JP2011125826A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dehumidifier that can accomplish the regeneration of the constituent dehumidifying rotor by heating with a heat pump at a high COP (coefficient of performance). <P>SOLUTION: The humidifier comprises a dehumidifying rotor 2 and an air heater 6 that feeds heating regeneration air to the dehumidifier rotor 2. The air heater 6 feeds air which has passed, among air passage regions of the dehumidifying rotor 2, through a purge-state region, then has passed through preheating-state region, and has been heated by a heat pump 11 as the heating regeneration air to a regeneration-state region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dehumidifying device.

As the dehumidifier, a compressor type, a desiccant type, and a hybrid type combining these are devised. Among these, as the desiccant type, for example, as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, in order to use indoor air as regeneration air, it is heated by an air heater of a CO ₂ heat pump and further heated by an auxiliary heater. In some cases, the dehumidification rotor is guided to the regeneration zone. As a general characteristic of a heat pump, the lower the air temperature at the inlet of the air heater, the more heat is dissipated in the air heater, and the enthalpy difference of the refrigerant at the inlet and outlet of the air heater increases, resulting in COP (Coefficient Of Performance) Will improve. Since the dehumidifying system disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 uses relatively low temperature indoor air as regeneration air, the heat pump can be operated at a high COP.

In addition, as what used the heat pump as a heating source of the regeneration air of a dehumidifier, mixing with the purge zone exit air and the regeneration zone exit air which are disclosed by patent document 1 or patent document 2, for example Some have air introduced into the air heater. In this case, since the air introduced into the air heater is much hotter (for example, 60 ° C. or higher) than the outside air or the room air, the heat radiation at the air heater is insufficient, and the enthalpy difference of the refrigerant at the inlet / outlet of the air heater is reduced. Therefore, the COP of the heat pump is low. Regarding the COP of the heat pump, as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2, the heating COP when the temperature of air is raised from 30 ° C. to 120 ° C. using a CO ₂ heat pump is about 3.2, The heating COP when raising the temperature from 60 ° C. to 120 ° C. is about 2.2.

JP 2006-125670 A JP 2007-327893 A

2005 Air Conditioning and Sanitary Engineering Conference Annual Conference Proceedings, P.1233-1236 Clean Technology, Vol.19, No.2 (2009), P.20-23

  When it is desired to reduce the humidity of the air supplied to the supply destination as much as possible, it is important to purge the regenerated area before in-service. In view of energy saving, it is desirable that the heat contained in the off-gas after the purge is effectively used. However, since such an off-gas has a relatively high temperature, the COP of the heat pump is lowered when it is heated with a heat pump in order to obtain regeneration air.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a subject, and makes it a subject to provide the dehumidification apparatus which can implement | achieve the heating regeneration by the heat pump of a dehumidification rotor with high COP.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the air used for purging is used for preheating the adsorbent before regeneration, and then heated with a heat pump to form air for regeneration.

  Specifically, it is a dehumidifying device that dehumidifies air, and that carries an adsorbent, a rotary dehumidifying rotor that dehumidifies air passing through the adsorbent with the adsorbent, and heated air for regeneration to the dehumidifying rotor An air heater for supplying the air, and when the dehumidifying rotor rotates, a specific area of the dehumidifying rotor is preheated before regenerating the dehumidified area. The preheated state, the regenerated state in which the preheated region is regenerated with the heated gas supplied from the air heater, and the purged state in which the heated and regenerated region is cooled are transitioned in this order, and then transitioned to the treatment state again. Then, air that has passed through the preheated region after passing through the purged region in the ventilation region of the dehumidifying rotor is heated by a heat pump and supplied to the regenerated region as regenerated heated air.

  In the dehumidifying apparatus, since a rotary dehumidifying rotor is used, a region in the processing state and a region in the regeneration state are simultaneously formed on the same rotor. Further, in order to supply air with a low dew point, this dehumidifying device forms a purged region in the ventilation region of the dehumidifying rotor.

  Here, when the air that has passed through the purged region is heated by a heat source other than a heat pump, for example, an electric heater to be regenerated air, the operating efficiency of the electric heater is a problem even if high-temperature air flows into the electric heater. Not. However, when heating with a heat pump, the COP is improved as the temperature of the inflowing air is lower. Here, in order to improve the COP of the heat pump, it is a heat energy loss to dissipate off-gas in the purged region. Therefore, in this dehumidifier, the air used for purging is used for preheating the adsorbent. did. Although it is considered that moisture contained in the adsorbent before regeneration may be brought into the air passing through the preheated region, it may become unsuitable as regeneration air. By adopting the configuration, the COP of the heat pump is also improved while effectively using the thermal energy contained in the off-gas in the purged region. If the off-gas used for purging is heated to a temperature suitable for the regeneration of the adsorbent with a heat pump, the relative humidity is lowered to a sufficiently dry air, and the adsorbent in the regeneration area is not moistened.

