Performance analysis and mixing ratio selection of mixed liquid desiccant for a dehumidification system

Abstract

Liquid-desiccant dehumidification system in building air-conditioning has high energy efficiency in comparison to traditional dehumidification technology that needs to cool air below the dew point temperature. Since the dehumidification process dominates the performance of a liquid-desiccant system, this study aims to develop a deeper understanding in the dehumidification performance of some liquid desiccants. Then, an experiment test was conducted to determine the CaCl2-LiCl mixed liquid-desiccant system in a dehumidification system. The effects of the pure and mixture liquid desiccant solution on the moisture removal rate, refrigerating capacity and dehumidification performance were compared and analysed. Results show that with the increase in the LiCl concentration, the dehumidification capacity and dehumidification coefficient first increased rapidly and then increased slowly after 30% LiCl concentration. According to the economic analysis of mixed salt solution, the mixed LiCl and CaCl2 solution with a mixing ratio of 3:1 would achieve the best optimal dehumidification efficiency and would incur a low system cost under the working conditions of a dry-bulb temperature at 26°C and a relative humidity of 60% of fresh and return air.