Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Experimental investigation on a dehumidification unit with heat recovery

using desiccant coated heat exchanger in waste to energy system
X.Y. Sun a, b, J.L. Chen c, d, Y. Zhao c, e, X. Li f, T.S. Ge c, e, C.H. Wang d, Y.J. Dai c, e, *
a
Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
b
Key Laboratory of Wind Energy Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
c
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
d
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
e
Engineering Research Centre of Solar Energy and Refrigeration, MOE China, China
f
NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 138602, Singapore

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Nowadays, waste-to-energy systems have attracted more and more attentions. Gasification technology is one of
Desiccant coated heat exchanger the most important methods of waste-to-energy utilization. For further using the residual heat of the gasification
Waste to energy system, a desiccant dehumidification unit with heat recovery using desiccant coated heat exchanger (DCHE)
Gasification
driven by waste heat is developed. Two DCHEs are employed to remove moisture from fresh air. The hot water
Heat recovery
used in the regeneration process comes from the gasification combined heat and power (CHP) subsystem. Under
Coefficient of performance
the typical outdoor condition in Singapore (32 ◦ C, 65% RH), the moisture removal of the system reaches 9.32 g/
kgDA, the thermal COP is 0.70, and the waste heat utilization ratio approaches 74.2%. To improve the energy
efficiency further, a heat recovery subsystem is adopted to recover the waste heat from the exhausted regen­
eration air. The recommended pre-regeneration time is 3 min, and the moisture removal is 9.01 g/kg DA, while
the thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio are remarkably increased to 1.34% and 86.5%, respectively.
Detailed parametric analyses were carried out, including the influences of the cooling water flow rate, hot water
flow rate and hot water temperature. This system combines desiccant coated heat exchangers and the gasification
CHP subsystem innovatively to improve the energy utilization of waste-to-energy gasification system, which
turns out an effective choice to achieve dehumidification and recover waste heat deeply.

recovery system based on vapor compression refrigeration and liquid

1. Introduction
In the past few decades, rapid industrialization and economic
development have taken place all over the world, which leads to an
increasing energy demand, booming population and the production of
large quantities of solid waste [1]. It is estimated by the World Bank that
by 2025, solid waste generated in global urban areas will increase from
the current 3.5 million tons per day to 6.1 million tons per day [2].
Waste-to-energy factories are generally regarded as a means of bridging
the gap between the sustainable environment and energy supplies [3–5].
Although solid waste is further exploited, during the waste to energy
process, a large amount of waste heat is not reclaimed, causing energy
loss. The generated waste heat needs to be recovered and further uti­
lized. Liu et al. [6] compares different total heat exchangers to achieve a
higher waste heat recovery efficiency from the flue gas. A hybrid heat
desiccant dehumidification was proposed by Li et al. [7] to perform well
in district heating. A fresh air handling unit is proposed by Hwang [8]
for space humidification in winter for buildings located in cold and dry
climate regions, and with heat recovery at air side, the efficiencies were
increased to be 0.4–1.2. Combining the waste heat recovery and dehu­
midifictaion should be further utilized.
Desiccant coated heat exchanger (DCHE), as a highly efficient and
environmentally friendly dehumidification technology [9], has received
great attention due to the advantages such as the utilization of low-grade
heat sources [10], isothermal dehumidification capacity [11,12], and
low electricity consumption. DCHE is fabricated by coating desiccant
materials onto the usual heat exchanger. When the ambient air with
moisture flows through DCHE, the moisture is adsorbed by the desic­
cant. In the meantime the consequent adsorption heat is carried away by
cycling cooling water in the pipe of DCHE, making the isothermal

