Abstract
In air-conditioning field, a dehumidification has become increasingly important for human health and comfort especially in hot and humid climates. However, a conventional mechanical dehumidification using a vapor compression refrigerator has some problems. Therefore, much attention has been paid recently to a desiccant air-conditioning system as an alternative to the conventional system. In this paper, we focus on a liquid desiccant air-conditioning system using lithium chloride - water solution and experimentally investigate the heat and mass transfer of the packed bed absorber and regenerator that are the main components of the system. In the experiment, effects of the air superficial velocity and solution mass flux on the overall heat and mass transfer coefficients are examined. As a result of the study, we found that the heat and mass transfer coefficients increase with increase of the air superficial velocity, however, the heat transfer coefficient is approximately constant with increase of the solution mass flux.
