Desiccants for Dehumidification and Cooling

Sanjeev Jain, MASHRAE

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Comfort Cooling Options

Vapour Compression Cooling Systems (VCS)
Quite effective & Reliable, highly energy intensive, requires skilled maintenance, Environmental issues - ODP/ GWP

Vapour Absorption Cooling systems (VAS)

Utilizes waste heat/ low grade energy, skilled maintenance, little bulky, Ecofriendly

Evaporative Cooling Systems

Simple, low initial and operating costs, low maintenance, ineffective during humid conditions, Cannot go below wet bulb temperature (WBT) of air Used in hot and dry climates & for precooling of ventilation air

Desiccant Cooling Systems

Hybrid Systems

Dehumidification Methodologies
Compression (Drying) and Cooling
Reduces capacity of air to hold moisture, Suitable for pressure systems such as instrument air, Produces 100% RH at elevated pressure, too expensive for large volumes at atm. pressure

Refrigeration below dew point

Suitable for dew points above 50C and comparatively warm, high moisture content air (else defrosting/ anti-icing/ brine required)

Desiccation
Removal of moisture due to vapor pressure difference, Suitable for low dew points, large latent loads, Used extensively in drying

What are Desiccants?

Adsorb water on surface or chemical absorption
Remove heat of sorption (~ 25% more than latent heat) and regenerator heat dumpback

Liquid Absorbents
Glycols e.g. Propylene Glycol and TEG, Lithium Chloride, Lithium Bromide, Calcium Chloride etc. and their mixtures Vapor pressure a function of Temperature and Concentration [Operating ranges : 45-60% LiBr, 30-45% LiCl, 40-45% CaCl2, 90-98% TEG]

Solid Adsorbents
Silica Gel, Molecular Sieves, Activated Alumina, Activated Charcoal/ Carbon, Natural Zeolites, Synthetic polymers (PSSASS), Metal SilicatesTitanium Silicate

Liquid Desiccant Dehumidifier

Liquid Desiccant Equipments

Packed Bed Towers
Random and Structured packings (Rigid Media cellulose pads) Compact, efficient but higher pressure drops and higher desiccant flow rates

Spray Towers
Cooling Coils Simple, low cost

Wetted Wall Columns

Shell & Tube type, Plates High Contact area per unit volume and low pressure drops

Types of Absorber and Regenerator

Liquid Desiccantin

Airout Liquid Desiccantout

Air out

Liquid Desiccantin

Spraying Nozzle

Waterout

Airout

Packing

Waterin

Liquid Desiccantout

Air in

Airin

Liquid Desiccantout

Liquid Desiccant out

Airin

Packed Bed Tower

Falling Film Tower

Spray Tower

Zero Carry Over Test-Rig

Measures of Tower Performance

Ullah et al. (1986) introduced the widely popular term dehumidification effectiveness or moisture effectiveness.

AlMutairi (2000) introduced effectiveness of the regenerator based on its end use.

Stevens (1988) introduced enthalpy effectiveness in order to predict combined effect of heat and mass transfer between desiccant and air.

Ullah et al. (1988)

Chung et al. (1994)

Comparative Assessment of Liquid Desiccant Solutions

Property @ 250 /750C Vapor Pressure (psol) Density (sol) Viscosity (sol) Specific Heat (Cp, sol) Surface Tension (sol) Thermal Conductivity (Ksol) Cost Aqueous Solution of Inorganic Salts Unit LiCl 40% by weight 0.593/9.379 Conde (2003) 1251/1224 Conde (2003) 8.33/2.90 Conde (2003) 2.692/2.874 Conde (2003) 95.8/90 Conde (2003) 0.53/0.59 Conde (2003) 1860 LiBr 60% by weight 0.265/4.779 Yuan & Herold (2005) 1716/1684 Yuan & Herold (2005) 7.4/2.8 Yuan & Herold (2005) 1.876/1.946 Yuan & Herold (2005) 94.5/89.4 Yao et al. (1991) 0.41/0.45 Yuan & Herold (2005) 2340 CaCl2 45% by weight 0.952/14.707 Conde (2003) 1445/1413 Conde (2003) 14.0/4.81 Conde (2003) 2.269/2.503 Conde (2003) 96.5/91.3 Conde (2003) 0.54/0.60 Conde (2003) 160 Organic Solution TEG 95% by weight 0.528/9.355 Dow (2005) 1118/1079 Dow (2005) 54/6.5 Dow (2005) 2.27/2.549 Dow (2005) 45.55/43.7 Wu et al. (2001) 0.25/0.22 Dow (2005) 250

kPa

kg/m3 Ns/m2 *10-3 kJ/kg 0C N/m *10-3 W/m

0C

Rs/kg

Rotary Desiccant Wheel

Desiccant Cooling Technology

Augmenting evaporative cooling for humid climates
Dehumidify air - Desiccants Sensible Cooling - Series of Heat Exchangers, Indirect Evaporative Coolers

Types
Solid Desiccant systems - Silica Gel, Molecular Sieves ... Liquid Desiccant systems - TEG, LiCl, LiBr, CaCl2 ... Hybrid Desiccant systems - Integrate with VAS or VCS

Why Desiccant Cooling?

Eco-friendly High grade Energy savings & Low Maintenance
Can save upto 25% energy for humid climates Atmospheric operation Use waste heat/ renewable energy sources e.g. Solar energy

Better Indoor Air Quality

Allows more fresh air and disinfects air

Applications
Large latent loads and low humidity requirements e.g. Hotels, supermarkets, auditoriums, ice rinks, pools, Ventilation air etc.

A liquid desiccant system

Cycle on Psychometric Chart

SPECIFIC HUMIDITY

OA

1 5 4 ROOM 2 3

DRY BULB TEMPERATURE

A Solid Desiccant Cooling System

Ventilation Cycle - Schematic

Outside air
Supply Air

3 Sensible Heat Exchanger

EC

W H E E L

HTR EC
Return Air

Q heat

Recirculation Mode
Return Air T=20C RH=80% w= 10.9kg/kg
1

W=3.64g/kg T=60C
2 3

Supply Air
EC
4

W H E E L

Sensible Heat Exchanger =0.8

HTR

T T = 2 3 T T 2 6

EC

Q heat

T5 T6 = T5 WBT 5

A Typical Liquid Desiccant Cycle

DS 8 AIR OUT REGENERATOR REGENERATOR ABSORBER ABSORBER 2 CS HE ROOM 3 4 EC EC WATER OUT 5

HE

L H E

WATER IN 1

OUTSIDE AIR 6

6 CS DS

Comparative Assessment
Liquid Systems
Lower pressure drop Simultaneous cooling during dehumidification Thermodynamically better Single regenerator for multiple conditioners Flexibility in locations of conditioner and regenerator Problems of Corrosion (Glycols non corrosive), Carryover of solution into the air stream and Crystallization of salt

Solid systems
Compact - better for low capacity units Free from corrosion and carryover problems

Hybrid Desiccant Cooling Systems

Desiccant dehumidifiers (Solid or Liquid) Latent Loads VCS/ VAS Sensible Loads Condenser heat for regeneration

Hybrid Liquid desiccant System

Spray Type Dehumidifier

Hybrid Solid Desiccant System

Various Modes of Operation

Processes on Psychrometric Chart

Thank you for your kind attention