Abstract
This paper presents the development and simulation of an advanced solar assisted liquid desiccant dehumidification air-conditioning system for energy efficiency and sustainability. The system is mainly designed to cut down building electricity consumption while providing satisfied indoor thermal comfort. It includes a counter flow packed bed absorber, a counter flow packed bed regenerator, and an array of flat plate solar collectors. The system is integrated with an evaporative cooler and a cooling tower to cool the processed air and the strong desiccant solution, respectively. A whole system simulation is used to evaluate the system performance by using a full-scale simulation system developed on the basis of Matlab Simulink platform. The simulation results based on three consecutive sunny summer days in Sydney show that the proposed system can achieve an average daily thermal coefficient of performance of 0.5-0.55, and 73.4% of thermal energy required for thermal regeneration was provided by the solar collectors. It is expected that the average daily thermal coefficient of performance could be higher during other mild summer days as the percentage of thermal energy provided by the solar water heating system will increase due to the relatively low cooling demand of the building.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- a :
-
wetted specific surface area of packings (m2/m3)
- a t :
-
dry specific surface area of packings (m2/m3)
- e a :
-
actual air vapour pressure (kPa)
- e sa :
-
air saturation vapour pressure (kPa)
- e sw :
-
air vapour pressure at the wet-bulb temperature (kPa)
- G :
-
air specific flow rate (kg/(m2·s))
- h :
-
enthalpy (kJ/(kg·K))
- L :
-
liquid specific flow rate (kg/(m2·s))
- p :
-
atmospheric pressure (kPa)
- Q :
-
heating load (kW)
- RH:
-
relative humidity (%)
- t :
-
temperature (°C)
- w :
-
air moisture content (kg/kg)
- X :
-
solution concentration (%)
- Z :
-
packing height (m)
- γ :
-
surface tension (kg/s2)
- ρ :
-
density (kg/m3)
- µ:
-
dynamic viscosity (Pa·s)
- ɛ :
-
effectiveness (%)
- π :
-
vapour pressure difference (—)
- a:
-
air
- aux,h:
-
auxiliary heater
- c:
-
critical
- d:
-
dehumidification
- h:
-
heat
- i:
-
inlet
- L:
-
liquid
- max:
-
maximum
- min:
-
minimum
- o:
-
outlet
- reg:
-
regeneration
- s:
-
solution
- sol:
-
solar
- wb:
-
wet-bulb
References
ASHRAE (2008). ASHRAE Handbook-Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment. Atlanta: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
ASHRAE (2009). ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. Atlanta: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
Audah N, Ghaddar N, Ghali K (2011). Optimized solar-powered liquid desiccant system to supply building fresh water and cooling needs. Applied Energy, 88: 3726–3736.
Babakhani D, Soleymani M (2010). Simplified analysis of heat and mass transfer model in liquid desiccant regeneration process. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. 41: 259–267.
Ben Bacha H, Dammak T, Ben Abdalah AA, Maalej AY (2007). Desalination unit coupled with solar collectors and a storage tank: Modelling and simulation. Desalination, 206: 341–352.
Chau CK, Worek WM (2009). Cosorption processes of triethylene glycol in a packed-bed liquid desiccant dehumidifier. HVAC & R Research, 15: 189–210.
Chaudhari SK, Patil KR (2002). Thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of lithium chloride. Physics and Chemistry of Liquid, 40: 317–325.
Cheng Q, Zhang X (2013). Review of solar regeneration methods for liquid desiccant air-conditioning system. Energy and Buildings, 67: 426–433.
Chung TW, Luo CM (1999). Vapour pressure of aqueous desiccant. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 44: 1024–1027.
DesignBuilder (2013). http://www.designbuilder.com.au
Farese P (2012). How to build a low-energy future. Nature, 488: 275–277.
Fumo N, Goswami DY (2002). Study of an aqueous lithium chloride desiccant system: Air dehumidification and desiccant regeneration. Solar Energy, 72: 351–361.
Ge G, Xiao F, Wang S (2012). Optimization of a liquid desiccant based dedicated outdoor air-chilled ceiling system serving multi-zone spaces. Building Simulation, 5: 257–266.
Gommed K, Grossman G (2007). Experimental investigation of a liquid desiccant system for solar cooling and dehumidification. Solar Energy, 81: 131–138.
Huang SM, Zhang LZ (2013). Researches and trends in membrane-based liquid desiccant air dehumidification. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 28: 425–440.
Jain S, Bansal PK (2007). Performance analysis of liquid desiccant dehumidification systems. International Journal of Refrigeration, 30: 861–872.
