Performance Evaluation of the Flat Plate Solar Air Collector Assisted Desiccant Dehumidification System

Recently, a considerable growth in energy demand has been observed and predominantly this increased demand in energy is met by the burning of fossil fuels. Renewable forms of energy can offer solutions to issues that have persisted for a long time in the energy sector. Most promising form of renewable energy is solar energy and solar air collectors are an effective technique of utilizing abundant solar energy for heating purposes and lowering the consumption of electrical energy and fossil fuels. This study integrated a flat plate solar air collector with desiccant dehumidification system to regenerate desiccant material. The performance of the proposed FPSAC-assisted rotary desiccant system in terms of outlet temperature, dehumidification effectiveness (DE), moisture removal capacity (MRC) and sensible energy ratio (SER) was evaluated by varying flow rates of process air in the range 33 m3/h, 51 m3/h, and 62 m3/h. The experimental results indicate that an inlet process air flow rate of 33 m3/h provides the maximum DE (0.71) and the maximum percentage increase in air temperature (68.42%) after dehumidification. Furthermore, highest MRC and SER values were found to be to 12.69 kg/h and 1.26 for the highest process air inlet flow rate i.e., 62 m3/h. In short, this study provides information on the potential of a FPSAC to provide regeneration air for continuous desiccant dehumidification.