Performance of a Cross-Cooled Desiccant Dehumidifier Prototype

Abstract

A cross-cooled desiccant dehumidifier prototype was constructed and tested. The cross-cooled dehumidifier prototype was constructed in the form of a cube with a side dimension of 0.6 m. The cooling was achieved by passing air through rectangular channels perpendicular to the process channels which are lined with desiccant sheets consisting of 9 μm Syloid 63™ silica gel held in a Teflon web. The process for the manufacture of the silica gel sheets was developed at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The performance of the dehumidifier prototype was parametrically studied in a test bed that simulates the performance of a cross-cooled desiccant cooling system. The system was tested over a range of operating conditions typically encountered in field installations of such systems. The performance parameters studied are moisture cycled, cooling capacity, and coefficient of performance.