Desiccant Based Evaporative Air Conditioning System for Hot and Humid Climate
M. Hanzala Munawar
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12
Islamabad, Pakistan
m.hanzala49@gmail.com
Mawahid Ali Khokhar
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12
Islamabad, Pakistan
mawahid1996@gmail.com
Abstract— Conventional air conditioning system fails to provide
comfort conditions in humid areas. Moreover, the refrigerants
used in the conventional air conditioning system not only
contribute in depleting the ozone layer in stratosphere but also
directly contributing in the global warming when released in the
atmosphere. Desiccant based evaporative cooling system has the
potential to be a very environmental friendly alternative to
conventional air conditioning system. The objective of this work
is to design and develop a solid desiccant based evaporative
cooling for hot and humid environment. The system consists of
a solid desiccant wheel for the extraction of the moisture from
the air, a heat recovery wheel to lower the temperature after
desiccant wheel, a heater to heat the regeneration air, and an
evaporative to cool the air. A case study is simulated using the
TRNSYS software for the climatic conditions of Karachi,
Pakistan and results are optimized in terms of lower energy
consumption to achieve the human comfort zone.
Keywords – Desiccant, TRNSYS, Air Conditioning System,
Environmental Friendly, Humidity, Evaporative Cooler.
I. INTRODUCTION
The amount of energy required to cool and bring a space
at comfort level has been increasing every day. In building,
most of the primary energy are utilized for the purpose of
cooling and heating. The widely used method to condition air
is the vapor compression-based refrigeration method.
Providing the comfort conditions to the people not only means
to control the sensible load capacity (temperature control) but
also the latent load capacity (humidity control).
In order to control latent load, the conventional vapor
compression system uses the process of condensation to
condense the water vapors on the coils when the air is cooled
below its dew point temperature and then reheated again up to
the required supply conditions. Normally the vapor
compression cycle used are working on 0.75 sensible heat
ratio means 75% of the capacity is used in controlling the
sensible loading while remaining 25% of the capacity is used
in controlling the latent loading. So, it will provide the comfort
conditions when the sensible heat ratio is greater than 0.75 [1].
Shah Rukh Khan
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12
Islamabad, Pakistan
srkhan.me@gmail.com
Hafiz M. Abd-ur-Rehman*
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12
Islamabad, Pakistan
*Corresponding Author, abd-ur-rehman_@hotmail.com
Now it has certain drawbacks:
• The sensible heat ratio in hot and humid areas is
found to be less than 0.75. In order to conditioned air
in such areas the conventional vapor compression
system can be used but it will require a large amount
of electrical energy
• The excess use of vapor compression system has
affected the environment in a harmful way. The
ozone layer has depleted because of the CFCs
(Chlorofluorocarbons) used in a vapor compression
air conditioning (VAC) system.
An alternative to the VAC systems is required which could
make use of the renewable energies in order to minimize the
emission of CO2 and CFCs in to the environment. Evaporative
cooling, one of the oldest method, is one technique to meet
cooling demand of the building by utilizing evaporative
cooing effect, with less power requirements, about one fourth
to that of the VAC systems. Evaporative cooling is a simple,
cost effective, environment friendly and energy saving
technique for space cooling.
The evaporative coolers are best fit for temperature control
when air humidity is low, like in hot and dry climate. While
for both temperature and humidity control like in hot and
humid climate, the effectiveness of the cooler drops
remarkably. Therefore, it is used along with some other
dehumidification system. One way to achieve comfort
conditions for hot and humid climate is through Indirect
evaporative coolers. However, the efficiency of indirect
evaporative cooler is only around 60-70%.
A desiccant dehumidifier, whose purpose is to removes
the moisture from the process air, can be used in conjunction
with a VAC system, to allow the cooling system to function
effectively. Such a system is called, hybrid desiccant cooling
system. The use of hybrid desiccant cooling system can not
only control the latent load but also reduce running costs and
power consumption. A comparison among different cooling
techniques are shown in Table 1 [2].
 TABLE 1 - COMPARISON BETWEEN COOLING TECHNIQUES TABLE 2 - COMPARISON BETWEEN SOLID AND LIQUID DESICCANT
Desiccant Properties Solid Desiccant Liquid Desiccant
