Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693

Chemical, Civil and Mechanical Engineerin o the 3rd Nirrma Universsity Internattional
ng Tracks of
Conferencce on Engineering
(NUiCCONE 2012 2)

Liquidd desiccant baseed solar air

a conditioning system with nov
vel
evacuated d tube coollector as regennerator
J R Mehtaaa,b, M V Rane
R a,*
a IIT
IT Bombay, Mechanical Engineering Department, Powai,
P Mumbai 400076,
4 INDIA
b Meechanical Engineeering Department, Faculty of Techhnology and Engiineering, The Ma
aharaja Sayajiraoo University of Baaroda, Vadodara 390001, INDIA

Absttract

Grow wing demand foor air conditionning and pollutiion concerns reelated with prod duction of electrical energy haave compelled researchers to
invesstigate new tecchnologies for air conditioninng. Liquid dessiccant based air a conditioningg technology is adaptable to pollution-free
renewwable energy source like solaar energy. It haas additional addvantages like air a washing andd high density eenergy storage.. Use of solar
energgy for air condiitioning is logiccal as higher avvailability of solar radiation maatches with higgher demand forr air conditioninng in summer.
A noovel evacuated tube
t collector (ETC)
( with heaat pipes is develloped in the Heeat Pump Laborratory at IIT Boombay (HPL_IITB). In spite
of beeing a not-trackking type, tempeeratures much bbeyond the rangge of flat plate or conventionaal ETC can be aachieved and liq quids can even
be booiled in this collector. This coollector was ussed as regenerattor for liquid desiccant based solar air condittioning system.. Objective of
this work
w was to dem monstrate and iinvestigate perfformance of thiss solar collectorr with in-situ reegeneration. Liiquid desiccant was preheated
in soolution heat excchanger and pu umped into thee solar regeneraator. Steam an nd regenerated liquid desiccannt at outlet of collector were
separrated and steam m was condensed downstream m to the collector. Average th hermal COP off 0.82 over 5 h experiment peeriod could be
achieeved with singlle stage regenerration and insolation range froom 509 to 752 W/m2. Parasittic power consuumption was leess than 40 W,
whicch works out too be 1.5% of the regeneratioon duty. Solarr collector efficciency up to 44.7% 4 was achhieved at 117oC regeneration
tempperature and 7199 W/m2 global rradiation along with distilled w water productioon of 5.14 kg/h.

© 2013
© 20
012The
Published d by
Authors. ElsevierbyL
Published Ltd. Selection
Elsevier Ltd. nOpen
and/or peer-r
access underreview under responsibility
CC BY-NC-ND rlicense. of the Institutte of Technolo
ogy Nirma
Univversity,
Selection andAhme edabad.under responsibility of Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad.
peer-review

Keyw
words: solar collecctor, liquid desicccant, regenerator, dehumidificationn, air conditionin
ng

1. In
ntroduction

E
Electrical energgy has been inn short supplyy in India and this condition n may prevail in the foreseeeable future. In
I year 2010-
11, ddemand for electrical
e enerrgy was 861,5 591 MU againnst availabilitty of 788,3555 MU, a deficcit of 8.5%. During peak
loadds, the demandd was for 122 GW against aavailability off 110 GW, a 9.8% 9 shortfall [1]. Conventtional vapour compression
refriigeration baseed air conditiioning system ms use electrrical energy for f cooling anda contributee to peak summer loads.
Elecctrical energy is supplied byy centralized ppower plants w which mainly use coal as fu uel. These poower plants aree responsible
for emission
e of grreenhouse gasses like CO2 asa well as air, land and water pollution [22]. Sorption bbased cooling g systems use
heat as energy in nput, so they are adaptablle to renewabble energy so ource like solar thermal ennergy. In summer, when
requuirement for aiir conditioningg is high, solaar radiation avvailability is also high in moost part of Inddian subcontin
nent [3]. Use
of soolar energy for air conditionning is thus a good option [4].

* Corrresponding autho
or. Tel.: +9122-25767514; +91-98820878053
E-maail address: ranem
mv@iitb.ac.in

1877-7058 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad.
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2013.01.098
 J R Mehta and M V Rane / Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693 689

1.1. Desiccant based air conditioning systems

Desiccant dehumidification systems can dehumidify air without cooling it below its dew point temperature unlike other
sorption air conditioning systems (vapour absorption and adsorption systems). They can remove moisture at higher
temperatures, thus eliminating need for reheating and can prove to be more energy efficient for latent load removal [5].
Desiccant systems work near ambient pressure and can be scaled down small capacity unlike vapour absorption systems,
which are generally available above 35 kW cooling capacity [6]. Liquid desiccant air conditioning systems have additional
advantages like high density energy storage at near ambient conditions and flexibility of layout of components [7]. On the
other hand, there are some challenges like corrosion, carryover and low COP usually associated with this technology [8-9].

1.2. Regenerators for liquid desiccant based solar air conditioning systems

In liquid desiccant based air conditioning system, air is cooled in a component called absorber or dehumidifier. Liquid
desiccant (LD) becomes dilute by absorption of moisture from air and needs to be concentrated or regenerated in a
component called regenerator. Different types of air scavenging regenerators like spray tower, falling film, packed bed and
rotating disk type have been investigated in literature [10, 11, 12, 13]. Some researchers have used hot water from solar
water heaters for heating LD before or during its regeneration [14-15]. Limitations of these air scavenging regenerators are
sensible heat loss to air and higher parasitic power requirement [16]. Sensible heat loss can be reduced by increasing LD
temperature or even better, boiling it in regenerator. It is also possible to use the later as high temperature regenerator in a
two stage regeneration process. Lowenstein developed a natural gas liquid desiccant boiler, giving thermal efficiency of
around 53% [17]. Combining this regenerator with a low temperature regenerator with thermal COP of 0.8, would give
COP of 1.05. In case of solar cooling systems, parasitic power consumption is usually high. This can be reduced by
regenerating LD in solar collector cum regenerator (C/R). C/R also eliminates blower, hot water pump and heat exchanger
used in air-scavenging regenerators. Hollands used solar still as LD regenerator, while Mullick and Gupta used a glazed
blackened GI flat sheet with natural air currents over it for regeneration of LD [18-19]. Dust contamination and heavy
dependence on weather conditions are limitations of above solar collector cum regenerator [20].

Higher thermal COP and low parasitic power consumption in a liquid desiccant based air conditioning system can be
realized using a solar regenerator with in-situ boiling. Rane et al. proposed an energy efficient air conditioning system with
two stage regeneration of LD and coproduction of distilled water [21]. Rane and Mehta developed a novel evacuated tube
collector (ETC) with heat pipes [22]. Heat receiving fluid flows through straight fluid tubes inside the central header in this
collector. So, there is little pressure drop even when the liquid is boiled inside the collector. Liquid hold up is just around
0.07 l/m2 collector area, allowing quick boiling as fluid is introduced into the collector. Rane and Mehta also tested this
collector for saturated steam generation at 100oC offering 9 h average efficiency in range of 51 to 60% [23].

2. Liquid desiccant based solar air conditioning (LD_SAC) system developed at HPL_IITB

A 3 TR LD_SAC system is developed for fresh air dehumidification at 2% cooling design condition (33.2oC DBT and
24.0oC WBT) for Mumbai [24]. The system uses aqueous Potassium Formate solution as liquid desiccant due to its better
compatibility with the metals of construction used in the system [25]. The cycle is represented on p-T-x chart of aqueous
Potassium Formate solution in Fig. 1. The block diagram in Fig. 2 shows scheme and flow of energy and fluids in LD_SAC
system in which LD is regenerated in two stages.

Process 1-2 is pre-cooling and moisture pick-up by LD in fresh air dehumidifier (FAD). FAD is internally cooled with
cooling tower water. LD becomes dilute in FAD and needs to be regenerated. Before introducing weak LD in regenerator,
it is preheated in two heat exchangers: low temperature solution heat exchanger (LT_SHE) and high temperature solution
heat exchanger (HT_SHE); shown as processes 2-3 and 3-4 respectively. Regeneration process is carried out in two stages,
high temperature regenerator (HTR) and low temperature regenerator (LTR). Process 4-5 represents remaining preheating
and regeneration of LD in HTR. Intermediate concentration LD (ICLD) and steam come out of HTR. 5-6 is cooling of
ICLD occurring in HT_SHE and 6-7 is further regeneration of intermediate concentration LD in LTR using the steam.
Process 7-1 is cooling of strong LD in LT_SHE. The solar collector developed by Rane and Mehta [22] is used as HTR.
Ariel view of the solar collector and is shown in Fig.3.
690 J R Mehta and M V Rane / Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693

5
4

3 7

2 1

(a) (b)
Fig.1. (a) Two stage regeneration liquid desiccant dehumidification cycle on p-T-x chart of aqueous Potassium Formate (b) Scheme of LD_SAC.
HT_SHE: High temperature solution heat exchanger, LT_SHE: low temperature solution heat exchanger, ICLD: intermediate concentration liquid desiccant

LD out
ETC collector
module

LD in

Fig. 3. Solar collector used for regeneration of LD with in-situ regeneration without exposure to ambient air

3. Experimentation

This work describes LD regeneration experiments done on this solar regenerator with in-situ regeneration without
exposure to ambient air. The total projected absorber area of this collector is 13.4 m2. It is made up of four solar collector
modules, using 252# Sydney type evacuated tubes with 47 mm OD and 1.5 m length.

3.1. Experimental scheme and measurement methodology

LD was pumped into collector from LD storage tank (LDST) at near ambient temperature using a variable speed
peristaltic pump. LD was first preheated in solution heat exchanger and then introduced into the solar regenerator with in-
situ regeneration (Fig. 4). Steam and regenerated LD were separated in a steam-LD separator. Steam was introduced into
channels of a trough, where it got condensed. Regenerated LD was passed through solution heat exchanger, where it
preheated the weak LD entering the collector. Regenerated LD drained back into LD tank. The volume flow rate of weak
LD was measured with a positive displacement volume flow meter with a range of 0 to 300 l/h and an accuracy of 0.5% of
measured value. Specific gravity of LD was measured by taking a 1 l sample at the middle of the measurement period and
weighing it. The weighing machine has accuracy of 0.2 g. Its temperature was measured with a thermometer with
resolution of 1oC. Steam generation rate is estimated by measuring weight of condensate collected. Global solar radiation
is measured with a pyranometer with accuracy of 1%. Temperatures are measured with K-type thermocouples, which have
 J R Mehta and M V Rane / Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693 691

accuracy of +1.5oC in the measured temperature range. Temperatures and solar radiation are measured at an interval of 30 s
using a data acquisition system (DAS) and displayed on PC. Averaged values are also stored using a LabVIEWTM program.

I.g

t.ld..htr.o t ld.sc3.o
. t ld.sc2.o
. t.ld.sc1.o t ld.htr.i
.
SC4 SC3 SC2 SC1

SLDS

SHE
DAS
Condensate Steam condensing trough
volf .w.rem
PC

LDST t.ldp.i
sg.ldp.i
Pump volf .wk.ld

Fig.4. Experimental and measurement scheme.

SC: solar collector, SLDS: steam-liquid desiccant separator, SHE: solution heat exchanger, LDST: liquid desiccant storage tank, DAS: data acquisition system

3.2. Calculations

Mass flow rate of weak LD pumped, mf.wk.ld, through SHE entering regenerator was measured by measuring the specific
gravity of LD at pump inlet, sg.ldp.i, and volume flow rate of LD pumped, volf.ldp.o. The mass flow rate of LD at regenerator
inlet, mf.wk.ld, can be calculated as:
mf.wk .ld sg.ldp.i volf.ldp.o … (1)
Concentration of LD, x.ld can be calculated from its specific gravity and temperature by first finding specific gravity at
reference temperature, sg.ld.rt and then using relation for concentration and specific gravity at reference temperature, 15.6oC
[24]:
sg.ld . rt 0.001071tld 1.0057723sg ld 0.03 … (2)
x.ld 30.222916 sg ld . rt 3 183.0222916 sg ld . rt 2 449.997 sg ld . rt 297.1264 … (3)
Mass flow rate of water removed in an hour, mf.w.rem is the condensate collected in that hour. Mass flow rate of LD at
regenerator (solar collector) outlet, mf.ld.reg.o, is found by mass balance across regenerator.
mf.ld .reg .o mf.wk .ld mf.w.rem ... (4)
Concentration of regenerated LD, x.ld.reg.o can be found by salt balance across regenerator.
mfwk .ld xwk .ld
x.ld .reg.o ... (5)
mf.ld .reg .o
Part of the incident global radiation is lost by reflection, conduction, convection and radiation losses. Remaining is used
to heat up LD pumped into the collector at steady state conditions. LD is first preheated, reaches its saturation temperature
and superheated steam is generated when heated further. As concentration increases, regeneration temperature also
increases. Total heat added to LD may be divided into two parts: sensible and latent. Sensible heat added to LD may be
calculated from temperature difference between saturation temperature of LD at regenerator outlet concentration and inlet
temperature to regenerator.
Q.sen mfld .reg .o cpld .reg .o (t.reg .o - t.ld .reg .i ) ... (6)
Specific heat of LD, cp.ld is function of its concentration and is calculated by developing a polynomial from reported values
in literature [26].
cp.ld 7.784312354 1.572649573sg.ld . rt 3.19988345 sg.2ld . rt 1.21017871sg .3ld . rt ... (7)
State of water in LD changes from subcooled liquid to superheated steam. Latent heat added to water in regenerator is
calculated as
Q.lat mf.w.rem h.w ... (8)
692 J R Mehta and M V Rane / Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693

Qtot Qsen Q.lat ... (9)

Efficiency of collector, .sc is given as
Qtot
sc Qsc.i ... (10)

Where, heat incident on solar collector is multiplication of global radiation flux, I.g and area of the collector, A.sc.
Qsc.i I g Asc ... (11)
Thermal COP, COP.th is defined as ratio of latent cooling capability and heat input to regenerator.
mfw.rem hfg.w
COPth ... (12)
Qtot
Where, h.fg.w is latent heat of water. Solar COP, COP.sol is given by