* Corresponding author at: Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
E-mail address: yjdai@sjtu.edu.cn (Y.J. Dai).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116342
Received 21 June 2020; Received in revised form 20 October 2020; Accepted 16 November 2020
Available online 21 November 2020
1359-4311/© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article as: X.Y. Sun, Applied Thermal Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116342
X.Y. Sun et al.
Nomenclature
cp specific heat, J/(kg K)
d humidity ratio of air, kg water vapour/kg dry air
h enthalpy, kJ/kg
m mass flow rate, kg/s
Q heat flux, W
RH relative humidity, %
T temperature, ◦ C
η waste heat utilization ratio
τ operating cycle time, s
Subscripts and superscripts
a air
avg average
dehumidification available and improving the overall performance of
dehumidification significantly. When the desiccant is saturated, hot
water is switched into the pipe, driving the desiccant to release the
adsorbed moisture, making the desiccant dry again [13]. The heat
needed to actuate the regeneration process comes from low grade
thermal resources, such as solar energy [14], industrial exhaust heat
[15], and condensation waste heat generated by heat pumps [16].
Different types of DCHE are tested to improve the moisture removal
capacity, such as fin-and–tube heat exchanger, microchannel heat
exchanger, air-cooled cross-flow heat exchanger [17] and packed heat
exchanger [18]. Additionally, DCHE can dehumidify in summer and
humidify in winter, which is designed for year-round use [19].
In the same lab, continuous work has been done by Zhao et al. to
explore the better performance of the dehumidification heat pump with
DCHE by establishing three kinds of experimental unit. Zhao et al. [20]
established a desiccant dehumidification unit employing DCHE powered
by solar energy, of which the outcome indicated that the maximum
average moisture removal is 5.3 g/kg and COPth is 0.377. Then one solar
driven self-cooling refrigeration system based on DCHE was built by
Wang et al. [21]. Under the same working condition, the average
dehumidification amount and thermal COP of the system combined with
the regenerative evaporative cooler were 17% and 6% higher than those
of DCHE system, respectively. To improve the COP, a heat recovery
device (HRD) was adopted by Zhao et al. [22]. Based on the experi­
mental results, the thermal coefficient of performance of the system has
been improved to 1.2. Through the previous studies, the operation cycle
of the dehumidification air system has been optimized as 12 min in the
previous research work [20], [21] and [22], providing the optimized
time option for the subsequent system optimization. Bahrami et al. [23]
built a new DCHE coated with AQSOA™-FAM-Z02 experimentally and
theoretically under typical greenhouse conditions for the first time, with
0.33 COPth. Lee et al. [24] proposed a desiccant-based outdoor air sys­
tem using cogenerated hot water under different operating conditions
(hot, cold, hot and humid, cold and dry). In the issue, the devised system
working in hot climate costed less energy than that in cold and dry
climate. Combined with silica gel coated heat exchanger, an air condi­
tioning system actuated by vacuum tube solar water heater was devel­
oped by Kumar et al. [25]. Fore cooling and after cooling were
illustrated to the beneficial of dehumidification, while the former helps
enhance the average moisture removal of the process air by 15.3%, and
the latter is in favor of increasing both cooling capacity and COPth. Chua
et al. [26] experimentally investigated a solid desiccant dehumidifier
comprised by two silica gel coated heat exchangers in tropical climate
operations, and the adsorption capacity of type RD silica gel (a kind of
silica gel manufactured by Fuji Silysia Chemical Ltd., Japan) powder is
11.0 g/kg DA, almost two times higher than that of granular adsorbent
packed heat exchanger, while the thermal COP is 0.62. A parallel plate
2
Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx
DA Dry Air
de dehumidification process
hw hot water
jw jacket water
w water
in inlet
out outlet
th thermal
Abbreviations
CHP Combined heat and power
COP Coefficient of performance
DCHE Desiccant coated heat exchanger
HX Plate heat exchanger
ICE Internal combustion engine
desiccant coated heat and mass regenerator was established by Jagirdar
et al. [27], which can achieve 7 g/kg DA moisture removal with 30 ◦ C,
19 g/kg DA inlet air of 1.4 m/s velocity. A new type of nano-silver
powder supported FAPO-34 composite fin was proposed to improve
the adsorption rate coefficients by 6–103% compared with that of a pure
FAPO-34 coated sheet by Zheng et al. [28]. A fresh air heat pump
desiccant dehumidification system using rejected heat with DCHE was
set up and experimentally tested by Chai et al. [29], while the optimal
average dehumidification capacity is 7.02 g/kgDA.
Those systems mentioned above were mainly driven by solar energy,
limited reports focused on the other low-grade thermal sources, such as
the exhaust heat from the waste-to-energy process. Besides, improving
the thermal COP of the desiccant dehumidification unit with DCHE is of
great significance. In order to alleviate these issues and recover waste
heat profoundly, a waste heat driven desiccant dehumidification unit
with heat recovery using desiccant coated heat exchangers would be
developed. The waste heat and the generated electricity power from
gasification CHP system would be used to drive the dehumidification
system. A heat recovery subsystem would be established to enhance the
energy efficiency of the system. The moisture removal, thermal coeffi­
cient of performance (COPth) and waste heat utilization ratio of the
system under different working conditions would be investigated and
analyzed. The novel dehumidification system with the heat recovery
subsystem driven by waste heat from gasification CHP system will not
only expand the range of the operating temperature for 50–70 ◦ C waste
heat, but also promote the thermal COP of the system increasing
remarkably from 0.70 to 1.34. Besides, the function of the system is
expanded, not only for generating electricity, but also having the
dehumidification cooling capacity.
2. Experimental setup
2.1. Main components in the system
To explore the property of the desiccant dehumidification unit with
heat recovery employing desiccant coated heat exchangers (DCHEs)
driven by the waste heat from waste to energy unit, a solid waste based
gasification CHP system integrated with DCHE has been tested. The
system is mainly composed of three subsystems, including the desiccant
dehumidification subsystem, gasification CHP subsystem and heat re­
covery subsystem. The actual views of the three subsystems are
exhibited in Fig. 1, respectively. The essential components in the system
are introduced.
The desiccant dehumidification subsystem is comprised of two
DCHEs and the relevant fans, a wet cooling tower, water pumps and
pipes. As the key component of the system, two DCHEs are manufac­
tured on the basis of the common fin-and-tube heat exchanger, the sizes
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1. (a) Photographic view of the desiccant dehumidification subsystem, (b) Photographic view of the gasification CHP subsystem, and (c) Photographic view of
the heat recovery subsystem.

of which are as same as 400 mm (length) − 400 mm (width) − 88 mm

Table 1
(depth). All pipes and fins of the conventional heat exchanger are coated
Performances of the major components utilized in the system.
by silica gel with approximately 0.17 mm layer thickness. A wet cooling
tower is employed to provide a steady flow of cooling water to carry off Component Quantity Parameters

