Circulating inclined fluidized beds with application for desiccant dehumidification systems

This study designs a circulating inclined fluidized bed (CIFB) dehumidification system with the goal of high dehumidification performance and continuous operation by circulating desiccant particles without a motor. The system includes two fluidized beds that use process air to make desiccant particles fly, one funnel in each fluidized bed to catch the falling desiccant particles, and one connecting pipe under each funnel to transport the desiccant particles to another fluidized bed. The inclined fluidized beds, compared to the erect fluidized beds, have a lower pressure drop and a better circulating effect, and the vertical connecting pipes maximize the transport rate of the particles and avoid blockage. Both designs make the CIFB system operate with high efficiency. Under the same operation status, the CIFB system, compared to the circulating erect fluidized bed system (CEFB), increases the increment of the packed bed (PB) system’s dehumidification performance from 21.1% to 27.2% and magnifies the decrement of the PB system’s pressure drop from 64.2% to 71.4%. The energy factor can reach up to 0.6kg/kW per hr. The polymer desiccant polyacrylic acid has a viscoelastic feature and, when mixed with silica gel at a ratio of 3:7, can solve the dust problem of the fluidized beds. This low power consumption, high dehumidification ability, and dust-free CIFB system has a great potential for residential air-conditioning systems.