Optimum regeneration temperature of a desiccant solution in a packaged liquid desiccant-assisted air conditioning unit

Abstract

Recently, a package unit of liquid desiccant and an indirect and a direct evaporative cooling-assisted 100% outdoor air system (LD-IDECOAS) has been proposed. In this system, the amount of heating energy consumed to regenerate the desiccant solution is significant and should be reduced to achieve better energy conservation than that of a conventional air handling unit. The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the optimum regeneration temperature of a lithium chloride (LiCl) desiccant solution, balancing the regeneration performance and solution heating energy consumption in the LD-IDECOAS package unit. The adiabatic cross-flow regenerator was tested in a test facility at desiccant solution temperatures of 50-90 degrees C. The measurement results were compared with the predicted data in the regenerator to assess the reliability of the experimental results. By balancing the regeneration performance with the solution heating energy consumption, the recommended temperature to regenerate the desiccant solution was 65 degrees C.