Energy performance of internally cooled desiccant enhanced evaporative cooling system in Hong Kong

The application of an internally cooled desiccant enhanced evaporative cooling system (ICDEVap) in Hong Kong is a promising scheme for energy saving and emission reduction. It consists of liquid desiccant dehumidification (LDD) and regenerative indirect evaporative cooling (RIEC) and can operate without a power-intensive compressor. The hot and humid air is first dehumidified by the internal cooling-LDD, and then sensibly cooled by the RIEC. To ensure efficient energy utilization and better indoor air quality simultaneously, the return air is indirectly utilized in the internal cooling of the LDD, which alleviates the efficiency deterioration of the desiccant. The influence of the return air ratio on the system performance is analyzed. The results show that the ICDEVap system operating at the optimal return air ratio saves 48% of the energy consumption compared to the mechanical vapor compressor refrigeration (MVCR) system in Hong Kong summer.