Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration (2021) 6:2

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-020-00210-x

ORIGINAL PAPER

Performance analysis of desiccant cooling systems in a hot and dry

climate
Sarra Belguith1 · Zina Meddeb2 · Romdhane Ben Slama1

Received: 30 March 2020 / Accepted: 7 October 2020

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Abstract
Using desiccant cooling systems could help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from climate control systems
in buildings, because this cooling technology employs an environmentally friendly refrigerant and low-grade energy sources
such as solar energy. Here, the results obtained from a model of a desiccant cooling system are presented, as is the valida-
tion of that model using experimental data. The effectiveness of each component of the system (which included a desiccant
wheel, heat exchanger, and two evaporative coolors) was assumed to be constant in the model. The main objectives of this
work were to carry out a performance comparison of the ventilation, recirculation, and Dunkle cycles when the system was
used in the hot and dry climate of Gabès (Tunisia), and to investigate the impact of the ambient conditions on the ventilation
performance. Results showed that among the three cycles, the ventilation cycle presented the best coefficient of performance
(1.89), while the coefficients of performance of the recirculation and Dunkle cycles were 1.13 and 1.71, respectively. Moreo-
ver, the ventilation mode was found to be strongly influenced by the ambient conditions and to be more efficient when the
outside humidity ratio was below 18 g/kg.

Keywords  Desiccant cooling · Ventilation · Recirculation · Dunkle · COP · Outside conditions

List of symbols Subscripts and superscripts
COP Coefficient of performance exch Heat exchanger
F1 First potential function characteristic hum Humidifier
F2 Second potential function characteristic
H Specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)
HBE Heat balance error Introduction
QCOOL Specific cooling load (kJ/kg)
Qreg Specific supplied heat (kJ/kg) Increasing living standards are leading to a corresponding
T Air temperature (K, °C) rise in energy consumption. This is enhancing greenhouse
w Absolute humidity of the air (kg water/kg dry air) gas emissions and thus environmental pollution and global
warming. Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems
Greek letters
consume a significant percentage of the total energy used in
ε Effectiveness
buildings. For instance, according to a study by the Interna-
𝜑 Relative humidity (%)
tional Energy Agency, refrigeration systems consumed 6%
of the total energy supplied to buildings in 2016 (IEA 2018).
Communicated by Sudip Chakraborty, Chief Editor. Strategies for reducing electricity consumption and over-
coming pollution issues have been proposed. Erdem et al.
* Sarra Belguith
belguithsarra@gmail.com (2017) suggested new strategies for designing ideal indoor
environments based on a biomimetic approach that involve
1
National Engineering School of Gabes, R. L. Energy, Water, constructing low- and zero-carbon buildings. Farooq et al.
Environment and Processes, Gabes University, Street Omar
(2019) showed the importance of an atrium in modern archi-
Ibn Elkhatab Zrig, 6072 Gabes, Tunisia
2
tecture, as the presence of an atrium in a building leads to an
National Engineering School of Gabes, R. L. Processes,
energy saving of 15.7% per year. Erdem et al. (2019) devised
Energy, Environment and Electrical Systems, Gabes
University, Street Omar Ibn Elkhatab Zrig, 6072 Gabes, a new natural ventilation strategy for buildings by focus-
Tunisia ing on the key problems with traditional air-conditioning

