JP2011043311A - Advanced humidity control system and method of operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide an energy saving type advanced humidity control system preventing increase of humidity control (humidification, dehumidification) energy consumption following ventilation (outside air introduction) of an office space, a factory, or the like, and capable of maintaining an indoor humidity environment at a comfortable condition. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of humidity control units 3 using a high polymer absorbent or the like is installed across an outside air introduction duct 1 and an indoor air discharge duct 2, a sliding valve 6 is installed in a contact point of each duct 1, 2, and a pair of ventilation fans is installed in the humidity control unit 3. By carrying out collective control of these by a controller 4, continuous switch operation is carried out of the plurality of humidity control units 3 by a batch method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy saving ventilation air conditioning system technology that maintains air conditioning spaces in offices, commercial facilities, gymnasiums, event venues, hotels, factories, and the like that perform continuous ventilation in a predetermined humidity state.

Introduces how dehumidification and humidification associated with ventilation consume energy.
For example, at high temperature and high humidity, the air conditioner cools the outside air to below the dew point for dehumidification, condenses water vapor in the air (removes latent heat), and separates it from the air. As a result, an operation such as reheating the air whose temperature has been lowered in the indoor air supply is performed. For this reason, in order to dehumidify, in addition to cooling to a dew point or less, the energy of reheating will be consumed.

In general, the cooling theory COP (coefficient of performance) of an air conditioner is defined by the following equation based on the evaporation temperature (Teva) and the condensation temperature (Tcon) of the working medium.

Cooling theory COP = (Teva) / [(Tcon)-(Teva)] (Temperature is absolute temperature)

Therefore, when cooling and dehumidifying, (Tcon) is determined by the outside temperature, but (Teva) is below the dew point, so the numerator becomes smaller and the denominator [(Tcon)-(Teva)] becomes larger. The theoretical COP becomes smaller and energy efficiency decreases.
If there is no dehumidification load by the air conditioner, the air conditioner does not need to cool the air below the dew point, so (Teva) rises. As a result, the theoretical COP of the air conditioner is improved. In general, the theoretical COP of an air conditioner and the COP in actual operation are in a substantially linear relationship, so improvement of the theoretical COP is essential to improve the COP in actual operation.

For example, if the outdoor temperature is 33 ° C and the relative humidity is 60% during summer operation, this can be led indoors to achieve a room temperature of 26 ° C and a relative humidity of 50% (because the dew point of room air is around 15 ° C) Assuming that the refrigerant temperature of the refrigerator is Teva = 5 ℃, Tcon = 43 ℃,

(Theoretical COP) = (5 + 273) / (43-5) = 7.3
It becomes.

On the other hand, if there is no dehumidifying load of the refrigerator, the refrigerator simply creates cold air at 26 ° C., and (Teva) can be expected to be about 16 ° C. Tcon = 43 ℃

(Theoretical COP) = (16 + 273) / (43-16) = 12.2

It becomes.

As a result, the theoretical COP is 7.3 to 12.2 and the improvement rate is 67%.
Although the COP during actual operation is affected by the model and installation conditions, the improvement rate tends to be almost the same, so it can be said that the energy saving effect is great.

  In addition, although the heating load of the air conditioner does not change during the winter and dry seasons, it is essential to heat the humidified water up to 100 ° C and input energy equivalent to the latent heat of evaporation for indoor humidification.

  On the other hand, as a recent energy-saving ventilation air-conditioning equipment, a rotor shape that allows ventilation of dehumidifying materials such as silica gel and zeolite is used, and while rotating this at a constant speed, moisture in the air is adsorbed in the semicircular portion, and the remaining half A hybrid desiccant humidity control air conditioning system that combines a desiccant device that dries the dehumidifying material in a circle and a refrigerator has been proposed and put into practical use.

  In these apparatuses, a sliding seal is brought into contact with air tight on the rotor surface rotating at a constant speed, and the air flow path is divided on the rotor sliding surface. For this reason, the smoothness of the sliding surface is indispensable after ensuring the hardness of the rotor sliding surface, and it is necessary to take measures against the wear of the sliding seal. There is a problem of air leakage through.

