Experimental Studies with a Solar Open-Cycle Liquid Desiccant Cooling System

A nominal 3 ton (10.5 kW) open-cycle liquid desiccant cooling system has been designed, installed and operated at the Solar Energy Applications Laboratory, Colorado State University. Performance data for the regenerator, operated in a decoupled mode, were obtained for a variety of inlet conditions. Depending on the operating conditions, capacities of 1.4 – 3.0 refrigeration tons (4.9 –10.3 kW) were obtained in the regenerator. Liquid distribution in the regenerator was studied for two systems: a gravity tray liquid distributor and a spray nozzle manifold. Higher capacities (40–50% increase) in the regenerator were obtained with the spray nozzle system. Another advantage of the spray nozzle arrangement, as compared to the tray liquid distributor, was a reduction in pressure drop (by 30–40%) for the air flow across the regenerator. The independent variables affecting the capacity were correlated by statistical analysis of the data.