  In this way, the present invention has been made by paying attention to the fact that the COP of the heat pump depends on the temperature of the incoming air and can be used as regenerated air if heated even if it is preheated adsorbent before regeneration. Thus, when the dehumidification rotor is regenerated by the heat of the heat pump, the COP of the heat pump can be increased.

  The air heater may be supplied to the regenerated area as regenerated heated air, which is obtained by heating the air further containing the air that has passed through the regenerated area with a heat pump. If it is a dehumidifier comprised in this way, the heating amount of an air heater can be reduced using the thermal energy contained in the off gas of the area | region of a reproduction | regeneration state effectively.

  The dehumidifying device further includes temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the air flowing into the air heater to a predetermined temperature by adjusting the air volume of the air flowing into the air heater through the regeneration state region. It may be a thing. With the dehumidifier configured as described above, the temperature of the air flowing into the air heater does not become an unexpected temperature, and the COP of the heat pump is not reduced. Note that the air volume adjustment performed by the temperature control means is performed by changing the mixing ratio between the air flowing into the air heater through the regenerated area and the air flowing into the air heater from the other area that has not passed through the regenerated area. It is a concept including what performs air volume adjustment.

The dehumidifying device may further include a heat exchanging means for exchanging heat between the air flowing into the air heater and the air that has passed through the regenerated region. If it is a dehumidifier comprised in this way, the heating amount of an air heater can be reduced using the thermal energy contained in the off gas of the area | region of a reproduction | regeneration state effectively. Note that this heat exchange means may control the temperature of the air flowing into the air heater to a predetermined temperature by adjusting its own exchange heat amount, for example. If comprised in this way, the temperature of the air which flows in into an air heater will not become an unexpected temperature, and will not reduce COP of a heat pump. Here, the predetermined temperature is a temperature as a control target value determined from the viewpoints of energy saving, environmental conservation, and the like. For example, the amount of energy consumed by the heat pump, the amount of energy consumed by the dehumidifier, This temperature is such that at least one of the operating cost and the carbon dioxide emission emitted by the operation of the dehumidifying device is minimized.

  In the heat pump, the working refrigerant may be carbon dioxide. According to this, the dehumidifying rotor can be sufficiently heated.

  In addition, the dehumidifying device is an air cooling system that cools air flowing into or out of the processing state region by cooling generated by supplying heat to the air heater by the operation of the heat pump. A device may be further provided. If it is a dehumidification apparatus comprised in this way, it is possible to utilize cold energy effectively.

  It is possible to provide a dehumidifying device capable of realizing heating regeneration by a heat pump of the dehumidifying rotor with a high COP.

It is a block diagram of a dehumidification apparatus. It is the figure which showed the section division | segmentation of the air passage area of a dehumidification rotor. FIG. 2 is a Ph diagram schematically illustrating a state of a refrigerant in a heat pump cycle. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. It is a bar graph showing power consumption. It is a performance diagram of a heat pump. It is the figure which showed the process value (summer). It is the figure which showed the process value (winter). It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the graph which showed the relationship between the inlet air temperature of an air heater, the heating COP of a heat pump, and power consumption. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the section division | segmentation of the air passage area of the dehumidification rotor which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on a modification.

A configuration of a dehumidifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifying device 1 includes a dehumidifying rotor 2, a processing fan 3, a first regeneration fan 4, a second regeneration fan 5, an air heater 6, an auxiliary heater 7, an outside air cooler 8, and a precooler 9. The product quality is improved by being applied to a low dew point room where a low humidity environment is required as in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and displays.

  The dehumidification rotor 2 carries an adsorbent mainly composed of synthetic zeolite, silica gel or the like inside a cylindrical member, and is configured such that gas flows along the axial direction inside. A section dividing cassette (not shown) is arranged on both end faces of the dehumidifying rotor 2, and the air passage area of the dehumidifying rotor 2 is divided into four sections by this cassette. The dehumidification rotor 2 is rotatable relative to the section division cassette, and a processing region 10A, a preheating region 10B, a regeneration region 10C, and a purge region 10D are formed in the dehumidification rotor 2 by this cassette. FIG. 2 shows section division of the air passage area of the dehumidifying rotor 2, and in this embodiment, the processing area 10A, the preheating area 10B, the regeneration area 10C, and the purge area 10D are 255 °, 30 °, 45 °, 30 respectively. It is divided into °. These angles are appropriately determined according to the processing amount and adsorption capacity.