  In another desiccant system, a dehumidifying agent is filled in a plurality of containers without the shape of a rotor in order to avoid an increase in cost due to sliding, and two types of air, that is, outside air to be introduced into the container and discharged indoor air, are used. Although it is a structure which repeats adsorption | suction and reproduction | regeneration by making it move with a batch with respect to an air duct, it had the problem that the apparatus for a movement became complicated.

US Pat. No. 6,557,365 U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,761 JP 10-009633 A JP 2007-303772 A JP 2007-327712 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-019412

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional circumstances, and a new humidity control system is used for dehumidification and humidification latent heat load, which is a major cause of an increase in load of an air conditioning system accompanying ventilation of a factory or a building. The goal is to provide a safe and comfortable indoor air-conditioning environment with reduced energy consumption.

  According to the present invention, for example, a polymer sorbent having a moisture sorption function is supported by being applied to a thin plate made of paper, resin, metal, or the like, and the coated thin plate and the thin plate are fixed. After manufacturing a structure in which corrugated corrugated corrugated sheets are alternately bonded and laminated, the structure is cut to a predetermined size and stacked to form a humidity control core, and the humidity control core is assembled as a humidity control module. The humidity control unit is formed by combining these alone or in combination, and the plurality of humidity control units are connected in parallel to the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct. An advanced humidity control system is provided in which a sliding valve whose opening and closing is controlled is provided at the connection point between the humidity control unit and each duct.

In addition, each humidity control unit is provided with a pair of ventilation fans whose ventilation directions are opposite to each other before and after the humidity control module inside. The operations of the ventilation fan and the sliding valve are collectively adjusted by the control device, and the ventilation fan in the same humidity control unit does not operate at the same time. In addition, since the rotation speed of the ventilation fan is also controlled, control is performed so that the amount of air passing through the humidity control unit during the outside air introduction operation and the amount of air passing through the humidity control unit during the indoor air discharge operation are unequal. It is possible to change the number of humidity control units that perform the outside air introduction operation and the number of humidity control units that perform the indoor air discharge operation among a plurality of humidity control units installed.
Needless to say, a dustproof filter is disposed upstream of the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct.

  The control device collectively controls a sliding valve at a connection point between each humidity control unit, the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct, and a ventilation fan in each humidity control unit. As a result, the batch operation programming of a plurality of humidity control units is implemented, so the number of humidity control units used for the outside air introduction operation and the number of humidity control units used for the indoor air discharge operation are unequal. Even if it exists, it will become possible to make equal the amount of air to pass, and it will become possible to perform external air introduction and discharge of room air continuously.

  Although described in more detail, even if the number of humidity control units used for the outdoor air introduction operation and the number of humidity control units used for the indoor air discharge operation are unequal, the introduction outdoor air amount and the indoor air discharge amount are equal. This is because the operation (fan rotation speed) of the ventilation fan of each humidity control unit is adjusted. That is, the total amount of air that passes is adjusted equally by adjusting the number of rotations of the operating fan with respect to the number of humidity control units that process the introduced outside air and the number of humidity control units that are responsible for the discharge of room air.

  In addition, by switching the outside air introduction operation and the room air discharge operation of each humidity control unit in turn (by applying program control), the number of humidity control units and the room air discharge operation always used for the outside air introduction operation are provided. The number of humidity control units is kept constant. Thereby, even if there is a difference between the ability to adsorb (or sorb) moisture in the air within a unit time and the ability to release moisture stored in the adsorbent (or sorbent) into the air, Since the operation time of each humidity control unit can be adjusted, the entire system can be operated to always maintain the same amount of moisture adsorption / desorption.

  As described above, in the advanced humidity control system according to the present invention, one set of ventilation fans having opposite ventilation directions are installed before and after the humidity control module in the humidity control unit. Fan control at the time, the opening and closing of the sliding valve installed at the connection point between each humidity control unit, the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct is controlled collectively by the control device, so the conventional rotary rotor type desiccant humidity control In addition to eliminating the need for sliding seals that were indispensable in the system, there was a difference in the speed at which the adsorbent (sorbent) adsorbs (sorbs) moisture and the ability of the adsorbent (sorbent) to release moisture. However, it is possible to form an optimum operation state by adjusting the ventilation rate and the operation time.

