In this case the maximum and minimum DCOP are 0.0315 and 0.0093 at

the regeneration temperatures of 61.1°C and 40.2°C respectively. The average DCOP is

0.0206 at an average regeneration temperature of 46.8°C.

Case 2: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 127.23 kg/h at

13 rph (23/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

On September 23, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (127.23 kg/h) at 13 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 9 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity and

14
 temperature difference between the regeneration air at the inlet of desiccant wheel and

ambient air. This Figure shows the same trend as those observed in Figure-6. The

maximum solar intensity is 876 W/m2 at 13:00 h and the maximum air temperature

difference is 30.3°C. It can be seen from the graph that a significant temperature

difference of 14.1°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h. In case of low air flow rate (case-

1) the time period is 2 h in which PCM stores heat and transfers only a small amount of

heat to the air. For high flow rate (case-2), the time period is 3 h, so there is a time gap of

1 h. Thus, it has been found that the air temperature difference is less than that of the
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previous case (case-1). This is because the residential time decreases with the increase in

air flow rate.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 10 depicts the profile of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time. With the

increase in regeneration temperature the dehumidification effectiveness increases and

reaches its maximum value (12.46% at 17:00 h) and then it decreases with decrease in

regeneration temperature. The regeneration effectiveness follows the same pattern as

those observed for the dehumidification effectiveness. The maximum regeneration

effectiveness is 17.32% at the regeneration temperature of 63.9°C. The maximum value

of thermal effectiveness is 36.67% at the regeneration temperature of 41.8°C. The

average regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification effectiveness and thermal

effectiveness are 9.33%, 7.78% and 28.66% respectively. When the result of the case-2 is

15
 compared with case-1, it has been found that there is a slight increase in regeneration

effectiveness with an increase in air flow rate at 13 rph of desiccant wheel. Whereas the

average thermal effectiveness decreases with an increase in the air flow rate for the same

rph of the desiccant wheel.

(iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

The time wise variation of the of the DCOP and regeneration temperature is shown in
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Figure 11. As the regeneration temperature increases the DCOP decreases and vice versa.

This is because with the higher regeneration temperature the adsorption rate increases up

to the optimum limit because a further increase in regeneration temperature does not

affect the adsorption rate significantly. In this case the maximum and minimum DCOP

are 0.0776 and 0.0170 at the regeneration temperatures of 47.1°C and 40.3°C

respectively. The average DCOP is 0.0326 at an average regeneration temperature of

49.9°C. When the DCOP of the case-1 is compared with case-2, it has been found that the

DCOP increases with an increase in air flow rate.

Case 3: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 63.62 kg/h at

16 rph (17/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

16
 On September 17, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (63.62 kg/h) at 16 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 12 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity

and temperature difference between the outlet air temperature of the evacuated tube solar

air collector and ambient air. The maximum solar intensity is 962 W/m2 at 13:00 h and

the maximum air temperature difference is 32.9°C. It can be seen from the graph that a

significant temperature difference of 19.9°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h. When the

result of the case-3 is compared with case-1, it has been found that there is a slight
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increase in regeneration effectiveness with an increase in air flow rate at 13 rph of the

desiccant wheel. It has been found that the air temperature difference is less than that of

the case-1. This is because the ambient temperature of the case-3 is high as compared

with case-1.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 13 shows the time wise variation of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature. The maximum

value of the dehumidification effectiveness and regeneration effectiveness are 18.24%

and 16.03% at 18:00 h respectively. The maximum thermal effectiveness is 34.19% at

18:00 h. The average regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification effectiveness and

thermal effectiveness are 8.27%, 8.08% and 18.03% respectively. When the result of the

case-3 is compared with case-1, it has been found that the effectiveness decreases with

increase in rotational speed of the desiccant wheel for same air flow rate.

17
 (iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

Figure 14 shows the variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time. As the

regeneration temperature increases the DCOP decreases with it, thereafter as the

regeneration temperature decreases, the DCOP increases. This is because with the higher

regeneration temperature the adsorption rate increases up to the optimum limit because a

further increase in regeneration temperature does not affect the adsorption rate

significantly. In this case the maximum and minimum DCOP are 0.0356 and 0.0061 at
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the regeneration temperatures of 65.7°C and 45.9°C respectively. The average DCOP is

0.0227 at an average regeneration temperature of 54.2°C. Whereas DCOP of the case-3 is

compared with case-1, it has been found that the DCOP increases with increase in

rotational speed of the desiccant wheel.

Case 4: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 127.23 kg/h at

16 rph (22/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

On September 22, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (127.23 kg/h) at 16 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 15 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity

and temperature difference between the outlet air temperature of the evacuated tube solar

air collector and ambient air. The maximum solar intensity is 901 W/m2 at 13:00 h while

18
 the maximum air temperature difference is 27.8°C. It can be seen from the graph that a

significant temperature difference of 12.9°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h. It has

been found that the air temperature difference is less than that of the previous case-3.