  Air supplied from the processing fan 3 passes through the processing region 10A, and heated air heated by the air heater 6 and the auxiliary heater 7 passes through the regeneration region 10C. The processing area 10A adsorbs moisture in the aerated air and discharges low dew point air. The discharged low dew point air is temperature-adjusted as necessary, and then supplied to the low dew point chamber through the duct as supply air. Further, the regeneration region 10C releases the adsorbed moisture.

  The preheating area 10B and the purge area 10D are located between the processing area 10A and the regeneration area 10C. The purge region 10D is a region for cooling the adsorbent in a high temperature state immediately after regeneration and before in-service, and a part of the air supplied from the processing fan 3 passes therethrough. The preheating area 10B is an area for preheating the adsorbent in a low temperature state immediately after out-service and before regeneration, and air that is a high-temperature purge gas from the purge area 10D passes through. As the dehumidification rotor 2 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, the fixed point of the dehumidification rotor 2 repeatedly changes in the order of the processing region 10A, the preheating region 10B, the regeneration region 10C, and the purge region 10D.

  The processing fan 3 is an electric air fan that supplies the outside air cooled through the outside air cooler 8 and the return air from the room to the processing area 10A and the purge area 10D formed in the dehumidifying rotor 2. The outdoor air cooler 8 provided on the upstream side of the processing fan 3 and the precooler 9 provided on the downstream side lower the temperature of the air to be processed as a pre-stage process for dehumidification by the dehumidification rotor 2. Along with this, the outside air is condensed to remove moisture, and a dehumidifying effect can be expected.

  Since the performance of the adsorbent is greatly influenced by the temperature of the processing air, the dehumidifying device 1 is provided with an outside air cooler 8 and a precooler 9 to stabilize the temperature of the processing air, thereby reducing the temperature of the air discharged from the dehumidifying rotor. Humidity is controlled stably.

  The air heater 6 and the auxiliary heater 7 heat the air supplied from the second regeneration fan 5 to the regeneration region 10 </ b> C formed in the dehumidifying rotor 2 in the middle to raise the temperature. When the high-temperature air heated by the air heater 6 and the auxiliary heater 7 passes through the regeneration region 10C of the dehumidifying rotor 2, the adsorbent in the region is heated to a high temperature, and the water adsorbed by the adsorbent Leaves. The hot air passes through the regeneration region 10C of the dehumidifying rotor 2 and is then exhausted outside the apparatus by the first regeneration fan 4. Note that the dehumidifying device 1 may be configured such that either one of the first regeneration fan 5 and the second regeneration fan 5 is omitted, and one fan is also used.

The air heater 6 is a device constituting the heat pump 11 and heats the air with heat generated by the heat pump 11. The heat pump 11 includes an air heater 6, an outdoor air cooler 8, a precooler 9, a compressor 12, and an expansion valve 13. The compressor 12 boosts carbon dioxide as a refrigerant filled in the system. To do. Since the heat pump 11 uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant and does not cause a phase change, the heat pump 11 is referred to herein as an “air heater” instead of a so-called “condenser”. The outside air cooler 8 constitutes an evaporator of the heat pump 11. The compressed carbon dioxide whose temperature has been increased is cooled by the air heater 6 and then depressurized by the expansion valve 13. The carbon dioxide that has been depressurized and has fallen in temperature is heated to air by the outside air cooler 8 and the precooler 9 and then pressurized again by the compressor 12. The amount of energy consumed by the entire dehumidifying apparatus 1 is reduced by efficiently generating cold heat necessary for dehumidification and warm heat necessary for regeneration by the heat pump 11.

  The heat pump 11 is provided with a temperature sensor and a control device (not shown), and the start / stop or rotation speed of the compressor 12 is adjusted so that the outlet temperature of the air heater 6 is approximately 120 ° C. It should be noted that the outside air and return air merging portion on the upstream side of the processing fan 3, the branching portion branched to the processing region 10 A and the purge region 10 D on the downstream side of the processing fan 3, and the upstream side of the second regeneration fan 5. Dampers are respectively provided at the junctions where certain outside air and air that has passed through the preheating region 10B join, and each damper adjusts the flow rate of the air. One damper or valve may be provided in each flow path after branching or before merging, but a three-way damper or three-way valve may be provided at the merging point or branching point. In addition, valves are respectively provided at the inlet of the air heater 6 and the outlet of the expansion valve 13 to adjust the flow rate of the refrigerant.