Moisture sorption (adsorption) from the passing air by adjusting the rotation speed of the fan in the moisture sorption (adsorption) operation and moisture release operation during the operation of the ventilation fan installed in the humidity control unit It is possible to arbitrarily adjust the number of humidity control units used for operation and the number of humidity control units used for moisture release operation to the passing air.
By adopting such an operation method, it is possible to perform the operation under the condition that the sorption moisture amount during the moisture sorption (adsorption) operation and the released moisture amount during the moisture release operation are equal and have the best performance.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship among an outside air introduction duct 1, an indoor air discharge duct 2, a humidity control unit 3, a control device 4, a filter 5, and a sliding valve 6 that form an advanced humidity control system 10 according to the first invention. It is the block diagram which showed the relationship of main structural members, such as the humidity control module 7, the ventilation fan 8, and the heat exchanger 9, which form the humidity control unit 3 which concerns on 1st invention. It is the example of installation of the sliding valve 6 installed in the connection point of the humidity control unit 3 which concerns on 1st invention, the external air introduction duct 1, and the indoor air discharge duct 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a sorption isotherm of a polymer sorbent used for moisture sorption / release in the first invention. It is a program operation control example which shows the operation pattern of five sets of humidity control units (A, B, C, D, E) which form the high humidity control system 10 which concerns on 1st invention.

  FIG. 1 shows the relationship among an outside air introduction duct 1, an indoor air discharge duct 2, a humidity control unit 3, a control device 4, a filter 5, and a sliding valve 6 that form an advanced humidity control system 10 according to the first invention. It is.

Since the outside air introduction duct 1 and the room air discharge duct 2 connect the outside and the room, they are depicted as four ducts in the figure, but the humidity control unit 3 is connected so as to straddle each duct. It just looks like. In addition, a dust removal filter 5 is installed on the upstream side of each duct to prevent inflow of dust from the outside or the room into the humidity control unit 3.
Further, at the connection point between the four connection ducts 3-1 at both ends of the humidity control unit 3, the outside air introduction duct 1, and the room air discharge duct 2, the outside air introduction duct 1 and the room air discharge duct 2 side are slid. A valve 6 is installed, which is electrically opened and closed, and an opening / closing instruction is executed by the control device 4.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the relationship of main components such as the humidity control module 7, the ventilation fan 8, and the heat exchanger 9 forming the humidity control unit 3 according to the first invention.
The humidity control unit 3 is connected to the outside air introduction duct 1 and the room air discharge duct 2 via the connection duct 3-1. Inside the humidity control unit 3, a humidity control module 7 supported in a state in which the polymer sorbent can be ventilated is disposed, and a heat exchanger 9 for heating and cooling the passing air on both sides thereof, and an outer side thereof Are provided with at least one set of ventilation fans 8 whose ventilation directions are opposite to each other.

FIG. 3 is an installation example of the sliding valve 6 installed at the connection point between the humidity control unit 3 according to the first invention and the outside air introduction duct 1 and the indoor air discharge duct 2.
The sliding valve 6 moves in parallel with the wall surface of the indoor air discharge duct 2 along the sliding guide 6-2 by the driving chain 6-1. The driving chain 6-1 is moved by the motor driving device 6-3, but the sliding valve 6 is connected to the wall of the room air discharge duct 2 so that it slides in an air tight state. A resin seal with elasticity is installed on the wall.
Further, the motor driving device 6-3 operates according to a command from the control device 4.