the adsorption heat generated during dehumidification process. When Desiccant dehumidification subsystem
the desiccant reaches saturation state, DCHE enters into the regenera­ Desiccant coated 2 Length*Width*Depth = 400 mm * 400 mm * 88
heat exchanger mm
tion process by substituting the hot water from low-grade thermal re­
Fin pitch: 2 mm
sources for the cooling water. Hot water utilized in regeneration process Outer diameter of pipe: 9.85 mm
comes from the following two parts. Total transfer area: 12.5 m2
One part is the hot water heated by the waste heat from gasification Quantity of desiccant coated: 2.5 kg
CHP subsystem. The solid waste based gasification CHP subsystem is Wet cooling tower 1 Max. flow rate: 3.2 m3/h
Max. pump head: 1.5 m
basically made up of a downdraft gasifier and spark-ignited internal Rated power: 120 W, 220 V
combustion engine (ICE) with 15 kW rated electrical power. The hopper Rated cooling capacity: 18.7 kW
feeding device adopts screw feeder to control the feeding rate and feed Fans 2 Max. flow rate: 330 m3/h
biomass into the gasifier. The syngas generated by the gasifier circulates Max. total pressure: 134 Pa
Rated power: 50 W, 220 V
through a cyclone separator, removing entrainment particles, and then
Pumps 2 Max. flow rate: 2 m3/h
cools the syngas and dries the feedstock in the hopper through a shell Max. pump head: 15 m
heat exchanger located at the bottom of the hopper. The cooled syngas is Rated power: 200 W, 220 V
then separated from the tar and condensed water by a fixed bed filter Gasification CHP subsystem
with washable foam elements. The purified syngas is consumed by the Gasifier [31] 1 All Power Labs (the name of company) v5
Patented, thermally integrated downdraft
ICE to generate electricity and waste heat [30]. The waste heat is
Materials: 304SS/ 310 SS/321 SS/mild steel
collected by using a plate heat exchanger (HX) and stored in the hot Hearth: Coated Ceramic
water tank (70–80 ◦ C). Hopper Capacity: 0.33 m3/88 gallons
The other part is the heat recovery subsystem to improve the energy Biomass Consumption: 1.2 kg/kWh
Control System: On-Board Automation
efficiency. It includes a water pump, a heat recovery water tank, and a
Internal combustion 1 GM Vortec, spark fired internal combustion
heat recovery exchanger. The extra heat from the regeneration air with engine engine
high temperature and humidity is transformed into heat recovery water Displacement: 3.0 literCompression Ratio:
and is stored in the heat recovery water tank. The structure size of the 10.25:1
heat recovery exchanger is as same as the one of DCHEs utilized in the Rated power: 15 kW
Lube Oil Capacity: 5 quarts - including filter
desiccant dehumidification subsystem, to guarantee the heat of the
Coolant Capacity: 11.4 L, 12 qts - incl. radiator
waste air in regeneration process can be recovered sufficiently. Table 1 Hot water tank 1 Capacity: 100 L
shows the performances of major components utilized in the system. Heat recovery subsystem
Heat recovery 1 Length*Width*Depth = 400 mm * 400 mm * 88
exchanger mm
2.2. Operation principle of the experimental system Fin pitch: 2 mm
Outer diameter of pipe: 9.85 mm
The schematic diagram of the experimental system is displayed in Total transfer area: 12.5 m2
Heat recovery tank 1 Capacity: 40 L
Fig. 2. The psychrometric diagram of air conditions during the pro­
Heat recovery water 1 Max. flow rate: 1.5 m3/h
cessing procedure is revealed in Fig. 3. The two figures show the oper­ pump Max. pump head: 9 m
ation principle of the experimental system. Rated power: 69 W, 220 V
Two DCHEs are employed in the system – one in dehumidification
process and the other in regeneration process. The cooling water pump is
P1, and the hot water pump is P2. Two fans named Fan1 and Fan 2 are into DCHE 1 and DCHE 2, separately. So dry air is generated by DCHE 1,
equipped as revealed in Fig. 2. By switching the water four-way solenoid and regeneration air is rejected by DCHE 2. The working status of air
valve V1, the operation modes of DCHEs can be swiched. For instance, in duct four-way valve determines the flow directions of the process air.
Fig. 2, the state of V1 forces the cooling water and the hot water to flow The state of the water four-way solenoid valve V2 is the same as V1,

3
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

Desiccant dehumidification
subsystem
Cooling P1
tower Fan 1
Ambient air
V1
Recovery heat
DCHE1
Gasification CHP subsystem exchanger
Waste air Dry air
Gasifier
Exhausted
Syngas Cleaning air
system P2 P3 DCHE2 Fan 2
Ambient air Cooling water
V2 Hot
Water V3 Hot water
ICE HX
Recovery hot water
Jacket
water Hot water V4 Heat recovery
tank Air duct four-way valve
tank
Heat recovery subsystem Water four-way valve

Water three-way valve

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the experimental system.

using hot water as heat source. The process 1–5-3′ exhibits the pre-
0.035 regeneration process using heat recovery water (stage 1–5) and the
t Hot water regeneration process using hot water (stage 5-3′ ). As stage 3′ -4
3' 3 0.030
4 expressed, the heat from the hot and humid waste air is recovered
further.
t2
Humidity ratio (kg/kg)

0.025
5Hot water
1 t1 2.3. Measurements and acquisition equipment
80% 100%

1 Ambient air 0.020

Heat recovery water
2 Dry air
d 3/3' Waste air
Dry bulb temperature, relative humidity and velocity of treated air,
Cooling 0.015
temperature and flow rate of inlet and outlet water are measured. PT
60%

water 4 Exhaust air

5 Air after pre-regeneration 100 RTD temperature sensors with accuracy of ±0.1 ◦ C which are
0.010
2 1-2 Isothermal dehumidification connected to two 8-channel temperature acquisition modules, are
40%

1-3 Direct regeneration employed to measure the dry bulb temperature of air and the temper­
1-5-3' Using heat recovery water pre-r 0.005
ature of water. The relative humidity transducer ranges from 0 to 100%
20%

