Experimental performance of a novel Liquid Desiccant Dehumidification System

This paper presents results of experiments conducted to investigate the performance of an energy efficient, liquid desiccant dehumidification, cooling system. The system was designed to deliver conditioned air supply to buildings in highly humid climate conditions. The system could also be used to provide precondition air for commercial and industrial building, and so will help to save energy and cost by reducing compressor and/or chiller capacities in the ordinary cooling units. The system has an added value of improved indoor air quality and comfort by removing excessive humidity when used under humid climates, thus reducing the rate of mould growth and mildew that create “sick building syndrome”. The system evaluated in the study incorporates a desiccant dehumidifier, heat exchangers and an indirect evaporative cooling core. The desiccant is regenerated through heat energy produced using electrical power, but it could also be generated using recovered heat from the building, if available at the required temperature. A 4.85kW cooling capacity system has been fabricated and tested. The results show that the system is able to remove a considerable amount of moisture from the air at a thermal efficiency of 68.5%. A temperature difference of 7°C and relative humidity difference of 27.6 % between the ambient and the supply air have been achieved during the test.