JP4264740B2 - Small desiccant air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small desiccant air conditioning system for easily coping with unbalance between heat supply and dehumidifying demand while saving energy by effectively utilizing waste heat from various public equipment normally fixed thereto in use. <P>SOLUTION: A dehumidifier 5 dehumidifies room air while introducing adsorbent particles from a particle reservoir 1 reserving the regenerated adsorbent particles. A regenerator 12 introduces the adsorbent particles adsorbing moisture from the dehumidifier 5 and regenerates them while desorbing the adsorbed moisture heated with a heat exchanger 11 using waste heat from the various public equipment such as a public cogeneration device 13. The regenerated adsorbent particles are sucked by a vacuum pump 16 and carried to the particle reservoir 1. Exhaust air from the vacuum pump 16 is properly utilized as combustion air for the public equipment. Without circulating the adsorbent particles as above-mentioned, room air or hot water using waste heat is alternately selected and introduced into each adsorbent particle storing container attached thereto. Continuous operation is achieved by repeating the selection. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a desiccant air conditioner that performs dehumidification using an adsorbent, and in particular, a small desiccant air conditioner that can be regenerated by exhaust heat in a consumer device such as a small combined heat and power supply device or a heat pump air conditioner. Relates to the device.

  Development of effective utilization technology of low-temperature thermal energy below 800 ° C that can be easily obtained by waste heat in chemical processes, waste heat from various equipment or solar heat is a major problem in modern society. Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, heat island phenomenon This is one of the important issues in addressing environmental conservation issues or energy issues, such as fluctuations in summer power demand. On the other hand, one of the existing technologies considered to be effective is a system using an adsorbent having a high water absorption / desorption property.

  As a system using an adsorbent, a desiccant air conditioning system has been widely used. In a desiccant air-conditioning system that has been put to practical use, a process process and a regeneration process are performed in a face-to-face manner, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, a dehumidification rotor 101 coated with a desiccant (desiccant) and a sensible heat exchange rotor 102 are arranged in series, and dehumidification and heat exchange of environmental air introduced to the processing side are sequentially performed. The water spray 103 is disposed downstream of the sensible heat exchange rotor 102, and water is sprayed onto the medium-temperature / low-humidity air to remove the heat of vaporization of the water, so that the air becomes low-temperature / high-humidity.

  On the other hand, in the regeneration process, the indoor air of high temperature and high humidity is taken in, converted into low temperature and high humidity air by the evaporative cooler 104, and sent to the sensible heat exchange rotor 102. The sensible heat exchange rotor 102 that has reached a high temperature on the processing side is cooled by the medium temperature and high humidity air. Further, the air heated by the sensible heat exchange rotor 102 and heated to a higher temperature is further heated by the heater 105. Various heaters can be used as the heat source of the heater 105. The dehumidification rotor 101 is heated by this high-temperature air, the moisture on the dehumidifier is evaporated, and the dehumidifier is regenerated.

In the desiccant air conditioning system as described above, the two rotors have a honeycomb shape, and contact with the air is favorably performed. By rotating at a low speed, the processing steps and the regeneration process can be performed simultaneously, and packaging has been successful and commercialized. Such a desiccant air conditioner is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-35434 (Patent Document 1), Chemical Engineering Society 3rd Autumn Conference C2A04 (Non-Patent Document 1), or the like.
JP 2003-35434 A Chemical Engineering Society 3rd Autumn Meeting C2A04

  In such a conventional desiccant air conditioner, since the desiccant (adsorbent) is held by a rotor formed of a honeycomb-shaped carrier and is rotated integrally, dehumidification and regeneration must be performed at the same time. For this reason, there is a limit to the dehumidifying capacity, and there is a problem that the size cannot be reduced unless the heat supply and the dehumidifying demand match. In addition, a heating heat source is required at the time of dehumidification regeneration of the desiccant that has absorbed moisture. However, since energy is consumed for that purpose, there is a problem in that the efficiency is deteriorated.