  The auxiliary heater 7 is installed for the purpose of supplementing the heating capability of the heat pump 11, and is constituted by a heating device such as an electric heater or a steam coil.

  Here, in view of the viewpoint of increasing the COP of the heat pump, the present invention can sufficiently achieve its purpose even with a system configuration that radiates cold generated by the heat pump to the outside. In the heat pump 11 according to the embodiment, from the viewpoint of effective use of cold energy, the cold air of the heat pump 11 is supplied to the introduced outdoor air and the return air by the outdoor air cooler 8 and the precooler 9 disposed before and after the processing fan 3. In addition, it is appropriate to use the cooling heat of the heat pump 11 for cooling the return air having a cooling load or the mixed air of the outside air and the return air throughout the year. Of course, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and it goes without saying that, for example, a system configuration may be employed in which heat is radiated outdoors without using cold heat for air conditioning.

  In the dehumidifying apparatus 1 configured as described above, the following processing is realized by operating each device. As shown in FIG. 1, the air sucked into the processing fan 3 is configured with a ratio of 80 on the return air side and 30 on the outside air side when the flow rate that can be dehumidified is 100. When the return air is 23 ° C. and the outside air is 15 ° C., the outside air is cooled to about 12 ° C. by the outside air cooler 8 and mixed with the return air. The air-fuel mixture is cooled to about 12 ° C. by the precooler 9 and then flows at a rate of 100 to the processing region 10A formed in the dehumidification rotor 2 and to a purge region 10D at a rate of 10. The air that has flowed into the processing area 10A is dehumidified by the dehumidifying rotor 2 and then supplied to the target room. The air passing through the treatment area 10A is heated a little by heat generated from the adsorbent generated by the adsorption action and heat input from the high temperature area such as the regeneration area 10C, and reaches a temperature of about 20 ° C. in the target room. Supplied to.

  The air that has passed through the purge region 10D rises in temperature by the heat of about 140 ° C. at the time of regeneration remaining in the purge region 10D, and is heated to about 80 ° C. The air passes through the preheating area 10B as it is, and cools to about 30 ° C. while heating the adsorbent in the preheating area 10B, and then merges with the outside air and is sucked into the second regeneration fan 5. Note that the air-fuel mixture sucked into the second regeneration fan 5 is configured with a ratio of 10 on the preheating region 10B side and 5 on the outside air side, and is sent to the air heater 6 at about 25 ° C. In addition, the absolute humidity of the air that has passed through the preheating region 10B is approximately 5 to 10 g / kg (DA) (generally less than the absolute humidity of the outdoor air in summer) and is relatively dry.

The air sucked into the second regeneration fan 5 is heated to about 120 ° C. by the air heater 6,
Further, after the temperature is raised to about 140 ° C. by the auxiliary heater 7, it is supplied to the regeneration region 10C of the dehumidifying rotor 2 as regenerated heated air. The air passing through the regeneration area 10C is cooled to about 70 ° C. while releasing a large amount of adsorbed moisture by heating the adsorbent in the area, and is sucked by the first regeneration fan 4 to the outside of the apparatus. Exhausted.

  If the preheating region is not passed, the off-gas in the purge region at about 80 ° C. is further heated. However, in the dehumidifying device 1 configured as described above, the air flowing into the air heater 6 is about 25 ° C. To a certain extent. For this reason, the heating COP of the heat pump 11 can be improved as compared with the case where the air that has passed through the purge region 10D is heated by the air heater 6 without passing through the preheating region 10B.

  The COP of the heat pump 11 will be described in detail below. FIG. 3 is a Ph diagram schematically showing the state of the refrigerant in the heat pump cycle, and the state when the off-gas in the purge region is directly heated by the heat pump without providing the preheating region (hereinafter referred to as pattern 1). When the off-gas in the purge region is heated as it is with a heat pump without providing a preheating region in the figure (a), when the refrigerant that has exited the air heater is further cooled by the outside air radiator and then flows to the air cooler A state diagram (hereinafter referred to as pattern 2) is shown in (b), and a state diagram in this embodiment (hereinafter referred to as pattern 3) is shown in (c).

