Experimental comparison between internally and externally cooled air-solution contactors.

Number: pap. n. 58

Author(s) : GOMMED K., GROSSMAN G., PRIETO J., et al.

Summary

Air-conditioning demand, especially in hot and humid climates, causes most of the energy consumption in buildings. In these applications, latent load often constitutes a significant part of the total load. Conventional air-conditioning systems deal with the required dehumidification by cooling the moist air below its dew point and reheat it later to increase its temperature to comfortable supply conditions. By using solid/liquid desiccant systems, which absorb humidity from the air, it becomes unnecessary to reach the dew point in order to dehumidify, thereby reducing the energy consumption. In liquid desiccant systems (LDS) dehumidification occurs in the absorber, where the humidity of the air is absorbed by direct contact with a desiccant. Most of the previous LDS studies have used adiabatic absorbers, where solution must be cooled externally, before being delivered into the air-solution contactor. However, based on experience with closed-cycle absorption systems, internally cooled absorbers are expected to yield better performance considering that cool solution temperature throughout the absorber will maintain a constant and low vapor pressure. This paper presents an experimental study of two different internally-cooled air-solution contactors, using falling film tubular heat exchangers: The tubes in one are made of titanium and in the other of HDPE. The experiments have been conducted in a LDS under summer conditions in the Mediterranean city of Haifa, Israel. A performance comparison is also carried out with an externally-cooled air-solution contactor, using results obtained from previous studies.

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Pages: 10 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Experimental comparison between internally and externally cooled air-solution contactors.
  • Record ID : 30014335
  • Languages: English
  • Source: International sorption heat pump conference (ISHPC2014), College Park, United States, March 31-April 2, 2014.
  • Publication date: 2014/03/02

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