  Therefore, the present invention can easily cope with the imbalance between the heat supply and the dehumidification demand, and reduces the cooling load by dehumidification, in particular, waste heat from various consumer devices that are normally used in a fixed manner. The main object is to provide a small desiccant air conditioner that can reduce the energy consumption required for air conditioning in the space around the equipment.

  In order to solve the above problems, a small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention has a particle reservoir that stores regenerated adsorbent particles, a dehumidifier that introduces adsorbent particles from the particle reservoir and dehumidifies indoor air, and the dehumidifier. A regenerator that introduces adsorbent particles that have adsorbed moisture from them and heats them with a heat exchanger to desorb and regenerate the adsorbed water, and an adsorber that transfers the adsorbent particles regenerated by the regenerator to the particle reservoir The apparatus is characterized in that the waste heat of consumer equipment is used as a heating source in the heat exchanger of the regenerator.

  Another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention is the small desiccant air conditioner, wherein the adsorbent particle transfer device uses a vacuum pump, and the adsorbent particles in the regenerator are removed by suction of the vacuum pump. It is characterized by being transferred to a particle reservoir.

  Further, in another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention, in the small desiccant air conditioner, the vacuum pump directly depressurizes the regenerator, and desorbs moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent particles in the regenerator. The small desiccant air conditioner according to claim 2.

  Another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the small desiccant air conditioner, the waste heat of a small commercial heat and power supply device or a heat pump air conditioner is used as the consumer device.

  Another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the small desiccant air conditioner, a combustion device of a consumer device or an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is used as a heat source of the heating fluid.

  Another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the small desiccant air conditioner, the air after regeneration of the adsorbent is supplied to the combustion device or the internal combustion engine for combustion.

  Further, another small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention uses hot waste water from a consumer device as exhaust heat of the consumer device in the small desiccant air conditioner, and circulates to the consumer device after regeneration of the adsorbent. It is characterized by that.

  By adopting a system using adsorbent particles, it is possible to use waste heat from various consumer devices with a large number of units in operation and reduce the latent heat load when air-conditioning the space around the devices, achieving energy savings of approximately 60%. Will be able to. In addition, it is possible to purify the environment by adsorbing harmful substances and releasing them at a high concentration during regeneration before introducing them into the engine or various combustors. Furthermore, since the particles are regenerated using waste heat from a combustion device or a heat pump, the amount of heat released to the outside air can be reduced, and the local environment can be favorably affected.

  The present invention can easily cope with the imbalance between the heat supply and the dehumidification demand, uses the waste heat of various consumer devices that are normally used in a fixed manner, and reduces the latent heat load when air-conditioning the space around the devices. Therefore, in order to obtain a small desiccant air conditioner that can reduce energy consumption required for air conditioning, a particle reservoir for storing the regenerated adsorbent particles, and adsorbent particles from the particle reservoir are introduced to reduce indoor air. A dehumidifying device for dehumidifying, a regenerating device that introduces adsorbent particles that have adsorbed moisture from the dehumidifying device, is heated by a heat exchanger to desorb and regenerate the adsorbed water, and an adsorbent regenerated by the regenerating device An adsorbent particle transfer device for transferring particles to the particle reservoir, and configured to use waste heat of a consumer device as a heating source in a heat exchanger of the regenerator, or a first adsorption containing an adsorbent A container and a second adsorbent container, a dehumidifying operation section for selectively dehumidifying the room air to one of the first adsorbent container and the second adsorbent container, and then sending the air into the room; A regeneration operation unit that regenerates the adsorbent particles that are selectively guided to the other of the first adsorbent container and the second adsorbent container, and the heat source of the heating fluid uses exhaust heat from a consumer device. Configure.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of a small desiccant air conditioner according to the present invention. In the air conditioning system shown in the figure, adsorbent particles are circulated and particles absorbed by utilizing waste heat are collected. An example of reproduction is shown.