The mechanism of moisture exchange performed between the outside air or room air passing through the humidity control unit 3 configured as described above and the humidity control module 7 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the sorption isotherm of the polymer sorbent used in the present invention in comparison with other substances.
The polymer sorbent, like an adsorbent such as silica gel or zeolite, has the ability to take in or release water vapor in the air according to the relative humidity of the air around it.
The moisture absorption shown on the vertical axis of the figure indicates the weight ratio of the incorporated water relative to the weight of the sorbent in the dry state. Therefore, it can be said that the polymer sorbent has a remarkably high moisture absorption rate in the 100% relative humidity region.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, five sets of humidity control units are used, but three sets are sorption-operated (incorporation of moisture from air with high relative humidity) and two sets are regenerated by a command from the control device 4. Operation (release of moisture into air with low relative humidity) is possible. As a matter of course, a ventilation fan is used in the control device so that the ventilation rate per set of humidity control unit during sorption operation is 2/3 of the ventilation rate per set of humidity control unit during regeneration operation. The number of revolutions is controlled.
This realizes an operation method in consideration of the characteristics of the polymer sorbent, in which the regeneration speed is generally higher than the sorption speed.

FIG. 5 shows an example of program-controlling the operation patterns of five sets of humidity control units (A, B, C, D, E) according to the present invention.
The hatched portion in the figure indicates a state where sorption operation is performed, and the white portion indicates a state where regeneration operation is performed. As a result, planned operation is possible so that there are three sets of humidity control units that perform sorption operation and two sets of humidity control units that perform regeneration operation at any time zone. As a matter of course, an operation mode in which the sorption operation and the regeneration operation are repeated at equal intervals without performing the ventilation amount control using the even-numbered humidity control unit is also possible.

In carrying out such an operation, it is possible to improve the sorption capacity and the regeneration capacity by adjusting the temperature of the heat medium to be circulated through the heat exchanger 9.
The technique of improving the capacity of the desiccant humidity control device by adjusting the temperature of the passing air and controlling the relative humidity is also applied to a conventional (desiccant rotor) type humidity control system.
In the present invention, in a factory or building having a low-temperature exhaust heat source, a method for regenerating the sorbent by heating the exhaust from the room using hot waste water heat of about 60 ° C. and reducing the relative humidity. However, the heat exchanger for heating can be easily formed by an electric heater. As a result, moisture release from the sorbent is activated, and as a result, an effect of improving the ability to adsorb moisture from outside air having a high relative humidity is obtained. Further, it is effective from the characteristics of FIG. 4 that the effect of increasing the relative humidity by cooling the air has a great effect in the case of the polymer sorbent.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outside air introduction duct 2 Indoor air discharge duct 3 Humidity control unit 3-1 Connection duct 4 Control apparatus 5 Dust removal filter 6 Sliding valve 6-1 Sliding valve drive chain 6-2 Sliding guide 6-3 Motor driving apparatus 7 Humidity control module 8 Ventilation fan 9 Heat exchanger 10 Advanced humidity control system

Claims (5)

  High-capacity sorbent with moisture sorption (adsorption) function, imogolite, silica gel, zeolite-supported paper, resin or metal thin plate and corrugated corrugated plate can be alternately ventilated A plurality of humidity control units that house humidity control modules that are bonded and laminated in the state are connected in parallel to the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct, and the controller is opened and closed at the connection point between the humidity control unit and each duct. Advanced humidity control system, characterized by a controlled sliding valve.   Inside the humidity control unit, a pair of ventilation fans whose ventilation directions are opposite to each other are installed before and after the humidity control module, and the operations of the ventilation fan and the sliding valve are collectively adjusted by the control device. 2. The advanced humidity control system according to claim 1, wherein the rotational speed of the ventilation fan can also be controlled.   The advanced humidity control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a heat exchanger is installed between the ventilation fan and the humidity control module inside the humidity control unit.   A plurality of the humidity control units are connected in parallel to the outside air introduction duct and the indoor air discharge duct, and the control device starts / stops and rotates the ventilation fan, opens / closes the sliding valve, and flows the heat medium into the heat exchanger. In addition, the control device collectively adjusts the stop and stop, and also programs the operation control of a plurality of humidity control units, and performs the moisture sorption (adsorption) operation from the passing air and releases the moisture to the passing air. The advanced humidity control system according to claim 1, wherein the number of humidity control units is always unequal.   The operating method of the advanced humidity control system which drives the advanced humidity control system in any one of Claims 1-4.

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