Mechanical
Evaporative based Regeneration High Low
Parameter Vapor
Cooling evaporative Temperature
Compression
cooling Carry Over Low High
Cost of Compactness High Low
High Low Low
operation Capacity to hold Low High
Low grade moisture
Electricity,
Input Energy Low Grade energy e.g. Cost Low High
Natural Gas,
Resource Energy solar energy,
Vapor
waste heat etc.
Latent load
control
Average Low Accurate II. SOLID DESICCANT SYSTEM
Sensible load A. Methodology
Accurate Accurate Accurate
control
Quality of Liquid desiccant has phenomenon of carry over i.e.
Average Good Very Good
indoor air travelling of the liquid desiccant through the air to the
System Slightly conditioned space which is harmful for the human. Moreover,
Average Average
Installment Complicated
the regeneration method used in the liquid desiccant system
Emission of
greenhouse High Low Low is very complexity. So, to avoid the complexity and
gases hazardous effects of the desiccant, solid desiccant system was
Dominate Air-
Immature studied.
Market Limited Technology Ventilation cycle was configured because it has the
Conditioning
potential Application with limited
Market
application tendency to supply fresh air from outside condition while in
Cooling the recirculation cycle, there is lack of fresh air in the
Refrigerants Water Water
Medium conditioned space. The proposed design is shown in Fig. (1).
The outdoor air enters the desiccant wheel (DW) at point 1.
The new technology of desiccant based evaporative It then passes through the DW (1-2) and the moisture in the
cooling consists of two components i.e. A desiccant for the supply air is extracted with the help of the hygroscopic
dehumidification and an evaporative cooler (Direct or material. The desiccant wheel outlet is at high temperature
Indirect). It significantly reduces the consumption of the and low humidity. Energy Recovery Wheel (ERW) (2-3) is a
electrical energy compared to the conventional vapor rotary heat exchanger which works between the cool return
compression cycle [3]. It provides more economical, cleaner air and the hot dry supply air after desiccant wheel and cools
and accessible air conditioning. down the temperature of the supply air. After passing
The working mechanism of the system is such that when through the ERW, the supply air passes through the
the hot and humid air enters in the system (ventilated or evaporative cooler (EC) (3-4) which cools down its
recirculated), its moisture is extracted by the desiccant. When temperature and increases its humidity and the air is supplied
the moisture is absorbed from this process air, its temperature to the conditioned space.
further rises. The temperature is then lowered by using heat The cold return air firstly passes through EC (5-6) to cool
exchangers. For a continuous system, the moisture absorbed down its temperature and passes through the ERW (6-7). Its
by the desiccant should be extracted (regenerated) out from it temperature increases. After obtaining heat energy from the
so that it is able to absorb more moisture from the process air. ERW, it passes through the electric heater (7-8). Temperature
There is certain temperature needed to regenerate this of the return air increases up to a certain required temperature
desiccant that can be done by electric heater or waste heat needed to regenerate the hygroscopic material. At a high
(e.g. solar). Many researchers used solar energy to regenerate temperature, the return air passes through the DW (8-9) and
the desiccant [4-6]. Regeneration can be done effectively regenerate it by extracting the moisture out of the desiccant
using solar energy. material. The desiccant material is recovered. The
Different desiccant material has different tendency to regeneration DW air outlet is at a high temperature and at
absorb the moisture [7]. There are two different types of high humidity.
desiccant i.e. solid and liquid. Solid desiccant that are
commonly used are Silica gel and natural zeolite. While
B. Governing Equations
liquid desiccants are Lithium Bromide, Lithium Chloride and
Activated Ammonia. There are certain advantages and There are four main governing equations. The mass and
disadvantages of using solid or liquid desiccant. energy balance of both the air and desiccant is considered.
A comparison between solid and liquid desiccant system
is shown in Table 2 [8]. Moisture Conservation in Air
𝜕𝑌𝑎 𝜕𝑌𝑎
𝑑𝑒 𝜌𝑎 ( +𝑢 ) = 𝐾𝑦 (𝑌𝑑 − 𝑌𝑎 ) (1)
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧
 Energy Conservation in Air Humidity Criteria 11 to 14
𝜕𝑇𝑎 𝜕𝑇𝑎 𝑘𝑎 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑎
𝑑𝑒 𝑐𝑝𝑎 𝜌𝑎 ( +𝑢 − ) Temperature Max (Leaving Desiccant Wheel) 60
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧 𝑐𝑝𝑎 𝜌𝑎 𝜕𝑧 2
(2) Mass flow rate of air (kg/s) 1.53125
= ℎ(𝑇𝑑 − 𝑇𝑎 ) + 𝑐𝑝𝑣 𝐾𝑦 (𝑌𝑑
− 𝑌𝑎 )(𝑇𝑑 − 𝑇𝑎 ) Cp of air kJ/(kg.K) 1.005