COPsol sc COPth ... (13)

4. Experimental data, results and error analysis

The experimental data and calculated intermediate values as well as final values of performance parameters on a typical
day of experiment are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Experimental data and performance parameters for single stage regeneration of in solar collector with in-situ regeneration

Average5h /
Instrument Date From 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 Total.5h
22/06/2012 To 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Pyranometer Global radiation I.g kW/m2 0.631 0.752 0.611 0.706 0.509 0.642 kWh
PDFM Volume flow rate of LD at pump outlet volfldp.o l/h 12.3 13.2 13.6 9.6 7.8
Thermocouple Temperature of weak LD into pump tldp.i °C 30.0 30.0 30.0 31.0 30.0
Thermocouple Temperature of LD at regenerator inlet tld.reg.i °C 64.7 71.7 71.00 68.5 66.8 68.5 °C
Weighing m/c Specific gravity of LD at pump inlet sg.ldp.i 1.292 1.315 1.319 1.337 1.349
Mass flow rate of weak LD from tank to
mf.wk.ld kg/h 15.9 17.4 17.9 12.8 10.5
regenerator
Concentration of weak LD in tank x.wk.ld % 45.1 48.0 48.5 50.8 52.1
Mass flow rate of water removed in
Weighing m/c mf.w.rem kg/h 2.504 3.842 3.369 3.431 2.734 3.176 kg/h
regenerator
Concentration of LD at regenerator outlet x.ld.reg.o 53.5 61.6 59.7 69.3 70.4
Concentration change of LD across regenerator dx.reg 8.4 13.6 11.2 18.5 18.3
Specific heat of intermediate concentration LD cp.ld.reg.o kJ/kg K 2.738 2.493 2.550 2.270 2.239
Saturation temperature of LD at outlet
t.bo.ld.reg.o °C 117.8 124.0 122.4 131.5 132.6
concentration
Sensible heating of LD Q.sen kW 0.54 0.49 0.53 0.37 0.32 2.25 kWh
Latent heat added in regenerator Q.lat kW 1.69 2.59 2.27 2.34 1.87 10.76 kWh
Total heat collected in regenerator Q.tot kW 2.23 3.08 2.80 2.71 2.19 13.02 kWh
Heat input to regenerator Q.sc.i kW 8.46 10.08 8.19 9.46 6.82 43.00 kWh
Efficiency of collector .sc % 26.4 30.6 34.2 28.7 32.1 30.3 %
Cooling potential Q.c kW 1.7 2.6 2.3 2.3 1.8 10.64 kWh
Thermal COP COP.th 0.75 0.84 0.81 0.85 0.84 0.82
Solar COP COP.sol 0.20 0.26 0.28 0.24 0.27 0.25

For each calculated parameter, Y = f(X1,X2,X3,…), RMS error eY can be calculated from individual errors eX as

2 2 2
Y Y Y
eY eX eX eX .... ... (14)
X1 1 X2 2 X3 3

For period 1300 to 1400 h on 22/06/2012, it is seen from calculations that reported values of concentration may have
inaccuracy of 0.8 to 1.2% absolute. The main source of error is the polynomial expression correlating concentration with
specific gravity. Calculation of temperature change across regenerator has relative error of around 3.5%. Due to this,
 J R Mehta and M V Rane / Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 688 – 693 693

sensible heat calculation has an error of around 5.8%. Fortunately, sensible heating is a smaller part of total heating and
calculation of latent heat addition is quite accurate. So, heat duty of collector has relative error of 1.12%. Efficiency and
COP of regenerator may be reported as 34.57% + 0.518% and 0.81 + 0.009. Solar collector efficiency as high as 44.7% was
also measured while red ld at 117oC temperature and 719 W/m2global radiation alog with distilled water production of 5.14
kg/h.

5. Conclusion

Efficacy of novel evacuated tube based solar collector is demonstrated while regenerating aqueous Potassium Formate
solution which can used for solar air conditioning application. Concentration change up to 18.5% across 1 st sol and exit
concentration of 70.4 weight % of KCOOH in water. Due to absence of sensible heat loss to air and low preheating,
regenerator could deliver high day average thermal COP of 0.82. Due to low pressure drop and flow rate of LD in collector,
parasitic power consumption was less than 40 W, which is less than 1.5% of regeneration duty. The latent heat of steam
produced in the collector can be used for further regeneration of LD in low temperature stage, making further increase in
COP possible. Distilled water output up to 5.14 kg/h and collector efficiency up to 44.7% while regenerating LD at 117oC
with 719 W/m2global radiation.

Acknowledgements

Financial support from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE), New Delhi (project #15/1/2008 – ST)
and Mech World Eco, Nashik for this project is gratefully acknowledged.

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