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 2  Page 2 of 11 Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
systems. They also concluded that air conditioning in school
buildings was significantly influenced by the type of ventila-
tion used (either single-sided or cross ventilation).
In addition, it is necessary to consider the use of environ-
mentally friendly energy sources for cooling systems, in par-
ticular renewable energy such as solar energy, which is one
of the most attractive energy sources for air conditioning as
it is clean, limitless, and inexpensive as well as ecofriendly.
Different types of collectors can be used to convert solar
radiation into heat. The highest thermal and electrical yields
are provided by concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPVT)
collectors (Reza et al. 2018), but at low temperatures, plate
solar collectors are highly efficient and inexpensive. There-
fore, various cooling technologies powered by low-grade
energy sources, such as desiccant cooling systems, have
been investigated in order to minimize costs. Desiccant
cooling systems use refrigerants that can be environmen-
tally friendly. Such a system was first reported in 1955 by
Pennington (Hürdoğan et al. 2010). Another advantage of a
desiccant cooling system is that it can adjust the temperature
and the humidity ratio separately, which is important for
maximizing human comfort. Due to the importance of such
cooling systems, the literature contains extensive research
into desiccant air-conditioning systems. Many of those stud-
ies have focused on the modeling and simulation of a desic-
cant wheel, which is the key component of any desiccant
cooling system (Xingchao and Roger 2019; Wu et al. 2019;
Shahrooz and Hadi 2020). Nie et al. (2017) studied the per-
formance of a combined system consisting of a desiccant
cooling system and a heat pump (HP-SDC). They showed
that the HP-SDC was more efficient than traditional cooling
systems. In order to make desiccant cooling systems more
competitive with traditional cooling systems, various studies
have focused on improving the COP of this technology. Nilo-
far et al. (2019) present a critical study of the properties of
adsorbent materials that were employed in a desiccant cool-
ing system to improve its performance; the study focused on
other important factors such as environmental conditions,
system design, and costs. Jani et al. (2015) proposed a hybrid
solid desiccant vapor compression air-conditioning system
for a hot and humid climate. They showed that this hybrid
cooling system reduced the humidity by 65.59% compared
to the outside air and guaranteed a high coefficient of perfor-
mance. Abbassi et al. (2017) evaluated the performance of
desiccant cooling systems with different configurations and
found that the ventilation cycle performance and recircula-
tion cycle performance of a single-stage system were higher
than those of a double-stage system. In a recent study, Demis
et al. (2018) found that a multi-stage desiccant cooling sys-
tem yielded high performance in a moderate climate.
A desiccant cooling system is characterized by various
configurations, such as ventilation, recirculation, and Dunkle
cycles (Muzaffer et al. 2015). The cycles most commonly
13
(2021) 6:2
used in cooling systems are the ventilation and recirculation
cycles. Therefore, some studies have evaluated the COPs of
these two cycles under various climatic conditions. Bour-
doukan et al. (2010) performed a comparison of the ventila-
tion cycle with the recirculation cycle. They showed that the
COPs of the two cycles were very sensitive to the outside
conditions and the effectiveness of each component used.
Muzaffar et al. (2018) analyzed the performance of a desic-
cant cooling system in various configurations and under a
wide range of climatic conditions representative of global
meteorological data.
The present article reports work aimed at modeling
and simulating a desiccant cooling system. The air states
throughout the system were determined by solving a system
of coupled nonlinear algebraic equations. The model of the
desiccant cooling system was created by imputing efficiency
values for various components that characterized the system,
such as the desiccant wheel, the heat exchanger, and the
humidifier. In addition, the conditions in the space to be
cooled, the environmental conditions (humidity ratio and
