Energy Performance of Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling-assisted 100% Outdoor Air System Combined With a Thermoelectric Module Integrated Fuel Cell

Abstract

The energy performance of a liquid desiccant and evaporative cooling-assisted 100% outdoor air system (LD-IDECOAS) combined with a thermoelectric module integrated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (TEM-PEMFC) is investigated. During the cooling season, the heat produced by the PEMFC was used to regenerate a weak desiccant solution, and the generated electricity was used to operate the LD-IDECOAS. TEMs were operated as auxiliary heaters to supply the additional heat when the heat for regeneration was not enough in the cooling season. In the off-cooling season, a PEMFC was operated to generate electricity, and the generated heat was used to generate electricity again using TEMs. In this study, detailed energy simulations were conducted to compare the energy saving potentials of the proposed system comprising the LD-IDECOAS with the PEMFC. Using a TEM as a heater, it can operate with a mean coefficient of performance of 2.0 in the cooling season. Further, as an electricity generator, it showed a mean generation efficiency of 0.9%. Finally, the proposed system showed annual primary energy savings of 10.6% compared with an LD-IDECOAS without a TEM-PEMFC. Therefore, the advantages of using TEM integrated fuel cells as heating and energy-harvesting components were validated.