Desiccant air conditioning methods and systems using evaporative chiller
Assignee7AC Technologies, Inc.
InventorsPeter F. Vandermeulen, Jack I. Hanoka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A desiccant air conditioning system for treating an air stream entering a building space includes a conditioner, an air treatment unit, and a regenerator. The air treatment unit acts as an evaporative chiller in a warm weather operation mode to cool heat transfer fluid used in the conditioner. The evaporative chiller receives at least a portion of a dehumidified air stream exiting the conditioner and heat transfer fluid from the conditioner, and causes the portion of the dehumidified air stream to absorb water from a water source and thereby cool the heat transfer fluid. The regenerator receives liquid desiccant from the conditioner and absorbs water from the liquid desiccant.
Claims50
A desiccant air conditioning system for treating an air stream entering a building space, comprising:
- a conditioner including a plurality of structures arranged in a substantially vertical orientation, each structure having at least one surface across which the liquid desiccant can flow, wherein the air stream flows between the structures such that the liquid desiccant dehumidifies the air stream in a warm weather operation mode, each structure further includes a desiccant collector at a lower end of the at least one surface for collecting liquid desiccant that has flowed across the at least one surface of the structure, said conditioner utilizing a liquid heat transfer fluid to cool the liquid desiccant or the air stream in the warm weather operation mode;
- an air treatment unit connected to the conditioner and comprising an evaporative chiller in the warm weather operation mode, the evaporative chiller receiving and cooling the liquid heat transfer fluid used in the conditioner, the evaporative chiller being coupled to the conditioner such that a portion, but not all, of the dehumidified air stream exiting the conditioner and flowing to the building space is diverted to the evaporative chiller, and wherein the evaporative chiller causes the portion of the dehumidified air stream to absorb water from a water source and thereby cool the liquid heat transfer fluid which is provided to the conditioner;
- a regenerator connected to the conditioner for receiving liquid desiccant from the desiccant collectors in the conditioner and absorbing water from the liquid desiccant in the warm weather operation mode;
- an apparatus for moving the air stream through the conditioner and the evaporative chiller in the warm weather operation mode;
- an apparatus for circulating the liquid heat transfer fluid through the conditioner and evaporative chiller in the warm weather operation mode;
- and
- an apparatus for circulating the liquid desiccant through the conditioner and regenerator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.