temperature), and the regeneration air flow temperature were
specified. The model was integrated into a Matlab calcula-
tion code and then validated against experimental results.
Afterwards, the numerical implementation was used to
evaluate the performance of desiccant cooling cycles (ven-
tilation, recirculation, and Dunkle cycles) in the hot and dry
climate of Gabès in Tunisia (Kottek et al. 2006). Finally,
the sensitivity of each cycle to the climatic conditions was
explored.
System description
Ventilation cycle
The ventilation cycle, also known as the Pennington cycle,
is an open cycle that relies primarily on the use of water
and its phase-change potential. This cycle operates as fol-
lows (Fig. 1). The fresh air is dehumidified at a desiccant
wheel; during the dehumidification process, the humidity
ratio of the air decreases and its temperature increases due
to the heating caused by the release of adsorption energy
(state points 1–2 in Fig. 1). Afterwards, the temperature of
this air is decreased through heat exchange with the cooled
return air (2–3). Finally, the process air is cooled further in
a humidifier before being blown into the conditioned space
(3–4). The operating sequence for the regeneration side is
as follows. After being cooled at the humidifier (5–6), the
return air cools the incoming air in the heat exchanger (6–7).
Finally, it is heated by the heat source to regenerate the des-
iccant wheel by removing moisture, after which it exits the
air-conditioning system (Henning 2007).
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration (2021) 6:2 Page 3 of 11  2
Fig. 1  Ventilation cycle of a
desiccant cooling system
Recirculation cycle
This is the cycle that is most suitable for humid climates
and buildings with high latent loads. The recirculation cycle
uses a mixture of fresh air and air extracted from the build-
ing, or it may use only the air extracted from the building.
In general, in recirculation mode, the process air side is a
closed loop whereas the regeneration air side is an open
loop (Dezfouli et al. 2014). The air undergoes the follow-
ing process (see Fig. 2). Air extracted from the conditioned
space is dehumidified at a desiccant wheel (1–2 in Fig. 2)
before being cooled in a heat exchanger (2–3). It is then
further cooled by a humidifier before it is introduced into
the conditioned space (3–4). On the regeneration side, the
ambient air is humidified in a humidifier (5–6) before being
heated in a heat exchanger (6–7). It then undergoes another
heating stage (7–8; heat source: solar energy) in order to
remove the water vapor droplets retained by the desiccant
wheel. The only drawback of this cycle is the lack of fresh
air (Kodama 2000).
Dunkle cycle
The Dunkle cycle combines the advantages of the two cycles
described above (Muzaffar et al. 2015). In this cycle, a third
step utilizing a heat exchanger is included to improve the
performance of the system. It also uses recycled air. On the
Fig. 2  Recirculation cycle of a
desiccant cooling system
process air side, the return air at state point 1 is humidified
and cooled by a humidifier (1–2). The sensible heat of this
air is then exchanged in an air-to-air sensible heat exchanger
(2–3). After this, the air passes through a desiccant wheel,
where its temperature increases and moisture is extracted
during the dehumidification process (3–4). Afterwards,
its sensible heat is removed by the heat exchanger (4–5)
before the air is precooled by a second heat exchanger (5–6).
Finally, the air is cooled in another humidifier (6–7) before
being blown into the room. On the regeneration air side,
the sensible heat of the process air is passed to the ambi-
ent air using a heat exchanger, causing the temperature of
the ambient air to increase (8–9). This air is then preheated
(9–10; heat source: solar energy) in order to regenerate the
desiccant wheel (10–11). The main drawback of the Dunkle
cycle is the complexity of its design (see Fig. 3).
In the next section, we present the modeling and valida-
tion of a desiccant cooling system.
Modeling and validation
In order to calculate the air states throughout the cycle, the
equations obtained from heat and mass transfer balances of
the system components were solved, which involved mak-
ing the following assumptions (Sphaier and Nóbrega 2012):
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Fig. 3  Dunkle cycle of a desic-

cant cooling system

Hypotheses (273.15 + T)1.49

• The air flow mass remains constant throughout the two
branches (process and regeneration)
• The specific heat can be assumed to be constant because
there is no significant change in temperature
• The system is operated in permanent mode
• The effectiveness of the heat exchanger and that of the
humidifier are independent of the operating conditions
• The conditions in the environment and the conditioned
space, namely the temperature and the humidity ratio, are
prespecified.
Modeling
The desiccant wheel
The dehumidification process is carried out at the desiccant
wheel. As a result, this component must be modeled in order
to evaluate the performance of the desiccant cooling system.
The relevant literature classifies desiccant wheel models into
two main categories: physical and empirical (Panaras et al.
2010). There is also another approach that enables the outlet
states of the desiccant wheel to be predicted based on the
method of analogy with a nonhygroscopic exchanger. This
simplified approach was developed by Maclaine-Cross and
Banks (1972) and Jurinak (1982). The equations that charac-
terize the present model take the following forms (note that
the subscripts in the equations below refer to state points in
the ventilation cycle):
F1 (T2 , w2 ) − F1 (T1 , w1 )
𝜀1 = (1)
F1 (T8 , w8 ) − F1 (T1 , w1 )
F2 (T2 , w2 ) − F2 (T1 , w1 )
𝜀2 = (2)
F2 (T8 , w8 ) − F2 (T1 , w1 )
F2 = − 1.127w0.07969 . (4)
6360
Here, 𝜀1 and 𝜀2 represent the degree of approximation
to the adiabatic state and the degree of dehumidification,
respectively. The values of 𝜀1 and 𝜀2 depend on the type of
desiccant wheel used. For an ideal wheel, 𝜀1 = 0 and 𝜀2 = 1
(Jani et al. 2015). Typical values have also been proposed for
𝜀1 and 𝜀2 that are not related to a specific adsorbent material
or a specific range of conditions (Joudi and Dhaidan 2001;
Sheridan and Mitchell 1985):
• (𝜀  , 𝜀2) = (0.05, 0.95): high-performance wheel
1
• (𝜀  , 𝜀2) = (0.08, 0.8): moderate-performance wheel
1
• (𝜀  , 𝜀2) = (0.1, 0.7) or (𝜀  , 𝜀2) = (0.07, 0.8): low-performance wheel.
1 1
The desiccant wheel performance is also defined by the
following equation (Daou et al. 2006):
w1 − w2
𝜀DW =
w1
. (5)
The heat exchanger
The role of the heat exchanger in the desiccant cooling sys-
tem is to facilitate heat exchange between the process air
flow and the regeneration air flow. Therefore, the dry and
warm air that leaves the desiccant wheel is cooled by the
heat exchanger while the humidity of the air remains con-
stant. On the other hand, the return air flow is preheated
by the heat exchanger. The efficiency of the heat exchanger
is defined by the following equation (Sphaier and Nóbrega
2012):
T2 − T3 T − T6
= 7
𝜀exch = . (6)
T2 − T6 T 2 − T6

2865 The humidity ratio of the air cooled by the heat exchanger
F1 = − + 4.344w0.8624 (3)
(T + 273.15)1.49 remains constant, i.e.,

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Table 1  Parameter values used to validate the model developed in

w3 = w2 , w6 = w7 . (7) this study
The vapor pressure and the saturated vapor pressure are Parameter Value
respectively defined by the following equations (Castaing
Efficiency of heat exchanger 0.575
2003):
Efficiency of humidifier 1 0.953
(w × P(T)) Efficiency of humidifier 2 0.918
Pv (T) = . (8)
(0.622 + w) Ambient air temperature (°C) 31.5
Humidity ratio of ambient air (kg/kg) 0.0095
Return air temperature (°C) 26.7
Ps = 9.8 × 104 × 10(5.978−(2225∕T)) . (9)
Humidity ratio of return air ( kg/kg) 0.01162
The relative humidity is calculated using the following Regeneration air temperature (°C) 60.8
equation:
Pv (T)
𝜑= × 100. (10)
Ps (T)
where Q f is the specific cooling capacity, Q reg is the
heat supplied for regeneration, and QH is the heat rejected
The humidifier to the environment. These parameters were calculated in
different ways depending on the cycle considered:
A humidifier or evaporative cooler is a component that simul-
taneously controls the temperature and humidity. The air that • Ventilation cycle:
leaves the heat exchanger is humidified by the humidifier. Dur- Qf = h5 − h4 , Qreg = h8 − h7 , QH = h9 − h1 .
ing the humidification process, water vapor is injected into
the air to cool it (its temperature decreases and its humidity
increases). The humidification process is an isenthalpic pro- • Recirculation cycle:
cess, so Qf = h1 − h4 , Qreg = h8 − h7 , QH = h9 − h5 .
h3 = h4 , h5 = h6 . (11)
The efficiency of the humidifier is defined by the following • Dunkle cycle:
equation (Threlkeld et al. 1998): Qf = h1 − h7 , Qreg = h10 − h9 , QH = h11 − h8 .