egeneration, then regeneration

10%

5% 3'-4 Heat recovery RH with accuracy of ±2% RH. A hot-wire anemometer with an accuracy
0.000 of ±0.04 m⋅s− 1 is used to measure the air speed. Mass flow rate of water
20 30 40 50 60 70
o is procured according to the readings of the electromagnetic flowmeter.
Dry bulb temperature ( C)
All measurement data are converged into the computer through data
Fig. 3. Psychrometric diagram of air conditions during the process­ acquisition cards and configuration software while the sampling time is
ing procedure. 1 s. The essential characteristics of the employed measurement equip­
ment in the experimental system are presented in Table 2.
which guarantees the cooling water flowing back to the wet cooling
tower and the hot water flowing back to the water three-way solenoid 2.4. Energy flows analysis
valve V4, avoiding flow disorders. When the desiccant of DCHE 1 comes
to the saturated status, the states of V1 and V2 change together. DCHE 2 To analyze the energy efficiency of the total system, the energy flows
converts to the dehumidification process, DCHE 1 transforms into the from the waste-to-energy gasification CHP subsystem to the desiccant
regeneration process, and so on. dehumidification subsystem are presented in Fig. 4. The data of gasifi­
The water three-way solenoid valve V3 resolves the regeneration cation CHP subsystem in the specified operation condition (8 kW elec­
heat source coming from the hot water tank or the heat recovery tank. If tricity power load) are shown in Table 3. The lower heating value of
the hot water is utilized, DCHE is in regeneration process, and the heat wood chips feedstock employed in the experiment is approximately
recovery pump P3 is used for recovering thermal energy from the waste 17.05 MJ/kg. The waste-to-syngas energy conversion efficiency of the
air into the heat recovery tank. If the heat recovery water is used, DCHE gasification CHP subsystem is 76.5%, while the energy efficiencies of
is in pre-regeneration process, P3 should be swiched off. The state of the syngas-to-heat and syngas-to-electricity are 29.8% and 17.9%,
water three-way solenoid valve V4 is the same as that of V3.
Fig. 3 shows the different air state points. The inlet air is distributed Table 2
into two parts. One part is used for dehumidification, turning ambient Specification of the different test instrumentations.
air into dry air passing through DCHE in dehumidification process, as
Parameter Sensor Accuracy Range
the state points 1–2 shown. In this process, the moisture of the ambient
Temperature PT100 ±0.1 ◦ C 0–200 ◦ C
air is adsorbed by the silica gel coating. The other part is used for
Relative humidity Relative humidity transducer ±2% RH 0–100%
regeneration, turning ambient air into hot and humid waste air passing Fluid flow Electromagnetic flowmeter ±1.0% 1–5 m/s
through DCHE. The process 1–3 shows the regeneration process directly Air velocity Hot-wire anemometer ±0.04 m/s 0–5 m/s

4
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

Research area
Gasifier ICE HX DCHE
82% H
Hot water in the tank Latent heat
29.8% Jacket
Jacket water
Feedstock 76.5% Syngas 17.9%
Heat loss Left
ft hot
ho water
Power generation
Exhaust gas Desiccant
Residual
esidual mass dehumidification
Gasification CHP subsystem
subsystem

Fig. 4. Energy flows from the gasification CHP subsystem to the desiccant dehumidification subsystem.

The average air refrigerating capacity is defined as Eq. (4),

Table 3
Tested Data of waste-to-energy gasification CHP in the typical condition (8 kW Qa = ma ⋅(ha,out − ha,in ) (4)
electricity power load).
Parameters Amount
where ma is the mass flow rate of air, kg/s, ha,in and ha,out are the
enthalpy of inlet air and outlet air, kJ/kg, respectively.
Feedstock consumption mf (kg/s) 0.0034
The average enthalpy exchanged of hot water is calculated as Eq. (5)
Syngas production Vs (Nm3/h) 31.8
Mass flow of the jacket water mjw (kg/s) 0.583 Qw = mw ⋅cpw (Tw,in − Tw,out ) (5)
Inlet jacket water temperature of ICE Tjw,in (oC) 82.95
Outlet jacket water temperature of ICE Tjw,out (oC) 88.35 where mw is the mass flow rate of hot water, kg/s, cpw is the specific heat
Mass flow of the hot water mhw (kg/s) 0.417 capacity of hot water, J/(kg⋅K), Tw,in and Tw,out are the temperature of
Outlet hot water of the hot water tank Thw,out (oC) 79.55 inlet regeneration water and outlet regeneration water, ◦ C, respectively.
Inlet hot water of the hot water tank Thw,in (oC) 73.35
3.3. Waste heat utilization ratio (η)

separately. The heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger used be­ To evaluate the utilization condition of the waste heat coming from
tween jacket water and hot water in the tank is 82%. By introducing the gasification CHP subsystem, the waste heat utilization ratio (η) is
desiccant dehumidification subsystem, the waste heat from jacket water defined by Eq. (6).
of the ICE is recycled. The waste heat utilization ratios are calculated in
detail in Section 4. Qa + Qhw,left
η= (6)
Qjw
3. Performance indices
where the waste heat is the heat of jacket water, Qjw ,W, as shown in Eq.
(7).
To depict the dehumidification performances of the dehumidifica­
tion system, the following performance indices are introduced. Qjw = mjw ⋅cpw (Tjw,out − Tjw,in ) (7)

where mjw is the mass flow of jacket water, kg/s, Tjw,out and Tjw,in are the
3.1. Moisture removal
temperature of inlet jacket water and outlet jacket water, ◦ C,
respectively.
The instantaneous moisture removalΔdDE , kgmoisture ⋅ kg−DA1, is used
The numerator of Eq. (6) is divided into two parts. One part is the
for evaluating the dehumidification performance of the system, which is
cooling capacity of the treated air, as calculated in Eq. (4). The other part
calculated as** Eq. (1),
is Qhw,left , the heat of the left hot water, as shown in Eq. (8),
ΔdDE = da,in − da,out (1)
Qhw,left = Qhw − Qw (8)
whereda,in and da,out are the humidity ratio of inlet air and outlet air,
(9)
kgmoisture ⋅ kg-1
Qhw = mhw ⋅cpw (Thw,out − Thw,in )
DA, respectively.
For a whole cycle period, the average moisture removalΔdDE,avg ,
where Qhw is the total recovered heat stored in hot water tank. One part
kgmoisture ⋅ kg-1
DA, which is defined in Eq. (2), is more appropriate than the
of Qhw is used to drive the dehumidification system as Qw , and the other
instantaneous moisture removal ΔdDE to describe the dehumidification
part is used to provide hot water as Qhw,left . mhw is the mass flow of hot
ability,
water in the hot water tank, kg/s. Thw,out and Thw,in are the temperature of
∑τ
ΔdDE,avg = ΔdDE (2) inlet hot water and outlet hot water of the hot water tank, ◦ C, separately.
0

where τ is the operation cycle time, s. 3.4. Uncertainty analysis

The propagation of errors for the above computations of Eqs. (1)–(9)

3.2. Coefficient of performance
is built on the root of the sum squares (RSS) exhibited as [32]:
The thermal coefficient of performance is defined as Eq. (3) to [( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ]12
∂f ∂f ∂f
calculate the overall energy efficiency of the system, which is the ratio of Δy = (Δx1 )2 + (Δx2 )2 + ⋯ + (Δxn )2 (10)
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂xn
average air cooling capacity in dehumidification process (Qa ) to average
enthalpy exchanged of hot water (Qw ) in regeneration process.
[( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ]12
Δy ∂f Δx1 ∂f Δx2 ∂f Δxn
COPth =
Qa
(3) = + +⋯+ (11)
Qw y ∂x1 y ∂x2 y ∂xn y

5
X.Y. Sun et al.
where f is the function of the independent variables. x1 , x2 , etc. represent
the variables of the function. Δx1 , Δx2 , etc. signify the absolute error
linked with the variables and Δy/y stands for the relative tolerance. On
account of these equations, overall accuracies within the maximum
amounts of relative uncertainties are ±6.4% for average moisture
removal, ±8.5% for coefficient of performance and ±8.5% for waste
heat utilization ratio, separately.
4. Results and analyses
The dynamic performances of the system with/without heat recov­
ery are analyzed in detail by comparing the moisture removal, thermal
COP and waste heat utilization ratio. The effect of heat recovery in one
typical cycle is analyzed in terms of DCHE. The influences of the pre-
regeneration time is carried out by experimental results. Using the rec­
ommended heat recovery time, the influences of cooling water flow rate
and hot water flow rate on dehumidification performances are
presented.
The ambient condition shown in Table 4 is the typical outdoor
condition in Singapore as shown in National Environment Agency (NEA)
Singapore. When the outdoor condition and the operating power are
stable, the temperature of cooling water in wet cooling tower keeps
steady. The effect of the air flow rates on the thermal COP has been well
investigated in our previous work [33]. Detailed specifications under
different working conditions are displayed in Table 4.
4.1. Comparison of the dynamic performance of the system with/without
heat recovery
The flow rates of cooling water and hot water are 0.115 kg/s and
0.125 kg/s, respectively. Under this operation condition, the tempera­
ture of cooling water coming from the wet cooling tower is 30 ◦ C. The
average temperature of hot water coming from the gasification CHP
subsystem is approximately 70 ◦ C. The sampling interval is 1 s. Dynamic
performances in terms of outlet air conditions of the system under the
typical condition in Singapore are shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that,
due to the alternate operation between DCHE 1 and DCHE 2, a steady
stream of dry air is generated. The variation trends of outlet air condi­
tions are slightly different.
For the system without heat recovery, at the beginning of one typical
cycle, dry DCHE 1 demonstrates the powerful dehumidification capac­
ity, the humidity ratio of outlet air drops sharply in the first sixty sec­
onds. The maximum moisture removal is 13.6 g/kg DA. With time going,
the moisture adsorption of desiccant increases, leading to the decrease of
the dehumidification ability of DCHE 1. The humidity ratio of outlet air
increases slowly from 60 s to 360 s. Then the water valves and air valve
are switched simultaneously, DCHE 2 starts dehumidification and DCHE
1 moves to regeneration mode. The humidity ratio of outlet air shows
the same trend, decreasing sharply (360–420 s) and then decreasing
slowly (420–720 s). During the handover process, the influence of sys­
tem heat capacity on outlet air temperature is inevitable. When DCHE
switches its role from regeneration to dehumidification, a large amount
Table 4
Specifications under different working conditions.
Parameters Variation range
Typical outdoor condition in Singapore 32 ◦ C, 65% RH
Temperature of cooling water in typical outdoor 30
conditions (◦ C)
Air flow rate (kg/s) 0.108
Temperature of hot water (◦ C) 50, 55, 60, 65, 70
Time of pre-regeneration (s) 0, 60, 120, 180, 240
Cooling water flow rate (kg/s) 0.075, 0.095, 0.115,
0.135
Hot water flow rate (kg/s) 0.075, 0.100, 0.125,
0.150
6
Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx
70 30
Outlet air temperature without heat recovery
Outlet air temperature with 3min heat recovery
60 25
Outlet air humidity g/kgDA
Outlet air temperature /oC
Inlet air humidity
50
20
40
15
30
Inlet air temperature
10
20
10 5
Outlet air humidity without heat recovery
0
Outlet air humidity with 3min heat recovery
0
0 120 240 360 480 600 720
Cycle time /s
Fig. 5. Outlet air temperature and humidity of the desiccant dehumidification
system with/without heat recovery under the typical climate condition
in Singapore.
of residual heat in DCHE is carried away by the cooling water and the
process air, causing the sharp growth of the outlet air temperature. The
temperature variations in 0–120 s and 360–480 s in Fig. 5 are plotted
clearly. The curves of outlet air temperature are going to be gentle,
which are depicted in 120–360 s and 480–720 s in Fig. 5.
For the system with heat recovery, at the beginning of one typical
cycle, dry DCHE 1 demonstrates more powerful dehumidification ca­
pacity compared with the condition without heat recovery. The hu­
midity ratio of outlet air drops more sharply in the first thirty seconds,
while the maximum moisture removal is 16.8 g/kg DA, larger than that
without heat recovery. It is because less energy is wasted on heating the
system due to the pre-regeneration process, less cooling water is used to
overcome the influence of system heat capacity. More cooling water is
employed to take away the adsorption heat and promote the dehumid­
ification process further.
The results reveal that the average moisture removal is 9.32 g/kg DA,
and the refrigerating capacity is 2.57 kW from the perspective of latent
heat. The thermal COP of the system is 0.70, and the waste heat utili­
zation ratio is 74.2%. With heat recovery introduced as the pre-
regeneration heat source, the average moisture removal and the refrig­
erating capacity are a little bit reduced to 9.01 g/kg DA and 2.49 kW,
respectively. The thermal COP of the system is remarkably increased to
1.34 and the waste heat utilization ratio is notably increased to 86.5%.
In terms of the conventional separated dehumidification-CHP systems,
the power drives the air-conditioner to realize the dehumidifictaion
capacity. Considering the ratio of the latent heat to the sensible heat is
4:6, and the COP of air-conditioner is 3, to realize 2.5 kW dehumidifi­
cation capacity, 2.08 kW is needed to consume. But in this system, the
power consumption includes wet cooling tower 120 W, two fans 100 W,
two pumps 400 W and a heat recovery water pump 69 W, totally 689 W.
To realize the same dehumidification capacity, the novel system saves
almost 1.4 kW compared with the conventional one, which proves the
system display a new energy saving potential way. The following is the
detailed reason why heat recovery is beneficial in terms of DCHE.
4.2. Effect of heat recovery in one typical cycle for the DCHE
The effect of heat recovery in one typical cycle for the DCHE is
analysed particularly. Complete dehumidification-regeneration cycles
in one DCHE with/without heat recovery are explained thoroughly in
Fig. 6. The psychrometric diagrams of the dehumidification and regen­
eration process with/without heat recovery in one typical cycle are
demonstrated in Fig. 7.
It can be concluded from Fig. 6 that, in a complete cycle, during the
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