  In each Ph diagram of FIG. 3, the part indicated by symbol A indicates the state of the refrigerant leaving the cooler and sucked into the compressor, and the part indicated by symbol B exits the compressor and is an air heater. The refrigerant | coolant which enters is shown, the code | symbol C shows the state of the refrigerant | coolant cooled with the air heater, and the code | symbol D shows the state of the refrigerant | coolant before passing an expansion valve and entering an air heater. Moreover, in each Ph diagram of FIG. 3, the length of the part shown by code | symbol BC is the refrigerant | coolant enthalpy difference of the inlet / outlet of an air heater, and the length of the part shown by code | symbol DA is cooling. This is the refrigerant enthalpy difference at the inlet and outlet.

As is well known, the COP at the time of heating and the COP at the time of cooling are expressed by the following equations.

  Here, in the case of Pattern 1, since the inlet air temperature of the air heater is high, the refrigerant enthalpy difference is small at both the air heater inlet and outlet and the air cooler inlet and outlet, and it can be seen that both the heating COP and the cooling COP are smaller than Pattern 3. In the case of pattern 2, although the enthalpy difference (D-A) is increased by providing the outside air radiator and the cooling COP is improved, the heat generated by the outside air radiator (the enthalpy difference of CC ′) Is thrown away into the outside air, so the enthalpy difference (BC) of the refrigerant at the inlet / outlet of the air heater effective for regeneration of the dehumidifying rotor is equivalent to that of Pattern 1, and the heating COP is improved when paying attention to the effective heating amount do not do.

On the other hand, in the pattern 3 which is this embodiment, the inlet air temperature of the air heater is lowered as an effect of providing the preheating zone, so the refrigerant enthalpy difference (BC) at the inlet / outlet of the air heater, the inlet / outlet of the cooler The refrigerant enthalpy difference (D-A) is improved as compared with Pattern 1 and Pattern 2. As a result, the heating COP is the largest of the three systems, and the cooling COP is equivalent to pattern 2. Therefore, the dehumidifying apparatus 1 described above, which is an embodiment of the present invention,
It can be said that this system can operate the heat pump most efficiently among these three systems.

  In the dehumidifying apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment, carbon dioxide having a very low global warming potential is applied as the refrigerant of the heat pump 11, but this supplies high-temperature air of 100 ° C. or higher with the air heater 6. Any other refrigerant may be used as long as it can supply such high-temperature air.

In order to confirm the energy saving effect of the dehumidifying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a dehumidifying apparatus having a conventional configuration as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 (hereinafter, referred to as Comparative Examples 1 and 2) and FIGS. A dehumidifier having a conventional configuration as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 (hereinafter, referred to as Comparative Examples 3 and 4 respectively) having a configuration in which a CO ₂ heat pump is incorporated in the dehumidifier is given. The bar graph which showed the power consumption is shown in FIG. 8 about the dehumidification apparatus 1 (FIG. 1) which concerns on this embodiment, and Comparative Examples 1-4. FIG. 8A shows the power consumption in the summer (outside air temperature 30 ° C., outside air absolute humidity 16 g / kg (DA)), and FIG. 8B shows the winter (outside air temperature 5 ° C., outside air absolute humidity 3.2 g / kg). (DA)). In the graph of FIG. 8, the power consumption is expressed as a percentage with respect to the comparative example 1 under summer conditions. From the graphs shown in FIG. 8, it can be seen that the power consumption of the dehumidifier 1 according to the present embodiment (the power consumption of the heat pump + the power consumption of the electric heater) is the smallest in both summer and winter. In addition, the heating COP of the heat pump shown by the graph of FIG. 8 was set based on the performance diagram of the heat pump shown by the graph of FIG. 9A. FIG. 9B shows the process value of the embodiment when the power consumption shown in FIG. 8A is obtained, and FIG. 9C shows the process value of the embodiment when the power consumption shown in FIG. In addition, it supplements about the process value shown to FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C. The surface wind speed (m / s) described in each section of FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C indicates the ventilation surface wind speed in terms of 20 ° C. standard air. Further, it is assumed that the evaporation temperature of the heat pump is constant at 20 ° C. In addition, it is assumed that the cold air of the outside air cooler 8 and the precooler 9 (PC-1 · 2) is supplied not from the evaporator of the heat pump but from a separately provided chiller.

  The energy saving effect of the dehumidifying device 1 is created by combining the following effects.

