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Experimental performance evaluation of a composite superabsorbent polymer coated heat exchanger based air dehumidification system

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  • Vivekh, P.
  • Islam, M.R.
  • Chua, K.J.

Abstract

Decoupling sensible and latent cooling loads by using desiccant coated heat exchangers (DCHEs) is an effective way to promote air-conditioners’ energy efficiency. At the moment, there is still room for existing DCHEs to improve because of the restricted adsorption capacity of the desiccants used and the requirement of higher regeneration temperatures. In this paper, we have developed a composite polymer desiccant comprising a hydrophilic superabsorbent polymer and a hygroscopic salt. We have conducted a series of experiments to evaluate its static and dynamic sorption characteristics. The new composite desiccant showed up to 12 times improvement in the isothermal water sorption capacity and yielded 2.1 times enhancement in sorption rate when it was benchmarked with desiccants such as silica gel, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks. Dynamically, the new DCHE was able to regenerate effectively between 40 and 50 °C in contrast to the previous requirement of 70–90 °C. Also, due to its excellent water retention capacity, the cooling water could be maintained at temperatures lower than the air’s dew point without any issue of deliquescence. Further, it could operate with cycle times of 10 min vis-à-vis earlier DCHE systems that were confined to 20–300 s. Lastly, we studied the energy savings potential of incorporating the composite polymer based DCHE to a chiller system. Key results indicated that for a fully fresh air configuration, energy savings up to 50% can be achieved. On the other hand, with 70% return air recirculation, DCHE has the potential to reduce 20% of the electrical energy consumed by the chiller.

Suggested Citation

  • Vivekh, P. & Islam, M.R. & Chua, K.J., 2020. "Experimental performance evaluation of a composite superabsorbent polymer coated heat exchanger based air dehumidification system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:260:y:2020:i:c:s0306261919319439
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114256
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ge, T.S. & Zhang, J.Y. & Dai, Y.J. & Wang, R.Z., 2017. "Experimental study on performance of silica gel and potassium formate composite desiccant coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 149-158.
    2. Vivekh, P. & Bui, D.T. & Wong, Y. & Kumja, M. & Chua, K.J., 2019. "Performance evaluation of PVA-LiCl coated heat exchangers for next-generation of energy-efficient dehumidification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 733-750.
    3. Zheng, X. & Wang, R.Z. & Ge, T.S. & Hu, L.M., 2015. "Performance study of SAPO-34 and FAPO-34 desiccants for desiccant coated heat exchanger systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 88-94.
    4. Vivekh, P. & Kumja, M. & Bui, D.T. & Chua, K.J., 2018. "Recent developments in solid desiccant coated heat exchangers – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 778-803.
    5. Oh, Seung Jin & Ng, Kim Choon & Chun, Wongee & Chua, Kian Jon Ernest, 2017. "Evaluation of a dehumidifier with adsorbent coated heat exchangers for tropical climate operations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 441-448.
    6. Jagirdar, Mrinal & Lee, Poh Seng, 2018. "Mathematical modeling and performance evaluation of a desiccant coated fin-tube heat exchanger," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 401-415.
    7. Ge, T.S. & Dai, Y.J. & Wang, R.Z. & Peng, Z.Z., 2010. "Experimental comparison and analysis on silica gel and polymer coated fin-tube heat exchangers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 2893-2900.
    8. Golparvar, Behzad & Niazmand, Hamid & Sharafian, Amir & Ahmadian Hosseini, Amirjavad, 2018. "Optimum fin spacing of finned tube adsorber bed heat exchangers in an exhaust gas-driven adsorption cooling system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 504-516.
    9. Valarezo, Andres S. & Sun, X.Y. & Ge, T.S. & Dai, Y.J. & Wang, R.Z., 2019. "Experimental investigation on performance of a novel composite desiccant coated heat exchanger in summer and winter seasons," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 506-518.
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    1. Karmakar, Avishek & Prabakaran, Vivekh & Zhao, Dan & Chua, Kian Jon, 2020. "A review of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as energy-efficient desiccants for adsorption driven heat-transformation applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    2. Wang, Cong & Yang, Bianfeng & Ji, Xu & Zhang, Ren & Wu, Hailong, 2022. "Study on activated carbon/silica gel/lithium chloride composite desiccant for solid dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    3. Zheng, Xu & Zhang, Yu & Wan, Tinghao & Chen, Kang, 2023. "Experimental study on the performance of a novel superabsorbent polymer and activated carbon composite coated heat exchangers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Zheng, Xu & Wan, Tinghao & Zhang, Yu & Ma, Qianling, 2024. "Experimental investigation of a thermo-responsive composite coated heat exchanger for ultra-low grade heat utilization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    5. Chen, W.D. & Vivekh, P. & Liu, M.Z. & Kumja, M. & Chua, K.J., 2021. "Energy improvement and performance prediction of desiccant coated dehumidifiers based on dimensional and scaling analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    6. Zhang, Yu & Wang, Weining & Zheng, Xu & Cai, Jinliang, 2024. "Recent progress on composite desiccants for adsorption-based dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    7. Zhang, Lige & Spatari, Sabrina & Sun, Ying, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of novel heat exchanger for dry cooling of power plants based on encapsulated phase change materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    8. Chen, K. & Zheng, X. & Wang, S.N., 2022. "Investigation on activated carbon-sodium polyacrylate coated aluminum sheets for desiccant coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    9. Vivekh, P. & Bui, D.T. & Islam, M.R. & Zaw, K. & Chua, K.J., 2020. "Experimental performance and energy efficiency investigation of composite superabsorbent polymer and potassium formate coated heat exchangers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    10. Venegas, Tomas & Qu, Ming & Nawaz, Kashif & Wang, Lingshi, 2021. "Critical review and future prospects for desiccant coated heat exchangers: Materials, design, and manufacturing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    11. Larisa Gordeeva & Yuri Aristov, 2022. "Adsorbent Coatings for Adsorption Heat Transformation: From Synthesis to Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-25, October.
    12. Zhang, Qunli & Li, Yanxin & Zhang, Qiuyue & Ma, Fengge & Lü, Xiaoshu, 2024. "Application of deep dehumidification technology in low-humidity industry: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    13. Bivas Panigrahi & Yu Sheng Chen & Win Jet Luo & Hung Wei Wang, 2020. "Dehumidification Effect of Polymeric Superabsorbent SAP-LiCl Composite Desiccant-Coated Heat Exchanger with Different Cyclic Switching Time," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.

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