Experimental Comparison of Various Solid Desiccants for Regeneration by Evacuated Solar Air Collector and Air Dehumidification

In this article, the regeneration and adsorption of different desiccants such as silica gel, activated alumina, and activated charcoal for producing dry air is proposed. The air needed for regeneration was heated in an evacuated tube solar collector with a surface area of 4.44 m(2). The desiccants were regenerated at temperatures in the range of 54.3-68.3 degrees C. The regeneration performance was greatly affected by the regeneration temperature but depended on the initial moisture content, temperature of the desiccants, and flow rate of regeneration air. Comparison of the performances showed that at high hot air flow rate the regeneration time and adsorption time were shorter for these desiccants than that at low flow rate. Silica gel was observed to perform better at high as well as low flow rates for regeneration and adsorption than activated alumina and activated charcoal.