70 80 cooling water is wasted on overcoming the system heat capacity due to

Regeneration heat recovery.

60 4.3. Effect of pre-regeneration time

Outlet air humidity g/kgDA

Outlet air temperature /oC

60
Heat recovery is employed for pre-regeneration to increase the en­
50 Dehumidification
ergy efficiency of the system. The temperature of heat recovery water is
40 determined by the pre-regeneration time, normally from 45 ◦ C to 50 ◦ C.
The longer pre-regeneration time is, the lower heat recovery water
40
temperature will be. The effects of pre-regeneration time on average
Inlet air humidity moisture removal, thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio are
20 revealed in Fig. 8.
30
Inlet air temeprature When pre-regeneration time increases from 0 s to 180 s, the moisture
Pre-regeneration Regeneration removal changes quite a little from 9.32 g/kg DA to 9.01 g/kg DA. When
20 0 pre-regeneration time increases from 180 s to 240 s, the moisture
0 120 240 360 480 600 720 removal decreases sharply from 9.01 g/kg DA to 6.45 g/kg DA. As a result,
Cycle time /s more than three minutes of pre-regeneration is not recommended. The
Outlet air temperature with 3min pre-regeneration temperature of heat recovery water is in negative correlation to pre-
Outlet air temperature without pre-regeneration regeneration time. The longer the pre-regeneration time is, the less en­
Outlet air humidity with 3min pre-regeneration ergy recovered from the waste air will be. When the pre-regeneration
Outlet air humidity without pre-regeneration time is 240 s, quite little energy can be recovered, causing insufficient
regeneration. With pre-regeneration time increasing from 0 s to 180 s,
Fig. 6. Outlet air temperature and humidity with/without pre-regeneration in
the thermal COP increases greatly from 0.70 to 1.34, while the waste
one DCHE.
heat utilization ratio rises from 74.2% to 86.5%. So the 180 s pre-
regeneration time is recommended, which slightly affects the dehu­
0.09 midification capacity, increases the thermal COP conspicuously to a
Dehumidification process without heat reocvery value almost double of that in the cycle without pre-regeneration and
60%

Regeneration process without heat recovery

Dehumidification process with heat reocvery
0.08 fortifies the waste heat utilization ratio obviously.
Regeneration process with heat recovery It can be seen that in some conditions, COPs are above one. It is
0.07
because the denominator of the equation calculating COP is the average
Humidity ratio (kg/kg)

0.06 enthalpy exchanged of hot water in regeneration process. During the

40%
100%

pre-regeneration process, the heat driving the desiccant released the

0.05
moisture comes from the waste heat recovery of the waste air in
regeneration process, without any cost of heat. In other words, during
80 %

0.04
20%

Ambient air 0.03

12
10%

0.02 Average moisture removal

Average outlet air
Moisture removal g/kgDA

Average outlet air 9.32 9.45 9.31

without heat recovery 5% 0.01 9 9.01
with heat recovery
2%
0.00
20 30 40 50 60 70
o 6.45
Dry bulb temperature ( C) 6

Fig. 7. Psychrometric diagrams of the dehumidification and regeneration

process with/without heat recovery in one typical cycle. 3

regeneration process, only 240 s is required for the desiccant to return to

the dry status. From 600 s to 720 s, the outlet air humidity is equivalent 0
0 60 120 180 240
to the inlet air humidity. But the regeneration time should be equal to Time of pre-regeneration /s
the dehumidification time to guarantee the dehumidification perfor­
mance in this system. During the regeneration process, plentiful energy 1.5 100
1.34 1.42
is just wasted on heating ambient air without any other effect. In order to
82.3%
reduce energy waste and improve the energy efficiency of the system, 74.2%
78.6%
86.5% 87.6% 80
heat recovery is employed. It is shown that with three-minute pre-
Waste heat utilization ratio (

regeneration, the DCHE releases part of moisture adsorbed from 360 s to 1.0
1.05 60
540 s under the heating effect of the recovered heat. Then the hot water
COPth

at 70 ◦ C is switched in, and propels the DCHE desorbing the rest of the 0.84
moisture. By introducing the heat recovery, the use of hot water is 0.70 40
0.5
reduced, and the thermal COP of the system is improved.
The advantages of heat recovery are fully depicted in Fig. 7. In terms COPth 20
of temperature, the temperature of heat recovery water is lower than Waste heat utilization ratio (
that of hot water, which leads to the temperature of outlet air during
0.0 0
regeneration process with heat recovery quite lower than that without 0 60 120 180 240
heat recovery. Less energy is wasted on raising the outlet air’s temper­ Time of pre-regeneration /s
ature by introducing heat recovery. In terms of humidity, when
Fig. 8. Effects of pre-regeneration time on moisture removal, COPth and waste
switching the dehumidification and regeneration status of DCHEs, less heat utilization ratio.

