EFFICIENCY OF A LIQUID DESICCANT DEHUMIDIFICATION SYSTEM REGENERATED BY USING SOLAR COLLECTORS REGENERATORS WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC FANS

A hybrid solar dehumidification air-conditioning system was used to st udy the absorption of water vapor from moist air by contacting the air with aqueous solutions that contained from 90 to 94% triethylene glyc ol (TEG). For the packings of 2-inch polypropylene Jaeger Tri-Packs, w hich have a surface-to-volume ratio of 157 m(2)/m(3) (48 ft(2)/ft(3)), the efficiency of dehumidification can reach 93.3%. The environmental air was introduced into the dehumidifier cocurrently flowing with the liquid desiccant,and the liquid desiccant was sprayed on the top of t he packing material. The air-to-liquid mass flow ratio was controlled in a range of 0.46 to 1.36, As the moisture was absorbed from air by t he TEG solution, the solution was diluted. The regeneration of the sol ution was carried out in 20-piece (38.8 m(2)) basin-type solar collect ors/regenerators whose regeneration coefficients of performance are ab ove 0.2. Air generated by photovoltaic fans was blown into the solar c ollectors/regenerators and carried away the water vapor from the evapo ration of the aqueous desiccant solution. On the basis of the experime ntal results, the system performance is acceptable for most applicatio ns.