This is because at a high air flow rate the residential time decreases.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 16 illustrates the graph of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

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effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time. The

maximum value of dehumidification effectiveness and regeneration effectiveness are

19.86% and 20.48% respectively. The maximum value of thermal effectiveness is

46.82% at 21:00 h. The average regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification

effectiveness and thermal effectiveness are 10.35%, 8.17% and 30.94% respectively.

When the result of the case-4 is compared with case-2, it has been found that the

effectiveness increases with increase in rotational speed for high air flow rate.

(iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

Figure 17 depicts the variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time. In this

case the maximum and minimum DCOP are 0.0575 and 0.0103 at the regeneration

temperatures of 54.3°C and 40.2°C respectively. The average DCOP is 0.0327 at an

average regeneration temperature of 48.5°C. When the DCOP of the case-4 is compared

19
 with that of case-2, it has been found that the DCOP increases with increase in rotational

speed of the desiccant wheel for high air flow rate.

Case 5: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 63.62 kg/h at

19 rph (28/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

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On September 28, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (63.62 kg/h) at 19 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 18 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity

and temperature difference between the outlet air temperature of the evacuated tube solar

air collector and ambient air. The maximum solar intensity is 874 W/m2 at 12:00 h and

the maximum air temperature difference is 31.4°C. It can be seen from the graph that a

significant temperature difference of 14.2°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 19 shows the profile of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time. The maximum value of

dehumidification effectiveness is 7.46% at the regeneration temperature of 64.3°C and

for regeneration effectiveness it is 13.70 % at the same regeneration temperature of

64.3°C. The maximum value of thermal effectiveness is 49.68% at the regeneration

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 temperature of 41.7°C. The average regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification

effectiveness and thermal effectiveness are 6.24%, 5.28% and 39.11% respectively. In

this case the regeneration effectiveness and dehumidification effectiveness are low as

compared with previous cases (case-1, case-2, case-3 and case-4).

(iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

Figure 20 shows the variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time. In this
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case the maximum and minimum DCOP are 0.0480 and 0.0117 at the regeneration

temperatures of 45.1°C and 62.9°C respectively. The average DCOP is 0.0219 at an

average regeneration temperature of 50.6°C. In this case the DCOP is low as compared

with case-2, case-3 and case-4.

Case 6: Performance of solar powered desiccant wheel for air flow rate of 127.23 kg/h at

19 rph (30/09/2014)

(i) Evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit

On September 30, data are recorded for fixed air flow rate (127.23 kg/h) at 19 rph of

desiccant wheel. The collector is exposed to the Sun at 7:00 h and readings are taken

from 10:00 h to 24:00 h. Figure 21 shows the time wise variation of the solar intensity

and temperature difference between the outlet air temperature of the evacuated tube solar

air collector and ambient air. The maximum solar intensity is 921 W/m2 during the day

21
 and the maximum air temperature difference is 32.6°C. It can be seen from the graph that

a significant temperature difference of 15.8°C could be achieved even at 24:00 h.

(ii) Effectiveness

Figure 22 shows the variation of dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time. The

maximum value of dehumidification effectiveness is 10.34% at the regeneration

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temperature of 67.1°C and for regeneration effectiveness it is 13.39% at the regeneration

temperature of 67.1°C. The maximum thermal effectiveness is 49.07% at the regeneration

temperature of 42.1°C. The average regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification

effectiveness and thermal effectiveness are 6.43%, 5.80% and 36.19% respectively. In

this case the dehumidification effectiveness is low as compared to all other cases

discussed earlier. This is because for high air flow rate at 19 rph of desiccant wheel, the

time of contact between the air and the desiccant material decreases, which causes the

incomplete adsorption and regeneration rate respectively.

(iii) Dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP)

Figure 23 shows the variation of the DCOP and the regeneration temperature with time

for air flow rate of 63.62 kg/h. In this case the maximum and minimum DCOP are 0.0260

and 0.0119 at the regeneration temperatures of 48.4°C and 56.2°C respectively. The

22
 average DCOP is 0.0183 at an average regeneration temperature of 50.6°C. In this case

the DCOP is low as compared to all other cases discussed earlier.

7. CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, the performance of a desiccant dehumidifier was analyzed. The

following conclusions have been drawn from the results:

1. The maximum temperature difference between ambient air and the outlet air of

the evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM unit varies from 27.8°C to 34.6°C while
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at 24:00 h, it varies from 12.9°C to 19.9°C. Hence PCM has the ability to store an

adequate amount of heat to regenerate the desiccant wheel from 18:00 h to 24:00 h. Thus

the operation of the system is continuous from 10:00 h to 24:00 h.

2. It is concluded that with the increase in air flow rates, the temperature difference

between ambient air and the outlet air of the evacuated tube solar air collector with PCM

unit decreases due to decrease in the residence time. The temperature difference at low

(62.63 kg/h) air flow rates is 1.1 to 1.2 times more than at high (127.23 kg/h) air flow

rates.

εA
3. The experimental observations show that the dehumidification effectiveness ( ),

εR
regeneration effectiveness ( ) and DCOP of the system with 127.23 kg/h air flow rate at

16 rph of the desiccant wheel are higher. Hence the performance of the system is

optimized for this flow rate at 16 rph of desiccant wheel.