  For example, the first effect is an improvement effect of the COP of the heat pump. That is, in the dehumidifying device 1, air that has passed through the high temperature purge region 10 </ b> D is cooled in the preheating region 10 </ b> B, and relatively low temperature air is introduced into the air heater 6. The heat pump can be operated with a high COP as compared with a system configured to introduce the air in the air heater.

  Further, as a second effect, there is an effect of reducing the reproduction air volume. That is, in the dehumidifier 1, since the pre-regeneration rotor is preheated in the preheating region 10B, the amount of heat required for heating and regeneration in the regeneration region 10C is reduced as compared with the conventional system, and the regenerative air volume (regeneration) is smaller than that in the conventional system. Reproduction can be performed with the airflow rate of the area. In this comparative study, the conventional system to be compared required a regeneration air volume of about 20% of the processing air volume, whereas the dehumidifying apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment used the conventional system with a regenerating air volume of 15% of the processing air volume. It was possible to perform sufficient heating regeneration equivalent to. Moreover, by reducing the amount of regeneration air, the amount of outside air introduced to the regeneration side can be reduced more than in Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4, and the heating load in winter can be reduced.

A third effect is a load reduction effect of the auxiliary heater. That is, in Comparative Example 4, only a part of the regeneration air is heated by the heat pump. However, in the dehumidifier 1, the entire amount of the regeneration air is heated by the heat pump, so that most of the total heating load is COP. A high heat pump bears the load on the auxiliary heater. When the ratio of the heating load Q _HP of the heat pump to the total heating load Q _T is calculated and compared for the dehumidifying device 1 according to the comparative example 4 and the present embodiment, the ratio of the Q _{HP to} the Q _{T in the} comparative example 4 is summer. 55%, while 60% in winter, the dehumidifier 1, in summer, the ratio of _{Q HP} for winter both _{Q T} was 80% or more.

  Further, there are the following important effects that cannot be ignored although they do not appear directly in FIGS. One is the effect of increasing the amount of cold generated by the heat pump. That is, in the dehumidifying apparatus 1, the heat pump can be operated with a COP higher than that of Comparative Example 2, so that the amount of cold generated per capacity of the heat pump increases. Moreover, in the said dehumidification apparatus 1, since the heat pump can be made to bear a comparatively big ratio among all the heating loads, the amount of cold heat generation in the evaporator of a heat pump increases rather than the comparative example 4. FIG.

  Another effect is the effect of stabilizing the load factor of the heat pump. That is, in the dehumidifier 1, the temperature of the air coming out of the preheating region 10B is higher in the winter than in the summer. In the preheating region 10B, there is an air cooling effect accompanying the desorption of moisture. However, in the winter, the rotor transitions from the treatment region 10A to the preheating region 10B with a smaller amount of adsorbed moisture than in the summer, so the preheating region 10B This is because the cooling effect due to desorption is reduced, and as a result, the outlet air temperature of the preheating region 10B increases. Under the current operating conditions, the outlet air temperature in the summer preheating region 10B was 31.2 ° C, whereas the outlet air temperature in the winter preheating zone was 34.4 ° C. Therefore, if the dehumidifying device 1 is configured such that the outlet air in the preheating region is mixed with the outside air and introduced into the air heater of the heat pump, the fluctuation range of the inlet air temperature of the air heater is larger than the fluctuation range of the outside air temperature. Therefore, it is possible to stabilize the heating load of the heat pump throughout the year as compared with the system configured to directly heat the outside air with the air heater of the heat pump. Along with this, the amount of cold heat generated in the evaporator is also stabilized throughout the year.

  Hereinafter, modified examples of the dehumidifying apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a dehumidifying apparatus 1 ′ according to a modification. The dehumidifying apparatus 1 can achieve further energy saving by attaching a sensible heat exchange means such as a sensible heat exchange rotor 14 (which is one embodiment of the heat exchange means in the present invention) shown in FIG. There are cases. This sensible heat exchange rotor 14 performs heat exchange between the outside air sucked into the second regeneration fan 5 and the air exhausted from the first regeneration fan 4 to the outside of the apparatus. The sensible heat exchange rotor 14 measures, for example, the temperature of the air that exits the second regeneration fan 5 and flows into the air heater 6 with a temperature sensor 15, and adjusts the temperature controller 16 (in the present invention) so that this becomes a predetermined temperature. This is an embodiment of the temperature control means) that controls the inverter 17 that adjusts the rotational speed of the sensible heat exchange rotor 14. With the dehumidifying device 1 ′ configured as described above, an appropriate amount of heat exchange is performed in the sensible heat exchange rotor 14.

