Recent progress in liquid desiccant dehumidification and air-conditioning:A review

This paper presents a literature review on the recent research progress in liquid desiccant dehumidification and air conditioning systems.The physical features of various liquid desiccant materials and their dehumidification performances have been summarized.With the aim to improve the dehumidification characteristics,mixed sol-vents desiccants have become research hot topics recently.Various types of dehumidifiers and their integration with liquid desiccant dehumidification system have been reviewed.The combination of liquid desiccant dehumid-ification system with solar collector,vapour compression system,heat pump system,CHP system,etc.have been grouped and compared.It is shown that the majority of the recent research work for liquid desiccant dehumid-ification systems has concentrated on numerical simulations,a considerable amount of works are still required for the practical investigations of innovative material(mixed solvents)and hybrid systems.

Experimentation of a Membrane-based Concentration Gradient Energy Storage of Liquid Desiccant Solutions Driven by Solar Energy

Solar energy storage is an indispensable and sustainable utilization mode of renewable energy;environment friendly,large-capacity,low heat loss,and long-term storage are critical to improving the integration of solar energy supply.Traditional thermal energy storage mode cannot achieve long-term storage due to the heat loss even under the excellent thermal insulation measures.In this work,a solar-powered membrane-based concentration gradient energy storage of liquid desiccant solutions is presented.In the membrane distillation process driven by solar energy under the right solar radiation conditions,the liquid desiccant solution is concentrated gradually and long-term stored as the concentration gradient energy.To this end,the measured temperature of solar hot water is in the range of 40°C to 90°C from May to September,2018,in Xi’an,China.And then,the LiBr solution(50 wt%),the LiCl solution(35 wt%),and the CaCl_(2)solution(40 wt%)were membrane-based concentrated in the temperature range of 42°C to 63°C,separately.The results showed that the water vapor pressure difference decides the water vapor transferred across the membrane pores from the liquid desiccant side to the air side.The energy storage density of liquid desiccant solutions increases along with the increases in temperature and the membrane area.Consequently,when the LiBr,LiCl,and CaCl_(2)solutions are concentrated from 50%to 55%,from 35%to 40%,and from 40%to 45%,separately,the concentration energy storage density is 245 kJ/kg,350 kJ/kg,and 306 kJ/kg,which is equivalent to or even higher than ice storage capacity.Due to the two independent closed cycle of the liquid desiccant solution and air,the liquid desiccant solution’s concentration gradient energy storage can be long-term stored environment-friendly without any insulation measures.

Design of quaternary ammonium type-ionic liquids as desiccants for an air-conditioning system

The liquid desiccant air-conditioning system allows reducing energy consumption compared to the conventional compressor-type air conditioners.In order to develop desiccant materials for air conditioners,we have investigated the dehumidification capability of quaternary ammonium Ionic Liquids(ILs)and the equilibrium water vapor pressure of aqueous solutions of these ammonium salts.Among the seven tested types of ILs,2-hydroxyN,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium dimethylphosphate([Ch][DMPO4])displayed the best dehumidification capability and the lowest equilibrium water vapor pressure.Furthermore,the 80%aqueous solution of[Ch][DMPO4]exhibited a less corrosive effect on four types of metals,i.e.,steel(hot dip zinc-aluminum alloy plated steel),copper(C1100P),aluminum(A5052),and stainless steel(SUS:SUS304).It should be noted that this[Ch][DMPO4]is not only non-toxic but also exhibits a stable nature;the aqueous solution produced no odor after storing for over 1 year under ambient conditions.