  In FIG. 1, a particle reservoir 1 forming a part of the particle sucking device disposed at the top is disposed, and regenerated and dried adsorbent particles are stored therein as described later. In the illustrated embodiment, the adsorbent particles in the particle reservoir 1 can flow down into a dehumidifying device 5 that is part of the air conditioner 4 disposed in the chamber 3 when the electromagnetic valve 2 is released.

  The adsorbent particle flow that has flowed down to the dehumidifying device 5 is agitated in the fluidized bed state with the indoor air flow from the blower 6 disposed below the dehumidifying device 5, including moisture in the indoor air, and harmful substances such as organic matter and NOx. It falls on the dispersion plate 7 while adsorbing the substance. The adsorbent particles that have absorbed moisture in this way are stored in the dehumidifier internal particle reservoir 8 provided at the lower part of the dehumidifier 5.

  The room air from the blower 6 in which moisture or the like is adsorbed to the adsorbent particles in the dehumidifying device 5 is heated or cooled by the heat exchanger 10 of the air conditioner 4 and is sent into the room by the blower 11. At this time, the heat given to the indoor air by the heat exchanger 10 removes moisture in advance, so that less energy is required to maintain it at a predetermined temperature, resulting in an energy-saving air conditioner. When the air is finally blown indoors, a predetermined humidity can be maintained by the humidifier 18 as necessary.

  The adsorbent particles stored in the dehumidifier internal particle reservoir 8 as described above flow down into the regenerator 12 equipped with the heat exchanger 11 when the electromagnetic valve 10 is released. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat exchanger 11 of the regenerator 12 is introduced with waste heat such as exhaust gas discharged from a consumer cogeneration device 13 used in each home, office, building, etc., or warm waste water. The adsorbent particles flowing down into the regenerator are heated by the heat, and moisture and harmful substances are desorbed from the adsorbent that has absorbed moisture and dried. Widely used as a consumer cogeneration system, such as a small gas turbine generator and a boiler that generates hot water or steam by its exhaust, a generator composed of an internal combustion engine and a hot water boiler, etc. Is used.

  The regenerator 12 and the particle reservoir 1 arranged on the upper part thereof are communicated with each other through a communication pipe 14. The vacuum pump 16 connected to the particle reservoir 1 via a switching valve 15 is closed with the solenoid valve 2 and the solenoid valve 10 closed. The adsorbent particles in the regenerator 12 are sucked into the particle reservoir 1 through the communication pipe 14 together with the air inside. Particles and air sucked into the particle reservoir 1 are sucked into the air by the vacuum pump 16 by the filter 17 and are discharged to the outside air or into the combustion air of the combustion device such as the engine or burner of the consumer cogeneration device 13. Discharge. As a result, air containing a high concentration of harmful substances is rendered harmless and can be discharged outside after being cleaned.

  When the regenerator 12 and the vacuum pump 16 are connected via the solenoid valve 15 as indicated by the broken line in the drawing, the operation of the vacuum pump 16 can bring the regenerator 12 into a large depressurized state. It is possible to promote moisture desorption of the adsorbent particles in the regenerator 12. Therefore, when such a vacuum regeneration action is used, the adsorbent can be used even when the consumer cogeneration apparatus 13 is not operating or is not operating sufficiently, even when an adequate amount of waste heat cannot be obtained. Moisture desorption of the particles can be performed and the regeneration of the adsorbent particles can be continued. In addition, in order to appropriately perform the vacuum separation by the vacuum pump as described above, a pump other than the vacuum pump for adsorbent particle transfer may be used.

  As the waste heat used in the regenerator 12, exhaust from the engine and combustion device in the gas engine cogeneration device and the micro gas turbine (MGT) device that are currently widely used is used, and engine cooling water is used. In this case, the hot water from the regenerator is circulated and used. In addition, various waste heats of consumer equipment such as outdoor units of air conditioners during cooling and exhaust heat of heat pump type air conditioners can be used.