T 3 − T4 To estimate the global heat balance error (HBE) error,

𝜀hum = , (12)
T3 − Tsat the following equation was used (Sphaier and Nóbrega
2012):
where Tsat is the adiabatic temperature of saturation (Sevens
and Fellows 1966), which is given by Qf + Qreg − QH
HBE = . (18)
QH
1
Tsat = 2.265[1.97 + 4.3T3 + 104 w3 ] ∕2 − 14.85. (13)

Model validation The coefficient of performance of the desiccant

In order to validate the model presented above, the results
obtained with the model were compared with corresponding
results obtained experimentally for the ventilation cycle by
Kanoglu et al. (2004); see Table 1. These data were imple-
mented in the initial simulation.
In addition, the following energy balance was applied
throughout the cycle to determine the accuracy of the solu-
tion (Sphaier and Nóbrega 2012):
Qf + Qreg = QH ,
cooling system
The coefficient of performance (COP) of the solar desic-
cant cooling system is the ratio between the cooling capac-
ity supplied to the conditioned space and the heat supplied
to regenerate the desiccant wheel. The COP is calculated
using the following equation (Kanoglu et al. 2004):
Qf
COP = . (19)
Qreg
(14)
Thus, the COP of the desiccant cooling system in ven-
tilation mode is

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h5 − h4 isenthalpic. Also, segments 1–2 and 8–9 are parallel to 3–4

COP = , (20)
h8 − h7
the COP of the desiccant cooling system in recirculation
mode is
h1 − h4
COP = , (21)
h8 − h7
and the COP of the desiccant cooling system in Dunkle
mode is
h1 − h7
COP = . (22)
h10 − h9
Results and discussion
Validation results
The results obtained from the model agreed well with the
experimental results obtained by Kanoglu et al. (2004);
see Table 2. For the temperature, the relative error varied
between 0 and 0.8%. For the relative humidity, the relative
error varied between 0 and 9%. In addition, the HBE value
did not exceed 1.5% in any of the simulations presented in
this study. To further verify the methodology applied in this
work, the numerical simulations were verified qualitatively.
From an analysis of the psychrometric charts for the various
cycles (ventilation, recirculation, and Dunkle; see Figs. 4, 5,
and 6, respectively) of desiccant cooling, it was deduced that
the results provided by the model are physically consistent.
For example, during the ventilation cycle (Fig. 4), segments
1–2 and 8–9 have the same length, as required by the energy
balance at the desiccant wheel. Segments 3–2 and 7–6 also
have the same length, as required by the energy balance at
the heat exchanger. In addition, segments 3–4 and 5–6 are
parallel. This indicates that the process at the humidifier is
and 5–6, respectively. This shows that the process at the
desiccant wheel is nearly isenthalpic.
Comparison of different cycles of the desiccant
cooling system
The model of a desiccant cooling system presented above
was also used to compare the behavior of the air during
the ventilation cycle with its behavior during the recircu-
lation and Dunkle cycles. Note that the regeneration tem-
perature—an important parameter that greatly influences
the dehumidification capacity of a desiccant cooling sys-
tem—was prespecified as 60 °C for all desiccant cooling
system configurations. This low value for the regeneration
temperature was chosen deliberately due to the fact that it
can easily be achieved using solar power, waste heat, district
heating, or heat pumps in a hot and dry climate. The dehu-
midification carried out during the ventilation cycle at this
regeneration temperature was equal to 0.0083 kg/kg (reduc-
ing the ambient air humidity ratio from 0.02 to 0.0117 kg/
kg). During the recirculation cycle, the humidity ratio of the
air extracted from the conditioned space was reduced from
0.016 to 0.0091 kg/kg. During the Dunkle cycle, the desic-
cant wheel reduced the humidity ratio of the outlet air of the
heat exchanger from 0.0174 to 0.0111 kg/kg. In addition,
the humidity ratio and temperature of the supply air play
important roles as they influence the latent and sensible heat
of the conditioned space. The humidity ratio of the supply
air in the conditioned space during the ventilation mode was
0.0134 kg/kg, whereas the humidity ratios of the supply air
during the recirculation and Dunkle cycles were 0.0127 kg/
kg and 0. 0125 kg/kg, respectively. The temperature of the
supply air in the room during the ventilation cycle, 18.48 °C,
was higher than those during the recirculation cycle and the
Dunkle cycle (17.76 °C and 17.40 °C, respectively).
The overall behavior during the ventilation, recirculation,
and Dunkle cycles of the desiccant cooling system in terms