Here, the predetermined temperature is determined as follows. FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the inlet air temperature of the air heater 6, the heating COP of the heat pump 11, and the power consumption. As shown in FIG. 11, the heat pump 11 has an optimum inlet air temperature condition of the air heater 6 that minimizes power consumption. The temperature controller 16 adjusts the rotation speed of the sensible heat exchange rotor 14 so as to automatically control the exchange heat amount so that the inlet air temperature of the air heater 6 is always in the optimum temperature condition, thereby saving energy. . This control is particularly effective when the temperature of the outlet air or the outside air in the preheating area 10B is lower than the optimum temperature and the outlet air temperature in the regeneration area 10C is higher than the optimum temperature. The temperature condition of the inlet air of the air heater 6 may be set so as to minimize the energy used, the running cost, the CO ₂ emission amount, etc. of the entire dehumidifying device 1 ′. Further, this sensible heat exchange may be performed, for example, between the air that has exited the regeneration region 10C and the air that has exited the preheating region 10B and flows to the second regeneration fan 5, or the exhaust of the first regeneration fan 4 And the air that is the inlet air of the air heater 6 and the outside air and the off-gas in the preheating region 10B merge.

  12A to 12D are diagrams showing a modification of the dehumidifying device 1. In FIGS. 12A to 12D, the blower is omitted without being illustrated, but is disposed at an appropriate position as necessary. Here, as the “heating device” shown in FIGS. 12A to 12D, only the air heater 6 of the heat pump 11 may be used, or a combination of the air heater 6 and the auxiliary heater 7 may be used. “Processed air” refers to air to be dehumidified such as outside air or room air. The air to be treated may be cooled / dehumidified by a cold water coil or the like. For example, when a two-stage rotor system is adopted, the outlet air of the processing area 10A of the first-stage dehumidifying rotor 2 is used as the air to be processed that passes through the processing area 10A of the second-stage dehumidifying rotor 2. Also good. “OA” is air introduced from the outside of the dehumidifier as regeneration air for the dehumidifier, and outside air or room air is used. “OA” may be cooled / dehumidified by a cold water coil or the like. For example, when a two-stage rotor system is adopted, the exhaust gas in the processing region 10A of the second-stage dehumidifying rotor 2 may be used as the regeneration air for the first-stage dehumidifying rotor 2.

  When the air flow direction in the dehumidification rotor 2 in the processing region 10A is “forward”, the configuration diagram shown in FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D is a diagram in which a part of the air to be processed is introduced into the purge region 10D and purged. It is a block diagram at the time of setting the airflow direction of area | region 10D as a forward direction, and making the airflow direction of the preheating area | region 10B into a reverse direction. Further, in the configuration diagram shown in (b), when a part of the outlet air of the processing region 10A is introduced into the purge region 10D, the airflow direction of the purge region 10D is reverse, and the airflow direction of the preheating region 10B is reverse. FIG. Further, in the configuration diagram shown in (c), when a part of the outlet air of the processing region 10A is introduced into the purge region 10D, the airflow direction of the purge region 10D is the reverse direction, and the airflow direction of the preheating region 10B is the forward direction. FIG.

  In addition, the configuration diagrams shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C show the case where at least one of OA and the outlet air of the regeneration region 10C is mixed with the outlet air of the preheating region 10B and then introduced into the heating device. System. The outlet air in the regeneration area 10C is usually higher in temperature than the outside air or the outlet air in the preheating area 10B (for example, 60 ° C. or more), but the power consumption of the heat pump may be reduced by mixing a small amount. Examples of such a case include a case where the optimum value of the inlet air temperature of the heating device (see FIG. 10) is higher than the outside air or the outlet air of the preheating region 10B.

In the system configuration shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the mixing ratio of the OA and the outlet air of the regeneration region 10C is set to a motor damper or the like so that the inlet air temperature of the heating device is always the optimum temperature (see FIG. 10). By controlling by this, the energy saving effect equivalent to it can be acquired, without performing sensible heat exchange like the dehumidifier 1 'mentioned above. This control is particularly effective when the temperature of the outlet air or OA in the preheating area 10B is lower than the optimum temperature and the outlet air temperature in the regeneration area 10C is higher than the optimum temperature. The inlet air temperature condition of the heating device may be set so as to minimize the energy used, the running cost, the CO ₂ emission amount, etc. of the entire dehumidifying device.