  By the system as described above, the air in the chamber 3 is dehumidified by the adsorbent particles in the dehumidifier 5, and organic matter, NOx, etc. are adsorbed to become dry and clean air, and adjusted to a desired temperature by the heat exchanger 10. Since the air is appropriately humidified and blown into the room, the latent heat load for maintaining the room air at a predetermined temperature is reduced, energy consumption for air conditioning is reduced, and an energy saving air conditioner can be obtained. In particular, the adsorbent particles that have absorbed moisture and the like as described above can be regenerated using exhaust heat from consumer equipment, so that the entire system including the cogeneration device should be energy saving. it can. Further, since the adsorbent particle circulation path is provided with a particle reservoir, sufficient particles are stored in the particle reservoir even when the indoor air conditioner load and the regeneration energy in the adsorbent regeneration device 12 do not match. Thus, even when the heat supply and the dehumidification demand do not match, this can be absorbed.

  As the adsorbent, various conventionally used ones can be adopted, and the adsorbent can adsorb various harmful substances such as moisture in the air, CO, HC, NOx and the like. To. In the adsorption treatment, a conventional adsorption method such as PTSA (Pressure & Temperature Swing Adsorption) method, PSA method, TSA method, or the like can be used.

In addition, the fluidized bed in the dehumidifying device 5 does not increase the thickness of the fluidized bed excessively and does not increase the intake resistance of the air conditioner. The particle layer height at that time is at least about 10 to 20 mm in combination with the blower, that is, the pressure loss at that time is about 10 to 20 mmH ₂ O. In addition, when forming the fluidized bed in the dehumidifying device 5, as shown in the figure, the dispersion plate 7 of the fluidized bed is inclined and the degree of the inclination is adjusted to facilitate the movement of the particles.

  In the first embodiment, an example of a system that circulates adsorbent particles when regenerating the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent using exhaust heat of a cogeneration device or the like has been shown. For example, FIG. 2 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it can be set as the system which fixed the container filled with adsorption agent.

  That is, in the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first adsorbent container 21 and the second adsorbent container 22 containing the dehumidifying agent are provided side by side, and the first adsorbent container 21 is placed in the first operation tower 23. The second adsorbent container 22 is arranged in the second operation tower 24 and can be introduced by switching the air in the chamber 28 sucked by the blower 29 to any one by the three-way valve 25. Each adsorbent container 21 can be filled with adsorbent particles and can also contain an adsorbent-containing substance formed in a honeycomb shape.

  In the state shown in FIG. 2, the air in the room 28 is introduced into the first operation tower 23 by the three-way valve 25, and moisture and harmful substances are removed from the adsorbent when passing through the adsorbent in the first adsorbent container 21. The air that has been adsorbed and purified by the air enters the heat exchanger of the air conditioner 27 via the four-way switching valve 26 that performs switching as shown in the figure, and after the temperature is adjusted in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the water vapor is appropriately changed. Is added to the chamber 28. Therefore, in this operating state, the first operation tower 23 is on the dehumidifying operation side where dehumidification is performed with the adsorbent.

  On the other hand, in the state shown in FIG. 2, when the second operation tower 24 contains an adsorbent that has adsorbed moisture in advance by the same operation as the operation in the first adsorbent container 21, the heat exchanger 30 inside thereof is contained. The adsorbent is heated by flowing warm water or the like as will be described later, and the adsorbed moisture or the like is desorbed. The moisture desorbed from the adsorbent is sucked by the vacuum pump 31 through the four-way switching valve 26 that performs switching as shown in the figure. At that time, since the inside of the second operation tower 24 is depressurized, the detachment of moisture from the adsorbent is promoted. Therefore, in this operating state, the second operation tower 24 is on the regeneration operation side where the adsorbent is regenerated.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the same consumer cogeneration device 32 as in the first embodiment is provided, and hot water or steam is generated by a heat exchanger 33 using the exhaust as a heat source, and the hot water or the like is shown in the figure. It supplies to the heat exchanger 30 in the 2nd operation tower 24 via the switching valve 34 which is switching, and the adsorbent in the 2nd adsorbent container 22 is dried as mentioned above. When warm wastewater such as engine cooling water is obtained from the consumer cogeneration device 32, the warm water can be directly used.

