Research on solar-driven interfacial evaporation regeneration performance of different solutions for liquid desiccant cooling system

Liquid desiccant cooling systems (LDCS) are promising air-conditioning systems for energy conservation in buildings. However, their development is limited by significant energy waste and low regeneration effi-ciency. To improve, a solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) regeneration method is proposed: adopt-ing photothermal materials to locate heat at the regeneration interface can prevent heat loss into the bulk solution and enhance efficiency. The thermal efficiency of the new regeneration method is about 2.5 times that of the conventional regeneration method. The type of desiccant greatly influences the perfor-mance of SDIE, but its impact has not been fully studied yet. To select the best desiccant for optimization, different solutions have been investigated with theoretical analysis and experiments. Considering both re-generation performance and economic benefits, the influence of some key parameters has been revealed. The results show that LiBr has the best regeneration performance, but MgCl2 and CaCl2 are more eco-nomical. Mixed desiccant could be a better substitute, showing a good balance between performance and cost. It was found that mixing CaCl2 and MgCl2 solutions in an appropriate proportion is a very cost-effective selection. These advances could make LDCS based on SDIE a potential competitor for the future air-conditioning system. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.