7
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

the pre-regeneration process, the heat driving the desiccant released the 12
moisture is free. So the denominator will decrease when pre- Average moisture removal
9.34

Moisture removal g/kgDA

regeneration process is added. Longer pre-regeneration time means 8.42
9.01
9
smaller denominator of COP. So in some conditions, COPs can be above
7.03
one.
6

4.4. Effect of water flow rates

3
Experiments are conducted to analyse the influences of cooling water
flow rate and hot water flow rate with 3 min pre-regeneration. The
temperatures of cooling water and hot water temperature are 30 ◦ C and 0
0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150
70 ◦ C, respectively. When changing the cooling water flow rate, the hot Hot water flow rate kg/s
water flow is fixed as 0.125 kg/s. When changing the hot water flow
rate, the cooling water flow is fixed as 0.115 kg/s. Effects of cooling 1.50 100
86.5%
water flow rate and hot water flow rate on average moisture removal, 83.1 % 84.3% 82.9%
thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio are exhibited in Fig. 9 and

Waste heat utilization ratio (

80
1.25 1.34
Fig. 10, separately.
1.25
As shown in Fig. 9, a higher cooling water flow rate contributes to 60

COPth
increasing the dehumidification capacity. When the cooling water flow 1.00 1.13 1.12
rate increases from 0.075 kg/s to 0.135 kg/s, moisture removal increases 40
by approximately 42%, from 6.52 g/kg DA to 9.27 g/kg DA. In the COPth
0.75 Waste heat utilization ratio (
meantime, the trends of thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio are 20
the same with the increase of cooling water flow rate, raising from 0.96
to 1.38 and from 80.7% to 86.9%, respectively. During the dehumidi­ 0.50 0
0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150
fication process, the energy consumption of cooling water consists of
Hot water flow rate kg/s
two parts. One part is taking away the residual heat from the previous
cycle, and the other one is carrying off the adsorption heat to make Fig. 10. Effects of hot water flow rate on moisture removal, COPth and waste
isothermal dehumidification available. When the cooling water flow heat utilization ratio with 3 min pre-regeneration.
rate is too small, neither of the above tasks can be completed well.
Conversely, when the cooling water flow rate is big enough to take away hot water flow rate in Fig. 10, in the meanwhile the thermal COP and the
the residual heat and adsorption heat timely, enlarging the flow rate is waste heat utilization ratio increase at first and then decrease. When the
just a waste of pump power. The 0.115 kg/s cooling water flow rate is hot water flow rate increases from 0.075 kg/s to 0.150 kg/s, moisture
more commendatory than the 0.135 kg/s one, because by increasing removal increases by approximately 33%, from 7.03 g/kg DA to 9.34 g/
17% flow rate, the moisture removal of the latter just increases 2.8% kg DA. It is because large hot water flow rate helps increasing the tem­
compared with the former. perature of inlet air, reducing the relative humidity of the inlet air and
Average moisture removal of the system increases with the raise of raising the mass transfer driving force. With the hot water flow rate
increasing from 0.075 kg/s to 0.125 kg/s, the trends of thermal COP and
12 waste heat utilization ratio are growing together. The former raises from
Average moisture removal 1.13 to 1.34, and the latter increases from 83.1% to 86.5%. Whereas the
9.27
Moisture removal g/kgDA

9.01 hot water flow rate increases from 0.125 kg/s to 0.150 kg/s, the above
9 8.14
two performance indicators fell at the same time. In the beginning, the
6.52 growth of the hot water flow rate facilitates the regeneration of desic­
6 cant. But excessive hot water flow rate not only promotes the regener­
ation process, but also wastes on increasing outlet air’s temperature and
produces a lot of residual heat, which makes against the improvements
3
of thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio. By comprehensive
considerations, the 0.125 kg/s hot water flow rate is more commenda­
0 tory than the others.
0.075 0.095 0.115 0.135
Cooling water flow rate kg/s
4.5. Effect of hot water temperature
1.50 100
86.5% 1.38
80.7% 84.1% Different working states of gasification CHP subsystem determine
86.9% different hot water temperature. The range of hot water temperature is
Waste heat utilization ratio (

80
1.25 1.34
from 50 ◦ C to 70 ◦ C. Because when the temperature of hot water is lower
1.21 60 than 60 ◦ C, the temperature of heat recovery water will be lower than
COPth

1.00 40 ◦ C, which is too low for the pre-regeneration. Thus, experiments are
0.96 40 carried out to analyse the influences of hot water temperature without
COPth heat recovery. The cooling water and hot water are 0.115 kg/s and
0.75 Waste heat utilization ratio (
20 0.125 kg/s, respectively. Effects of hot water temperature on average
moisture removal, thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio are
0.50 0 exhibited in Fig. 11. Higher hot water temperature contributes to
0.075 0.095 0.115 0.135
increasing the vapor partial pressure of desiccant, increasing the mass
Cooling water flow rate kg/s
transfer driving force and facilitating the regeneration process.
Fig. 9. Impacts of cooling water flow rate on moisture removal, COPth and In general, average moisture removal of the system improves with
waste heat utilization ratio with 3 min pre-regeneration. the raising of hot water temperature. When hot water temperature

8
X.Y. Sun et al. Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx

12 capacity of Ref. [21] is only 9% larger than that of this paper, which
Average moisture removal prove the better performance of the system in this paper. With heat
Moisture removal g/kgDA

9.32
8.56
8.96 recovery, the thermal COP increased prominently, no matter for which
9
7.33 7.58 kind of system. However, the novel system in this paper still shows
better performance compared with Ref. [22]. Though in Ref. [22] the
6 structure size of DCHE is bigger than that in the system of this paper.
Taking the above factors into considerations, the novel system shows
3 better performance among the others.