Moisture Conservation in Desiccant

E. TRNSYS Simulation
𝜕𝑊 𝜕2𝑊
𝛿𝜌𝑑 ( + 𝐷𝑒 ) = 𝐾𝑦 (𝑌𝑑 − 𝑌𝑎 ) (3) Transient System Simulation Tool (TRNSYS) is a
𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧 2
simulation software basically used to simulate transient
system. The Desiccant Based Evaporative Cooling system
Energy Conservation in Desiccant
was designed on this software and was simulated by varying
𝜕𝑇𝑑 𝑘𝑑 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑑
𝑐𝑝𝑑 𝜌𝑑 𝛿 ( − ) conditions. It was then compared with the results of our
𝜕𝑡 𝑐𝑝𝑑 𝜌𝑑 𝜕𝑧 2 experimental interpolation approach.
(4)
= ℎ(𝑇𝑎 − 𝑇𝑑 ) + 𝐾𝑦 (𝑌𝑎 − 𝑌𝑑 )𝑞𝑠𝑡 Manish Mishra [9] studied ventilation and recirculation
+ 𝑐𝑝𝑣 𝐾𝑦 (𝑌𝑎 − 𝑌𝑑 )(𝑇𝑎 − 𝑇𝑑 ) mode of the Desiccant Based Evaporative Cooling system. A
lecture hall was considered with a Cooling capacity of 30kW.
It was observed that the COP for recirculation mode is higher
C. Performance Parameter than the ventilation mode.
The performance of the system depends on the The simulation was solved for Karachi, the flow rate for
effectiveness of components that are being used. The both the streams (process air and return air) was taken to be
effectiveness of the DW, EC and HRW plays a major role in 2.5 kg/s. In the other case, the return air stream was taken to
determining the performance of the whole system Fig. (1) be 1.25 kg/s.
Both the Ventilation Fig. (3) and Recirculation Fig. (4)
𝜔1 −𝜔2 Systems were solved using TRNSYS.
𝜀𝐷𝑊 = (1)
𝜔1 − 𝜔2,𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 Given below is the list of TRNSYS components used:
𝑇2 −𝑇3 List of components used is given on the next page.
𝜀𝐻𝑅𝑊 = (6)
𝑇2 − 𝑇6
𝑇3 −𝑇4 TABLE 4 - TRNSYS COMPONENTS
𝜀𝐸𝐶𝑝𝑟𝑜 = (72)
𝑇3 − 𝑇3𝑤 No. Component TRNSYS Name
𝑇5 −𝑇6 1 Weather Data Reader Type109-TMY2
𝜀𝐸𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑔 = (83) 2 Psychrometric Type33e
𝑇5 − 𝑇5𝑤 3 Desiccant Wheel Type1716a
4 Heat Exchanger Type760
5 Evaporative Cooler Type506a
D. NOVEL Aire Simulator 6 Conditioned Space Type690
NOVEL Aire Technology simulator was used to solve the
DW Fig. (2). The simulator interpolates the given conditions
and display the outlet conditions. The wheel manufactured by III. RESULTS
NOVEL Aire Technology were tested under different A. NOVEL Aire Simulation
conditions and the results of those test and experiment were
used to develop this software. The NOVEL Aire Simulator was used to simulate the
Cooling load and required mass flow rate was estimated performance of Desiccant Wheel in Karachi, Pakistan for the
for a complete home using Hourly Analysis Program (HAP). summer period.
Using the obtained flow rate from HAP, analysis was TABLE 5 - SIMULATION RESULTS KARACHI
performed for Karachi, Pakistan and the behavior was
Desiccant Wheel
observed on a monthly basis. The outlet temperature, Desiccant Wheel Outlet
Inlet
humidity and required regeneration heater temperature were Absolut
estimated Months
Temperat Humidity
Heater
Temperat
e
Following were the parameters set before performing the Temperat Humidi
ure % ure
ure ty
simulation (g/kg)
April 29 59 70 39.1 11.74
TABLE 3 - SIMULATION PARAMETERS
May 31 67 120 52.9 12.67
Atmospheric Pressure 101325
June 32 69 130 56.1 13.9
Assumed Air Flow Rate (CMH) 4500
July 31 72 130 55.3 13.48
 August 30 73 120 52.3 13
Septemb
30 70 110 49.7 12.86
er
October 29 58 70 39.1 11.5
B. TRNSYS Simulation
Ventilation Cycle – The simulation was time was set
from March to September. The mass flow rate was taken to
be 2.5 kg/s for the Process air and 1.25 kg/s for the
Regeneration Air. Weather data of Karachi was imported.
The maximum temperature observed was 26.08o C with a
relative humidity between 80% to 90% at the outlet of
Evaporative Cooler.
Recirculation Cycle - Under same condition, simulation
was performed for the Recirculation Cycle. The maximum
temperature came out to be 19.2o C but the relative humidity
