US 2017/0321909 A1 · DEHUMIDIFICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dehumidification system and method and, in particular, to a system and method for controlling the humidity of air in a process or location using a desiccant-coated fluid-air heat exchanger. The desiccant material adsorbs water at or above ambient temperatures during an adsorption cycle, and the resultant air stream is of a reduced humidity compared with the humidity of the supply air. The desiccant material may then be dried during a regeneration cycle through addition of heating fluid through the heat exchanger, driving water back into the vapour state with addition of latent energy of vaporization. The desiccant material may be cooled, during the adsorption cycle, through addition of cooling fluid through the heat exchanger to maintain the temperature within a range sufficient for water vapour to be removed from the stream of air.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A dehumidification system for providing dehumidified air to a an evaporative cooling process, the dehumidification system including:

a fluid-air heat exchanger including an external, air-side surface coated with desiccant material, wherein during an adsorption cycle fluid is passed through the heat exchanger at a temperature which causes water vapour to be removed from a stream of air permitted or forced across the heat exchanger;
a means for permitting or forcing the stream of air across said heat exchanger during the adsorption cycle;
a means of heating the desiccant material during a regeneration cycle to cause adsorbed water to be removed from the desiccant material by vaporisation, thereby regenerating the desiccant material to a state which will allow the desiccant material to remove water vapour from a stream of air in a subsequent adsorption cycle;
a means for cooling the desiccant material during the adsorption cycle in order to maintain said temperature within a range sufficient for water vapour to be removed from the stream of air, wherein the means of cooling the desiccant material is the fluid-air heat exchanqer wherein cooling is achieved by passing a cooling fluid through the fluid-air heat exchanger;
and
wherein the evaporative cooling process includes permitting or forcing a volume of desiccated air across a surface area of a volume of fluid, whereby the volume of air causes the temperature of said fluid to be lowered by evaporative means.

3 more elements

A method of dehumidifying air provided to a process or location, said method including:

operating, during an adsorption cycle, a means for permitting or forcing a stream of air across a fluid-air heat exchanger including an external air-side surface coated with desiccant material, wherein fluid is passed through the fluid-air heat exchanger at a temperature which causes water vapour to be removed from the stream of air by the desiccant material by adsorption;
heating, during a regeneration cycle, the desiccant material to cause adsorbed water to be removed from the desiccant material by vaporization, thereby regenerating the desiccant material to a state which will allow the desiccant material to remove water vapour from a stream of air in a subsequent adsorption cycle;
cooling the desiccant material during the adsorption cycle in order to maintain said temperature within a range sufficient for water vapour to be removed from the stream of air, wherein cooling the desiccant material includes passing cooling fluid through the fluid-air heat exchanger;
and
wherein heating the desiccant material includes passing heating fluid through the fluid-air heat exchanger.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Dehumidification system and method

Life of this patent

Dehumidification system and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims31