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Experimental performance and energy efficiency investigation of composite superabsorbent polymer and potassium formate coated heat exchangers

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  • Vivekh, P.
  • Bui, D.T.
  • Islam, M.R.
  • Zaw, K.
  • Chua, K.J.

Abstract

The poor efficiency of vapor compression chillers emerges due to the simultaneous treatment of sensible and latent cooling loads. By employing desiccant coated heat exchangers (DCHEs) for removing latent loads, the energy efficiency is enhanced as the conventional cooling coil is used for high-temperature sensible cooling. Currently, DCHEs have limitations due to low sorption capacity, high regeneration temperature, short operating time, corrosion, and deliquescence of the desiccating material. To address these research gaps, we synthesized a composite polymer desiccant by combining a superabsorbent polymer and less corrosive potassium formate salt. Desiccant characterization experiments showed that the new desiccant exhibited 4–8 times gain in sorption capacity when compared to pure/composite silica gel. The dynamic performance studies showed that the cycle time could be extended up to 15 min and 40–50 °C was sufficient for regeneration in contrast to the previous constraint of 5 min and 60–80 °C, respectively. Further, the new composite desiccant removed 3 times higher cooling load than silica gel based DCHEs and recorded 2 times higher thermal efficiency. When integrated with conventional air-conditioners, DCHE could trim up to 50% of the electrical power, and short payback periods of less than 2 years were obtained.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:275:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920309405
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115428
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. 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).
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    12. 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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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. 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).
    3. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. Liu, M. & Prabakaran, V. & Bui, T. & Cheng, G.G. & Pang, W., 2023. "Three-dimensional numerical analysis of fin-tube desiccant-coated heat exchanger for air dehumidification in tropics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    6. 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).
    7. Larisa Gordeeva & Yuri Aristov, 2022. "Adsorbent Coatings for Adsorption Heat Transformation: From Synthesis to Application," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-25, October.
    8. 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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