was found to be higher than Ventilation Cycle.
A comparison between both cycle was plotted Fig. (6)
TRNSYS Software was also used to simulate an
Evaporative Cooler Alone Fig. (7), a Desiccant Based Air
Conditioner without a Heat Exchanger Fig. (8), another
simulation was performed but this time with a heat exchanger
of low effectiveness Fig. (9). The results obtained were then
compared with the literature review.
IV. DISCUSSION
Using the TRNSYS and NOVEL Aire Simulator,
simulations under different conditions and configurations
were performed.
From Fig. (8), it can be seen that the recirculation cycle
showed better results than the ventilation cycle.
Dehumidifying and cooling the same air required less energy
to achieve a lower temperature, while in ventilation cycle the
process air is the ambient air which is every time at the same
conditions (outdoor conditions). While in recirculation the
conditioned space air is reconditioned. It is usually better to
incorporate some ventilation with recirculation.
From Fig. (9), we can conclude the performance of an
Evaporative Cooler alone for Karachi Conditions. It was
observed that the temperature didn’t decrease much, it was
seen to be higher than 30o C in some times of the day. The
reason is that the evaporative cooler cools air by adding
moisture into it. The lower the moisture content in air, the
higher tendency it has to cool using an evaporative cooler.
This is the reason why Evaporative Cooler fails in high humid
region. This can also be justified by Daou et al. [10]
The system widely depends on the effectiveness of Heat
Exchanger or Energy Recovery Wheel. Simulations were
solved in which the same ventilation configuration was
studied, once without the energy recover wheel and the other
time with an energy recovery wheel but with decreased
effectiveness. It was observed that the temperature in the
conditioned space had increased Fig (8) and Fig. (9). This is
because, when air gets dehumidified the temperature
increase. Before entering into the evaporative cooler, it is
needed that the dew point of air is kept low so that air can be
cooled to maximum extent. Thus, it is mandatory to reduce
the temperature of air before allowing it to go through the
evaporative cooler, either using a heat exchanger, energy
recovery wheel or an indirect evaporative cooler. The
humidity shouldn’t change much in this process otherwise the
evaporative cooler won’t be able to reduce temperature
effectively. We can conclude that this stage is very critical
and requires a device with high effectiveness for sensible heat
transfer. Sphaier and Nobrega [11] also concluded that the
overall performance of the system widely depends on the
effectiveness of Heat Exchanger or Energy Recovery Wheel.
V. FUTURE WORKS
The current system also has the potential to supply pure water
if a dehumidifier is coupled at the regeneration outlet of the
desiccant wheel.
The effectiveness of the system can also be improved if
renewable solar energy is used to heat the regeneration air
instead of a heater. Solar cells can be used to achieve the
regeneration temperature
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors acknowledge the support of National
University of Sciences and technology (NUST), H-12
Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Figure 1. Ventilation System Schematic

Figure 2. NOVEL Aire Simulator Interface

Figure 3. TRNSYS Simulation (Ventilation)

 Figure 4. TRNSYS Simulation (Recirculation)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Heater Temperature Temperature Humidity

Figure 5. Karachi - NOVEL Aire Simulation

Figure 6. TRNSYS – Ventilation Cycle & Recirculation (Comparison)

 Figure 7. TRNSYS – No Desiccant Wheel Single Evaporative Cooler

Figure 8. TRNSYS – Desiccant Based Air Conditioning without Heat Exchanger

Figure 9. TRNSYS – Desiccant Based Air Conditioning with Reduced Effectiveness of Heat Exchanger