Table 2  Experimental State point T (°C) in model 𝜑 (%) in model T (°C) from Kanoglu 𝜑 (%) from
validation of the model et al. (2004) Kanoglu et al.
developed in this work (2004)

1 31.5 32.9 31.5 32.9

2 43.54 11.5 43.5 11.5
3 30.17 23.47 30.2 23.7
4 17.36 91 17.3 94
5 26.7 52.5 26.7 53
6 20.3 93 20.4 95
7 33.66 43.37 33.7 43.5
8 60.8 11.17 60.8 11
9 48.82 24.13 49.8 22.7

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Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
Fig. 4  Psychrometric chart for the ventilation cycle of the desiccant cooling system
of the temperature and humidity ratio of the air, the relative
humidity, and the enthalpy at different state points in the
cycle is presented in Tables 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
The performance results for the three configurations of
the solar desiccant cooling system in the hot and dry climate
of Gabès in Tunisia are shown in Table 6. The ventilation
cycle yielded the highest COP of all the cycles: the COP
of the ventilation cycle was 1.89, while the COPs of the
recirculation and Dunkle cycles were 1.13 and 1.71, respec-
tively. Additionally, it should be noted that the ventilation
and Dunkle cycles gave similar COPs. This fact can be
explained by noting that the Dunkle cycle is applicable to
a wide range of climatic conditions (Join et al. 1995), but
this cycle is rarely used in practice because of the complex-
ity of its design (Bourdoukan et al. 2010). Therefore, the
ventilation cycle is most suitable for the climate of Gabès.
In the current study, all of the main components of the des-
iccant cooling configurations were characterized by high
efficiencies: the desiccant wheel efficiencies 𝜀1 and 𝜀2 were
0.05 and 0.95, respectively, and the efficiencies of the heat
exchanger and the humidifier were both 1. The calculated
COP values for different configurations were similar to the
(2021) 6:2 Page 7 of 11  2
experimental values, which varied between 0.4 and 0.6
(Krishna and Murthy 1989; Jain et al. 2000; Kodama et al.
2000). Differences between desiccant cooling system COP
values in the literature are due to differences in the system
processes and operating conditions applied. In addition, in
some cases, the desiccant cooling COP is defined differently
(as the difference between the enthalpies of the ambient air
and the supply air).
Sensitivity of the ventilation cycle
to the outside conditions
Figure 7 shows how the COP of the ventilation cycle varies
as a function of the ambient humidity ratio at different ambi-
ent temperatures. For a regeneration temperature of 60 °C,
increasing the ambient temperature and ambient humidity
ratio was found to increase the COP of the ventilation cycle.
During the process of dehumidification, the desiccant wheel
removes moisture from the outside air by creating a zone
of low vapor pressure at the surface of the adsorbent mate-
rial. A rise in the ambient humidity ratio corresponds to an
increase in the water vapor content of the process air. This
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Fig. 5  Psychometric chart for the recirculation cycle of the desiccant cooling system

Fig. 6  Psychometric chart for the Dunkle cycle of the desiccant cooling system

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Table 3  Air states during the ventilation cycle in the desiccant cool- 2.5
ing system COP (30°C)
2.4
State point T (°C) w (g/kg) 𝜑(%) h (kJ/kg) COP(34°C)
2.3
COP(38°C)
1 30.90 20.00 70.39 82.21 2.2
COP(40°C)
2 52.72 11.70 13.54 83.52 2.1

