Performance analysis of a rotary desiccant wheel using polymer material with high water uptake and low regeneration temperature

Desiccant wheels have been widely used in humidity control, particularly under conditions with ultra-low dew point temperatures. However, traditional desiccants such as silica gel and zeolites are subject to relatively low adsorption capacity and high regeneration temperature. To address these challenges, a type of polymer material with high water uptake and low regeneration temperature is investigated in this paper. Firstly, the adsorption/desorption capacity of this polymer is thoroughly tested. Results reveal that its remarkable equilibrium adsorption capacity and desorption rate coefficients kLDF,de are 350% and 32–64% higher than that of silica gel, respectively. Moreover, its required regeneration temperature is just about 40–70 °C. The performance of the desiccant wheel using this polymer is simulated by a model validated by experiments tests. Parameter analysis demonstrates that the desiccant wheel is suitable for cool and humid conditions, reaching the maximum moisture removal (∆Y) and dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP) of 4.0 g kg−1 and 0.66, respectively. Furthermore, the corresponding relationship between other parameters and the optimal rotation speed is discussed in detail. The ωopt is around 18 rph, enabling the attainment of the highest ∆Y. Finally, the performance comparison with a traditional silica gel desiccant wheel is carried out. The results indicate that the polymer one performs 17–53.9% higher in terms of both ∆Y and DCOP than the silica gel counterpart. And the most significant improvement is observed in low relative humidity conditions (45%RH), where ∆Y and DCOP are 1.25–1.53 times that of the silica gel's, highlighting the advantageous utilization of the polymer material.