εA
4. It is observed that the dehumidification effectiveness ( ), regeneration

εR
effectiveness ( ) and DCOP increases with the increase in air flow rates. The

23
 εA
dehumidification effectiveness ( ) at high air flow rates is 1 to 1.10 times that at low air

εR
flow rates. The regeneration effectiveness ( ) at high air flow rates is 1.01 to 1.25 times

that at low air flow rates and DCOP at high air flow rates is 1.31 to 1.58 times that at low

air flow rates.

5. It is observed that the DCOP increases with the increase in the inlet process

humidity ratio. The thermal effectiveness increases with an increase in the outlet process

temperature. While the increase in regeneration temperature reduces the thermal

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effectiveness.

εA εR
6. The average dehumidification effectiveness ( ), regeneration effectiveness ( )

and DCOP of the system with 127.23 kg/h air flow rate at 16 rph of the desiccant wheel

are 8.17%, 10.35% and 0.0327 respectively. Even at 24:00 h, under optimum working

condition of the desiccant wheel the regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification

effectiveness, thermal effectiveness and DCOP are obtained with 2.98%, 3.36%, 29.46%

and 0.0224 respectively.

NOMENCLATURE

H enthalpy of air (kJ/kg)

mp air flow rate of process air (kg/h)

mr
air flow rate of regeneration air (kg/h)

MA
adsorption rate (kg/h)

MR regeneration rate (kg/h)

N rotation (rph)

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 Tamb ambient temperature (°C)

Tp temperature of process air (°C)

Tr temperature of regeneration air (°C)

w humidity ratio of the air (kg water vapour/kg dry air)

Greek Letters

εA
dehumidification effectiveness in process zone

εR
regeneration effectiveness in regeneration zone
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εT
thermal effectiveness

θp
angular zone of process air (degree)

θr
angular zone of regeneration air (degree)

Δhvs latent heat of vaporization of water (kJ/kg)

Subscripts

in inlet

out outlet

p process

r regeneration

Abbreviations

DCOP dehumidification coefficient of performance

PCM phase change material

ETC evacuated tube collector

25
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 Table 1. Dimensions and properties of the desiccant wheel [Yadav and Bajpai[13] ]

Dimensions and properties Value

Length of wheel, Lw (m) 0.1

Wheel diameter, D (m) 0.37

Wall thickness, δ (m) 0.00034

Height of flow passage, 2a (m) 0.0018

Pitch of flow passage, 2b (m) 0.0032

The area ratio of air flow passage to the total area of one channel, Ar 0.844
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Volume ratio of desiccant, ( Φ ) 0.48

Porosity, ε 0.4

,ρd kg / m3 1129
Density of silica gel

ρm kg / m3 625
Density of matrix material,

kd W / mK 0.175
Thermal conductivity of silica gel,

cm J / kgK 1030
Specific heat of matrix materials,

, cd J / kgK 921
Specific heat of silica gel

Pore radius, r (m) 11×10-10

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 Figure 1. (a) Schematic diagram of the experimental setup; (b) Photograph of the

experimental setup with desiccant wheel.

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 Figure 2. Schematic diagram (a) Top view of the evacuated tube solar air collector (b)

Side view of the evacuated tube solar air collector.

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 Figure 3. Schematic diagram (a) The header of the evacuated tube solar air collector (b)

Cross section of the header

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 Figure 4. Schematic diagrams (a) Desiccant wheel (b) Cross section of flow channel of

the desiccant wheel

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 Downloaded by [La Trobe University] at 00:58 01 June 2016

Figure 5. Sketch of the desiccant wheel

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 Figure 6. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air flow

rate of 63.62 kg/h (27/09/2014)

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 Figure 7. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 13 rph (27/09/2014)

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 Figure 8. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 13 rph (27/09/2014)

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 Figure 9. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air flow

rate of 127.23 kg/h (23/09/2014)

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 Figure 10. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 13 rph (23/09/2014)

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 Figure 11. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 13 rph (23/09/2014)

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 Figure 12. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air

flow rate of 63.62 kg/h (17/09/2014)

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 Figure 13. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 16 rph (17/09/2014)

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 Figure 14. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 16 rph (17/09/2014)

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 Figure 15. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air

flow rate of 127.23 kg/h (22/09/2014)

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 Figure 16. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 16 rph (22/09/2014)

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 Figure 17. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 16 rph (22/09/2014)

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 Figure 18. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air

flow rate of 63.62 kg/h (28/09/2014)

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 Figure 19. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 19 rph (28/09/2014)

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 Figure 20. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

63.62 kg/h at 19 rph (28/09/2014)

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 Figure 21. Variation of air temperature difference and solar intensity with time for air

flow rate of 127.23 kg/h (30/09/2014)

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 Figure 22. Variation of the dehumidification effectiveness, regeneration effectiveness,

thermal effectiveness and the regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 19 rph (30/09/2014)

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 Figure 23. Variation of DCOP and regeneration temperature with time for air flow rate of

127.23 kg/h at 19 rph (30/09/2014)

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