COP
3 22.62 11.70 67.04 52.58 2
4 18.48 13.40 97.73 52.58
1.9
5 26.00 16.00 74.68 66.91
6 22.62 17.40 98.37 66.91 1.8
7 52.72 17.40 19.87 98.14 1.7
8 60.00 17.40 14.09 105.69 1.6
9 38.28 25.60 59.99 104.40 1.5
0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018 0.02
Ambient air flow humidity rao kg/kg
Table 4  Air states during the recirculation cycle in the desiccant
cooling system Fig. 7  Variation in the COP of the ventilation cycle as a function of
the ambient air humidity at different ambient temperatures
State point T (°C) w (g/kg) 𝜑(%) h (kJ/kg)

1 26.00 16.00 74.68 66.91 leads to a major difference in partial vapor pressure between
2 45.74 9.10 14.87 69.53 the process air flow and the adsorbent material. As a result,
3 26.59 9.10 41.51 49.95
the adsorption potential increases due to greater diffusion
4 17.76 12.70 96.51 49.95
of water vapor particles from the process air flow to the
5 30.90 20.00 70.39 82.21
adsorbent material, meaning that the outside air is dehu-
6 26.59 21.80 97.29 82.21
midified. Thus, the cooling effect of the system is greater
7 45.74 21.80 34.86 102.24
than the regeneration heat, so the COP increases. When the
8 60.00 21.80 17.53 117.14
outside humidity is > 18 g/kg, the cooling effect is less than
9 40.51 28.70 59.38 114.52
the regeneration heat, so the COP of the ventilation cycle
decreases. In another study that was performed under dif-
ferent operating conditions (Bourdoukan et al. 2010), the
Table 5  Air states during the Dunkle cycle in the desiccant cooling ventilation cycle was found to be more effective when the
system humidity ratio was below 11 g/kg.
State point T (°C) w (g/kg) 𝜑(%) h (kJ/kg)

1 26.00 16.00 74.68 66.91 Conclusions

2 22.62 17.40 98.37 66.91
3 32.62 17.40 55.83 77.29 In the investigation reported here, a desiccant cooling system
4 50.09 11.10 14.57 79.15 was simulated via MATLAB software using a nonalgebraic
5 30.90 11.10 39.61 59.45 system based on the energy and mass balances of the com-
6 20.90 11.10 70.26 49.19 ponents of the system. The effectiveness of each component
7 17.40 12.50 97.46 49.19 was selected based on the assumption that a highly efficient
8 30.90 20.00 70.39 82.21 system was used. Besides data associated with the formulae,
9 50.09 20.00 25.89 102.22 the mass flow rates of the process and regeneration air were
10 60.00 20.00 16.16 112.55 taken to be constant, and the conditions in the environment
11 42.69 26.30 48.81 110.69 and the conditioned space (namely the temperature and the
humidity ratio) were prespecified. The results obtained from
the model were validated experimentally. The coefficients
Table 6  Performance results for the ventilation, recirculation, and of performance (COPs) for three configurations of the des-
Dunkle cycles of the modeled solar desiccant cooling system iccant cooling system—the ventilation cycle, recirculation
Cycles Ventilation cycle Recirculation cycle Dunkle cycle cycle, and Dunkle cycle configurations—in the hot and dry
climate of Gabès in Tunisia were determined. The ventila-
COP 1.89 1.13 1.71 tion cycle COP was calculated to be 1.89, which was higher
than those for the recirculation cycle and the Dunkle cycle

13
 2  Page 10 of 11 Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
(1.13 and 1.71, respectively). Therefore, the ventilation cycle
is most appropriate for the climate of Gabès. A study of the
effects of the ambient humidity ratio and temperature on
the ventilation cycle COP showed that this cycle is more
efficient when the ambient humidity ratio is below 18 g/kg.
A more efficient procedure could be achieved with a hybrid
system combining a vapor compression system (or magnetic
refrigeration system) with a desiccant cooling system; such
a system will be the subject of a future study.
Funding  No funding was received.
Compliance with ethical standards  -8904(00)00111​-4
Conflict of interest  On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding au-
thor states that there is no conflict of interest.
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