  The hot water or the like after drying the adsorbent in the second adsorbent container 22 returns to the heat exchanger 33 again via the switching valve 35 that is switched as shown, and is reheated to perform the same circulation. . Moreover, when using warm drainage, such as a cooling water of the consumer cogeneration apparatus 32 as mentioned above, it can be operated directly or via a radiator. Further, when the consumer cogeneration device 32 is provided with a combustor, an internal combustion engine or the like, exhaust from the vacuum pump 31 is introduced as combustion air in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and harmful substances are rendered harmless and discharged. You can also

  When the operation as described above is continued, the adsorption action in the first adsorbent container 21 is reduced, and the adsorbent in the second adsorbent container 22 is sufficiently dried, the three-way valve 25 is turned on as shown in FIG. On the two operation tower 24 side, the four-way switching valve 26 is provided on the communication side between the first operation tower 23 and the vacuum pump 31 and on the communication side between the second operation tower 24 and the air conditioner 27. Switch to the heat exchanger 36 side in the 1 adsorbent container 21.

  By switching the valves as described above, the indoor air from the blower 29 adsorbs moisture and harmful substances to the adsorbent in the second adsorbent container 22 regenerated by the above operation, and enters the chamber 28 from the air conditioner 27. Supply. The adsorbent in the first adsorbent container 21 is heated by the heat exchanger 36 through which hot water from the heat exchanger 33 flows, and desorbs moisture and harmful substances adsorbed by the above operation. The separated water vapor or the like is sucked by the vacuum pump 31, and is discharged to the outside or a combustor of the cogeneration apparatus in the same manner as described above. By repeating such valve switching operation, dehumidification by the adsorbent and its regeneration can be performed continuously.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely used as a system that contributes to energy saving of an air conditioner by utilizing waste heat of various consumer devices such as a consumer cogeneration device widely used in buildings as well as general households.

It is a system configuration figure of Example 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st operation state in the system block diagram of Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd operation state in the system block diagram of Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the conventional desiccant air conditioner.

Explanation of symbols

1 Particle reservoir 2 Solenoid valve 2
3 Room 3
4 Air conditioner 4
5 Dehumidifier 5
6 Blower 6
7 Dispersion plate 7
8 Particle reservoir 8 in dehumidifier
10 Heat exchanger 10
11 Blower 11
12 playback device 13 consumer cogeneration device 13
14 Communication pipe 14
15 Switching valve 15
16 Vacuum pump 16
17 Filter 17
18 Humidifier

Claims (7)

A particle reservoir for storing the regenerated adsorbent particles;
A dehumidifier that introduces adsorbent particles from the particle reservoir and dehumidifies indoor air;
A regenerator that introduces adsorbent particles that have adsorbed moisture from the dehumidifier and heats them with a heat exchanger to desorb and regenerate the adsorbed moisture;
An adsorbent particle transfer device for transferring adsorbent particles regenerated by the regenerator to the particle reservoir,
A small desiccant air conditioner using exhaust heat from a consumer device as a heating source in a heat exchanger of the regenerator.   2. The small desiccant air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the adsorbent particle transfer device is a device using a vacuum pump, and adsorbent particles in the regenerator are transferred to a particle reservoir by suction of the vacuum pump.   3. The small desiccant air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the vacuum pump directly depressurizes the regenerator and desorbs moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent particles in the regenerator by depressurization.   The small desiccant air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein as the consumer device, exhaust heat of a small consumer-use combined heat and power supply device or a heat pump air conditioner is used.   The small desiccant air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a combustion device of a consumer device or an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is used as a heat source of the heating fluid.   The small desiccant air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the air after regeneration of the adsorbent is supplied to the combustion device or the internal combustion engine and burned.   The waste heat from the consumer device is used as a waste heat from the consumer device and is circulated to the consumer device after regeneration of the adsorbent. Small desiccant air conditioner.