Jain S, Dhar PL, Kaushik SC (2000). Optimal design of liquid desiccant cooling systems. ASHRAE Transactions, 106(1): 79–86.
Jones WP (2001). Air Conditioning Engineering. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lazzarin RM, Gasparella A, Longo GA (1999). Chemical dehumidification by liquid desiccants: Theory and experiment. International Journal of Refrigeration, 22: 334–347.
Lebrun J, Silva CA, Trebilcock F, Winandy E (2004). Simplified models for direct and indirect contact cooling towers and evaporative condensers. Building Services Engineering Research & Technology, 25: 25–31.
Li X, Zhang X, Quan S (2011). Single-stage and double-stage photovoltaic driven regeneration for liquid desiccant cooling system. Applied Energy, 88: 4908–4917.
Li YT, Yang HX (2008). Investigation on solar desiccant dehumidification process for energy conservation of central air-conditioning systems. Applied Thermal Engineering, 28: 1118–1126.
Liu X, Jiang Y, Qu K (2008). Analytical solution of combined heat and mass transfer performance in a cross-flow packed bed liquid desiccant air dehumidifier. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 51: 4563–4572.
Liu XH, Qu KY, Jiang Y (2006). Empirical correlations to predict the performance of the dehumidifier using liquid desiccant in heat and mass transfer. Renewable Energy, 31: 1627–1639.
Longo GA, Gasparella A (2005). Experimental and theoretical analysis of heat and mass transfer in a packed column dehumidifier/regenerator with liquid desiccant. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 48: 5240–5254.
Lowenstein A, Slayzak S, Kozubal E (2006). A zero carryover liquid-desiccant air conditioner for solar applications. In: Proceedings of International Solar Energy Conference, ISEC2006, Denver, USA, pp. 397–407.
Ma Z, Wang S (2009). Building energy research in Hong Kong: A review. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Review, 13: 1870–1883.
Ma Z, Wang S (2011). Enhancing the performance of large primary-secondary chilled water systems by using bypass check valve. Energy, 36: 268–276.
Martin V, Goswami DY (2000). Effectiveness of heat and mass transfer processes in a packed bed liquid desiccant dehumidifier/regenerator. HVAC & R Research, 6: 21–39.
Martinez AT (1994). On the evaluation of the wet bulb temperature as a function of dry bulb temperature and relative humidity. Atmosfera, 7: 197–184.
Matlab (2013). http://www.mathworks.com.au. Accessed on Mar. 2013.
Mohammad AT, Mat SB, Sulaiman MY, Sopian K, Al-abidi AA (2013). Historical review of liquid desiccant evaporation cooling technology. Energy and Buildings, 67: 22–33.
Niu X, Xiao F, Ma Z (2012). Investigation on capacity matching in liquid desiccant and heat pump hybrid air-conditioning systems. International Journal of Refrigeration, 35: 160–170.
Öberg V, Goswami DY (1998). Experimental study of the heat and mass transfer in a packed bed liquid desiccant air dehumidifier. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 120: 289–297.
Rishel JB (2001). Applying affinity laws for centrifugal pumps. Heating/Piping/Air Conditioning Engineering: HPAC, 73: 35–38.
Saman WY, Alizadeh S (2002). An experimental study of a cross-flow type plate heat exchanger for dehumidification/cooling. Solar Energy, 73: 59–71.
SDH (2013). http://www.solar-district-heating.eu/Documents/Solar district heating guidelines. Accessed 1 Sept. 2013.
Seghouani L, Galanis N (2009). Quasi-steady state model of an ice rink refrigeration system. Building Simulation, 2: 119–132.
Stine WB, Geyer M (2001). Power from the sun. Available at http://www.powerfromthesun.net. Accessed 22 Apr. 2013.
Thomas S, André P (2012). Numerical simulation and performance assessment of an absorption solar air-conditioning system coupled with an office building. Building Simulation, 5: 243–255.
Yin Y, Qian J, Zhang X (2014). Recent advancements in liquid desiccant dehumidification technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 31: 38–52.
Zhai Z, McNeill JS (2014). Roles of building simulation tools in sustainable building design. Building Simulation, 7: 107–109.
Zhang T, Liu X, Jiang Y (2012). Performance optimization of heat pump driven liquid desiccant dehumidification systems. Energy and Buildings, 52: 132–144.
Zurigat YH, Abu-Arabi MK, Abdul-Wahab SA (2004). Air dehumidification by triethylene glycol desiccant in a packed column. Energy Conversion and Management, 45: 141–155.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mohaisen, A.K., Ma, Z. Development and modelling of a solar assisted liquid desiccant dehumidification air-conditioning system. Build. Simul. 8, 123–135 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-014-0196-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-014-0196-1