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The use of rotary dehumidifiers in gas-fired open-cycle desiccant cooling systems is investigated by analyzing the performance of the rotary heat exchanger–rotary dehumidifier subsystem. For a given cooling load, the required regeneration heat supply can be minimized by choosing appropriate values for the regeneration air mass flow rate and the wheel rotation speed. A map is presented showing optimal values for rotational speed and regeneration flow rate as functions of the regeneration air inlet temperature and the process air inlet humidity ratio. This regeneration temperature is further optimized as a function of the process humidity ratio. In the analysis, the control strategy adjusts the process air mass flow rate to provide the required cooling load. Additional control options are considered and the sensitivity of the regeneration heat required to the wheel speed, regeneration air mass flow rate, and inlet temperature is discussed. Experimental data reported in the literature are compared with the analytical results and indicate good agreement.

This paper presents a second law analysis of solid desiccant rotary dehumidifiers. The equations for entropy generation for adiabatic flow of humid air over a solid desiccant are developed. The generation of entropy during operation of a rotary dehumidifier with infinite transfer coefficients is investigated and the various sources of irreversibility are identified and quantified. As they pass through the dehumidifier, both the process and regeneration air streams acquire nonuniform outlet states, and mixing both of these air streams to deliver homogeneous outlet streams is irreversible. Transfer of mass and energy between the regeneration air stream and the desiccant matrix occurs across finite differences in vapor pressure and temperature and these transfer processes generate entropy. The second law efficiency of the dehumidifier is given as a function of operating conditions and the effect of finite transfer coefficients for an actual dehumidifier is discussed. It is shown that operating the rotary dehumidifier at conditions that minimize regeneration energy also yields a local maximum for the second law efficiency.