IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i16p6032-d1219259.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review

Author

Listed:
  • Edward Halawa

    (Faculty of Science and Technology, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia)

  • Frank Bruno

    (Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia)

Abstract

There has been considerable research worldwide on desiccant-based air-conditioning during the past 30 years. The rationale for the push for this new research focus has been twofold: (a) the need to provide an alternative to conventional refrigerative air-conditioning systems which rely heavily on fossil fuels as their energy sources, and (b) the need to provide better thermal comfort in air-conditioned spaces in warm to hot and humid climates. A desiccant air-conditioning system consists of several components to cool and dehumidify the air before it is supplied to a conditioned space. Earlier research work has identified the potential advantages of this technology, which include the following: (1) working fluids that do not impact on the ozone layer, (2) reduced electricity consumption, (3) improved indoor air quality, (4) simpler construction and less maintenance, and (5) integral provision of heating and cooling for cold/temperate climates. On the other hand, the authors of this paper identified the following drawbacks: (1) inevitable heating of air while being dehumidified, (2) the need for desiccant regeneration and low thermal COP paradox, (3) limited options for regeneration heat sources, (4) limited options for reliable cooling, and (5) low electrical coefficient of performance (COP). This paper presents a critical review of the energy and thermal comfort performance of solid-desiccant rotor-based air-conditioning systems, and discusses in detail their potential advantages and drawbacks. This critical review found that the drawbacks of the systems outweigh their identified advantages. The main reason for this is the inevitable heating of air while being dehumidified and counterintuitive addition of moisture to air during the evaporative cooling process. During the past 30 years of research and development efforts, no significant innovations have been discovered to resolve these crucial issues. Unless future research and development is directed to find a breakthrough, this technology will have limited commercial application.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward Halawa & Frank Bruno, 2023. "Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:6032-:d:1219259
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6032/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6032/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nafisa Bhikhoo & Arman Hashemi & Heather Cruickshank, 2017. "Improving Thermal Comfort of Low-Income Housing in Thailand through Passive Design Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-23, August.
    2. Hands, Stuart & Sethuvenkatraman, Subbu & Peristy, Mark & Rowe, Daniel & White, Stephen, 2016. "Performance analysis & energy benefits of a desiccant based solar assisted trigeneration system in a building," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 865-879.
    3. Yunlong Ma & Suvash C. Saha & Wendy Miller & Lisa Guan, 2017. "Comparison of Different Solar-Assisted Air Conditioning Systems for Australian Office Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-27, September.
    4. Ge, T.S. & Dai, Y.J. & Li, Y. & Wang, R.Z., 2012. "Simulation investigation on solar powered desiccant coated heat exchanger cooling system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 532-540.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ramadas Narayanan & Subbu Sethuvenkatraman & Roberto Pippia, 2022. "Energy and Comfort Evaluation of Fresh Air-Based Hybrid Cooling System in Hot and Humid Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Shamim, Jubair A. & Hsu, Wei-Lun & Paul, Soumyadeep & Yu, Lili & Daiguji, Hirofumi, 2021. "A review of solid desiccant dehumidifiers: Current status and near-term development goals in the context of net zero energy buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. Lanbo Lai & Xiaolin Wang & Gholamreza Kefayati & Eric Hu, 2021. "Evaporative Cooling Integrated with Solid Desiccant Systems: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Angrisani, Giovanni & Roselli, Carlo & Sasso, Maurizio, 2015. "Experimental assessment of the energy performance of a hybrid desiccant cooling system and comparison with other air-conditioning technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 533-545.
    5. Dabwan, Yousef N. & Pei, Gang & Gao, Guangtao & Li, Jing & Feng, Junsheng, 2019. "Performance analysis of integrated linear fresnel reflector with a conventional cooling, heat, and power tri-generation plant," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 639-650.
    6. Dabwan, Yousef N. & Gang, Pei & Li, Jing & Gao, Guangtao & Feng, Junsheng, 2018. "Development and assessment of integrating parabolic trough collectors with gas turbine trigeneration system for producing electricity, chilled water, and freshwater," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 364-379.
    7. Ramadas Narayanan & Edward Halawa & Sanjeev Jain, 2019. "Dehumidification Potential of a Solid Desiccant Based Evaporative Cooling System with an Enthalpy Exchanger Operating in Subtropical and Tropical Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Angrisani, Giovanni & Roselli, Carlo & Sasso, Maurizio, 2013. "Effect of rotational speed on the performances of a desiccant wheel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 268-275.
    9. Gado, Mohamed G. & Ookawara, Shinichi & Nada, Sameh & El-Sharkawy, Ibrahim I., 2021. "Hybrid sorption-vapor compression cooling systems: A comprehensive overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    10. Krašna, Marjan & Klemenčič, Eva & Kutnjak, Zdravko & Kralj, Samo, 2018. "Phase-changing materials for thermal stabilization and thermal transport," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 554-563.
    11. Zhang, Guiying & Tian, Changqing & Shao, Shuangquan, 2014. "Experimental investigation on adsorption and electro-osmosis regeneration of macroporous silica gel desiccant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1010-1017.
    12. Rambhad, Kishor S. & Walke, Pramod V. & Tidke, D.J., 2016. "Solid desiccant dehumidification and regeneration methods—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 73-83.
    13. Waqas Ahmed Mahar & Griet Verbeeck & Manoj Kumar Singh & Shady Attia, 2019. "An Investigation of Thermal Comfort of Houses in Dry and Semi-Arid Climates of Quetta, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.
    14. Wang, H.H. & Ge, T.S. & Zhang, X.L. & Zhao, Y., 2016. "Experimental investigation on solar powered self-cooled cooling system based on solid desiccant coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 176-186.
    15. Chen, K. & Zheng, X. & Wang, S.N., 2022. "Investigation on activated carbon-sodium polyacrylate coated aluminum sheets for desiccant coated heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    16. Venegas, Tomas & Qu, Ming & Nawaz, Kashif & Wang, Lingshi, 2021. "Critical review and future prospects for desiccant coated heat exchangers: Materials, design, and manufacturing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    17. Zhang, Qunli & Li, Yanxin & Zhang, Qiuyue & Ma, Fengge & Lü, Xiaoshu, 2024. "Application of deep dehumidification technology in low-humidity industry: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    18. Emanuele Bonamente & Andrea Aquino, 2017. "Life-Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Ground-Source Heat Pump System with Upstream Thermal Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-10, November.
    19. Balali, Amirhossein & Yunusa-Kaltungo, Akilu & Edwards, Rodger, 2023. "A systematic review of passive energy consumption optimisation strategy selection for buildings through multiple criteria decision-making techniques," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    20. Xu, F. & Bian, Z.F. & Ge, T.S. & Dai, Y.J. & Wang, C.H. & Kawi, S., 2019. "Analysis on solar energy powered cooling system based on desiccant coated heat exchanger using metal-organic framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 211-221.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:6032-:d:1219259. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.