5. Conclusion
0
50 55 60 65 70
Hot water temperature /oC This paper experimentally investigates a desiccant dehumidification
unit with heat recovery using desiccant coated heat exchanger in a waste
1.0 100 to energy system. The desiccant dehumidification subsystem is actuated
0.89 by the waste heat and the generated electricity power coming from the

Waste heat utilization ratio (

0.9 0.84 90 waste to energy gasification CHP subsystem. The moisture removal,
0.79 coefficient of performance and waste heat utilization ratio of the system
0.8 0.74 80 have been investigated and analysed. The following conclusions can be
COPth

0.70 drawn from the experimental results,

81.5% 80.2%
0.7 78.1%
76.9%
0.6 COPth
Waste heat utilization ratio (
0.5
50 55 60
Hot water temperature /oC
Fig. 11. Impacts of hot water temperature on moisture removal, COPth and
waste heat utilization ratio.
increases from 50 ◦ C to 70 ◦ C, moisture removal is increased by
approximately 27%, from 7.33 g/kg DA to 9.32 g/kg DA. At the same
time, thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio is decreased from
0.89 to 0.70 and from 81.5% to 74.2%, respectively. During the regen­
eration process, the energy consumption of hot water consists of two
parts. One part is driving desiccant to release moisture, and the other
one is heating the treated air, causing the outlet air temperature
increasing involuntary. With larger temperature differences between the
hot water and the treated air, more energy is consumed, which leads to
the thermal COP and waste heat utilization ratio declining.
4.6. Comparison with previous research
To evaluate the performances of the system, the experimental results
are compared with the previous research results in the literatures. The
detailed information of working conditions, structure sizes of DCHE,
moisture removal, thermal COP, cycle time, heat source, and whether or
not use heat recovery in the systems are elaborated in Table 5. All
desiccant material coated in heat exchanger is silica gel, avoiding the
influence of the desiccant materials.
Under the similar operation conditions, it is demonstrated that
without heat recovery, compared with Ref. [20], [25] and [29], the
novel system illustrates higher moisture removal and larger thermal
COP. Compared with Ref. [21], the system displays larger COP but small
dehumidification capacity. But considering the volume of the DCHE in
Ref. [21] is 60% bigger than the one of this paper, the dehumidification
70
74.2% (1) The system shows high potential for further deep utilization of
60 waste energy. The ambient air with humidity ratio of 19.58 g/kg
DA can be dehumidified to the average humidity ratio of 10.26 g/
50
65 70 kg DA, while the thermal COP is 0.70, and the waste heat utili­
zation ratio is 74.2%.
(2) In the use of heat recovery subsystem, the pre-regeneration time
is recommended as 180 s, with 9.01 g/kg DA average moisture
removal, the maximum thermal COP 1.34 almost double of that
in the cycle without heat recovery and the maximum waste heat
utilization ratio is 86.5%.
(3) The influences of water flow rate and hot water temperature are
analysed. I t is proved that this system can be driven by low grade
heat source (50–70 ◦ C) with high waste heat utilization ratio,
representing an effective choice to recover the waste heat deeply
in hot and humid areas.
(4) The energy utilization of waste-to-energy gasification system is
improved, not only including 8 kW power generation, but also
adding approximately 2.5 kW cooling capacity.
(5) To promote the usage of the system, the territory of use should
have plenty of biomass energy and the requirements for envi­
ronmental comfort, which means lots of megacities are the target
area. As the system can provide elecricity, dehumidification and
cooling simultaneously, it can be used in the tropical zone like
Singapore, and the humid area in summer like Shanghai. Besides,
considering DCHE can not only dehumidify air, but also can hu­
midifying air as references shown, the scope of the system has
been further expanded in the dry area in winter like Beijing.
Future work will be focused on developing a decision framework for
optimization of the sizes of the hot water tank and the heat recovery
water tank in such a system based on the real-time cooling and power
loads of end users.

Table 5
Comparison with the current study and previous researches.
Ref. Working condition DCHE (Length*Width*Depth /mm) ΔdDE g/kg DA COPth Cycle time Heat source, temperature Heat recovery

This paper 32 C, 65%RH

◦
400 * 400 * 88 9.32 0.70 12 min Waste heat from gasification, 70 C
◦
No
[21] 32 ◦ C, 62%RH 380 * 400 *150 10.20 0.53 12 min Solar energy,70 ◦ C No
[20] 34 ◦ C, 53%RH 380*380*127.8 5.08 0.34 10 min Solar energy, 83 ◦ C No
[29] 32 ◦ C, 54%RH 340*340*88 7.02 – 20 min Rejected heat from air conditioner, 53 ◦ C No
[25] 34 ◦ C, 62%RH 317*317*89 4.80 0.45 – Solar energy, 64 ◦ C No
[22] 32 ◦ C, 54%RH 380* 400 * 300 8.82 1.2 12 min Solar energy, 73 ◦ C Yes
This paper 32 ◦ C, 65%RH 400 * 400 * 88 9.01 1.34 12 min Waste heat from gasification, 70 ◦ C Yes

9
X.Y. Sun et al.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This research work is funded by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 51961165110) and the Foundation for
Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Grant No. 51521004). Thanks are extent to the research
project supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime
Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence
and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme (Grant Number R-
706-001-102-281).
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