  Moreover, the block diagram shown to (a)-(c) of FIG. 12B is a system of the structure which introduce | transduces only the exit air of the preheating area | region 10B into a heating apparatus. This system configuration can be adopted when the purge air volume and the regeneration air volume can be made equal.

  Moreover, the block diagram shown to (a)-(c) of FIG. 12C is a system of the structure which introduce | transduces only OA into a heating apparatus and exhausts the exit air of the preheating area | region 10B. For example, when optimizing the inlet air temperature of the heating device by raising the temperature of the OA with the sensible heat exchange rotor 14 like the dehumidifying device 1 ′ already described, the outlet air of the preheating region 10B is introduced into the heating device. Even if it is not, sufficient energy saving effect can be obtained. Note that the outlet air of the preheating region 10B may be circulated to the air introduction path to the processing region 10A without being exhausted and used as part of the air to be processed.

  12D is a configuration diagram in which at least one of OA and the outlet air of the regeneration region 10C is mixed with the outlet air of the purge region 10D and then introduced into the preheating region 10B. System.

  In addition, the said embodiment and modification are good also as a dehumidification apparatus of the multistage rotor system of 2 steps or more. Further, the above-described embodiment and modification may adopt a two-stage regeneration method divided into two regeneration regions 10C-1 and 2 such as a dehumidifying rotor 2 'shown in FIG. FIG. 14 shows a configuration diagram of a dehumidifying device to which such a dehumidifying rotor 2 ′ is applied. The dehumidifying device 1 ″ shown in FIG. 14 is different from the dehumidifying device 1 described above in that the air that has exited the purge region 10D is heated by the regeneration heater 18 and then passes through the regeneration region 10C-2 before the preheating region 10B. The regenerative heater 18 is composed of an electric heater and a steam coil, like the auxiliary heater 7. The air that has exited the auxiliary heater 7 passes through the regeneration region 10C-1 and is then passed by the first regeneration fan 4. Even if it is the dehumidifier 1 '' comprised in this way, COP of a heat pump can be raised. Note that the embodiment and the modification described above may be not only such a two-stage reproduction method but also three or more stages.

1, 1 ', 1 "... Dehumidifier 2, 2' ... Dehumidification rotor 3 ... Processing fan 4 ... First regeneration fan 5 ... Second regeneration fan 6 ... Air heater 7 ... Auxiliary heater 8 ... Outside air cooler 9 ... Precooler 10A ... Processing zone 10B ... Preheating zone 10C, 10C-1, 10C-2 ... Regeneration zone 10D ... Purge zone 11 ... Heat pump 12 · · Compressor 13 · · Expansion valve 14 · Sensible heat exchange rotor 15 · · Temperature sensor 16 · · Temperature controller 17 · · Inverter 18 · · Regenerative heater

Claims (7)

A dehumidifying device for dehumidifying air,
A rotary dehumidification rotor that carries an adsorbent and dehumidifies the air passing through the adsorbent;
An air heater for supplying heating air for regeneration to the dehumidifying rotor,
When the dehumidifying rotor rotates, a specific area of the dehumidifying rotor is in a processing state in which air is dehumidified, a preheating state in which preheating is performed before the dehumidified area is regenerated, and a preheated area is heated in the air. Transition to the processing state again after transitioning in order of the regeneration state to regenerate with the heated air supplied from the vessel, the purge state to cool the heated and regenerated region,
In the air heater, the air that has passed through the preheated region after passing through the purged region in the ventilation region of the dehumidifying rotor is heated by a heat pump to the regenerated region as heated air for regeneration. Supply,
Dehumidifier. In the air heater, air that further includes air that has passed through the regeneration state area is heated by a heat pump, and is supplied to the regeneration state area as heating air for regeneration.
The dehumidifying device according to claim 1. Temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the air flowing into the air heater to a predetermined temperature by adjusting the air volume of the air flowing into the air heater via the regeneration state region;
The dehumidifying device according to claim 2. Further comprising heat exchange means for exchanging heat between the air flowing into the air heater and the air that has passed through the regenerated region.
The dehumidification apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3. The heat exchange means controls the temperature of the air flowing into the air heater to a predetermined temperature by adjusting its exchange heat amount,
The dehumidifying device according to claim 4. In the heat pump, the working refrigerant is carbon dioxide.
The dehumidification apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 5. An air cooler that cools air that flows into or out of the processing state region by cooling generated by supplying heat to the air heater by the operation of the heat pump;
The dehumidification apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 6.

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