Performance analysis of four-partition desiccant wheel and hybrid dehumidification air-conditioning system

A desiccant dehumidification system with air can decrease energy consumption because it can be driven by low-grade waste heat below 80 °C. If this system can be driven by low-temperature heat sources whose temperature is below 50 °C, exhausted heat from fuel cells or air conditioners that exist everywhere can be used as heat sources. This could lead to considerable energy saving. This study provides a detailed evaluation of the performance of a four-partition desiccant wheel to make a low-temperature driving heat source possible and achieve considerable energy saving by the simulation and experiment. Further, the study investigates the in-depth performance of a hybrid air-conditioning system with a four-partition desiccant wheel by simulation. As a result, it was clear that there exists an optimum rotational speed to maximize the dehumidification performance and that the hybrid air-conditioning system improves COP by approximately 94% as compared to the conventional vapour compression-type refrigerator.