IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v281y2023ics0360544223016870.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental study on the performance of a novel superabsorbent polymer and activated carbon composite coated heat exchangers

Author

Listed:
  • Zheng, Xu
  • Zhang, Yu
  • Wan, Tinghao
  • Chen, Kang

Abstract

Desiccant coated heat exchangers have attracted great attention for their ability to handle both sensible and latent heat loads. However, widely used salt-embedded composite silica gels risk salt solution leakage. To alleviate this problem, a novel superabsorbent polymer (sodium polyacrylate) and activated carbon composite coated heat exchanger (C-DCHE) was developed and tested. Effects of air-side and water-side parameters on the performance of C-DCHE in terms of average dehumidification capacity (Davg) and thermal coefficient of performance (COPth) were investigated and compared to an activated carbon coated heat exchanger (A-DCHE). With the outdoor air of 38 °C&60% RH, Davg and COPth of C-DCHE can be up to 6.1 g kg−1 and 3.6, an improvement of 43% and 26% over A-DCHE, respectively. Besides, the performance of C-DCHE was compared with conventional and salt-embedded silica gels coated heat exchangers in recent publications. C-DCHE showed superior air supply comfort owing to a lower average outlet air humidity ratio and larger COPth under most conditions. Especially, at low regeneration temperatures of 40∼50 °C, its COPth can be 50%–220% higher. This paper provides a promising direction for salt-free composites in DCHE-based systems.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:281:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223016870
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.128293
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544223016870
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128293?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    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. Shamim, Jubair A. & Hsu, Wei-Lun & Paul, Soumyadeep & Yu, Lili & Daiguji, Hirofumi, 2021. "A review of solid desiccant dehumidifiers: Current status and near-term development goals in the context of net zero energy buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. AL-Dadah, Raya & Mahmoud, Saad & Elsayed, Eman & Youssef, Peter & Al-Mousawi, Fadhel, 2020. "Metal-organic framework materials for adsorption heat pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    4. Ge, Lurong & Ge, Tianshu & Wang, Ruzhu, 2022. "Facile synthesis of Al-based MOF and its applications in desiccant coated heat exchangers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    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. Chai, Shaowei & Chen, Erjian & Xie, Mingxi & Zhao, Yao & Dai, Yanjun, 2022. "Experimental study of dehumidification performance and solar thermal energy enhancement properties on a dehumidification system using desiccant coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    9. 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).
    10. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Yu & Wang, Weining & Zheng, Xu & Cai, Jinliang, 2024. "Recent progress on composite desiccants for adsorption-based dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    2. Cai, Jinliang & Zheng, Xu & Pan, Quanwen & Li, Dan & Wang, Weining, 2025. "Advances in hygroscopic metal-organic frameworks for air, water & energy applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    3. Hua, Zhipeng & Cai, Shanshan & Xu, Hongyang & Yuan, Wenhao & Li, Song & Tu, Zhengkai, 2024. "Investigations of Silica/MOF composite coating and its dehumidification performance on a desiccant-coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Yu & Wang, Weining & Zheng, Xu & Cai, Jinliang, 2024. "Recent progress on composite desiccants for adsorption-based dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    2. Feng, Y.H. & Dai, Y.J. & Wang, R.Z. & Ge, T.S., 2022. "Insights into desiccant-based internally-cooled dehumidification using porous sorbents: From a modeling viewpoint," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    3. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. 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).
    6. 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).
    7. 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).
    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).
    9. Ge, Lurong & Feng, Yaohui & Wu, Jiarong & Wang, Ruzhu & Ge, Tianshu, 2024. "Performance evaluation of MIL-101(Cr) based desiccant-coated heat exchangers for efficient dehumidification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(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. 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.
    12. 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).
    13. 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.
    14. 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).
    15. Wang, Weining & Zheng, Xu & Li, Dan & Cai, Jinliang & Pan, Quanwen, 2024. "Synthesis and progress of thermosensitive adsorbents in heat and humidity treatment: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Liu, M.Z. & Chen, W.D. & Shao, Y.L. & Huang, Z.F. & Zeng, Z.Y. & Wan, Y.D. & Chua, K.J., 2024. "Experimental analysis and investigation of desiccant coated heat exchanger applications involving condensation and sorption mechanisms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    18. Ge, Lurong & Ge, Tianshu & Wang, Ruzhu, 2022. "Facile synthesis of Al-based MOF and its applications in desiccant coated heat exchangers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    19. 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).
    20. Cai, Jinliang & Zheng, Xu & Pan, Quanwen & Li, Dan & Wang, Weining, 2025. "Advances in hygroscopic metal-organic frameworks for air, water & energy applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:281:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223016870. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.