Experimental study on the performance of a novel superabsorbent polymer and activated carbon composite coated heat exchangers

Xu Zheng, Yu Zhang, Tinghao Wan and Kang Chen

Energy, 2023, vol. 281, issue C

Abstract: Desiccant coated heat exchangers have attracted great attention for their ability to handle both sensible and latent heat loads. However, widely used salt-embedded composite silica gels risk salt solution leakage. To alleviate this problem, a novel superabsorbent polymer (sodium polyacrylate) and activated carbon composite coated heat exchanger (C-DCHE) was developed and tested. Effects of air-side and water-side parameters on the performance of C-DCHE in terms of average dehumidification capacity (Davg) and thermal coefficient of performance (COPth) were investigated and compared to an activated carbon coated heat exchanger (A-DCHE). With the outdoor air of 38 °C&60% RH, Davg and COPth of C-DCHE can be up to 6.1 g kg−1 and 3.6, an improvement of 43% and 26% over A-DCHE, respectively. Besides, the performance of C-DCHE was compared with conventional and salt-embedded silica gels coated heat exchangers in recent publications. C-DCHE showed superior air supply comfort owing to a lower average outlet air humidity ratio and larger COPth under most conditions. Especially, at low regeneration temperatures of 40∼50 °C, its COPth can be 50%–220% higher. This paper provides a promising direction for salt-free composites in DCHE-based systems.

Keywords: Composite desiccant; Hygroscopic polymer; Dehumidification; Thermal COP; Desiccant coated heat exchanger (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:281:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223016870

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.128293

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