JP5215233B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dehumidifier capable of supplying air with a low dew point where the dew point of the supplied air is around minus 100 degrees Celsius, and is particularly high in energy saving effect.

  There is a strong demand for energy conservation worldwide, and there is a strong demand for developing electric vehicles as one of the solutions. Therefore, the improvement of the performance of the lithium battery of the lithium battery applied to an electric vehicle etc. is calculated | required. In lithium batteries, lithium, which is a raw material thereof, reacts very easily with water molecules, and the environment of the lithium battery manufacturing process must be kept at a very low dew point. In other industrial fields, for example, in a pharmaceutical process for producing a specific drug, the quality of the obtained drug may not be maintained unless the environment is maintained at a very low dew point.

Thus, specific industries require low dew point air, and adsorption dehumidifiers are used for this purpose. However, in order to provide air with a low dew point with such an adsorption type dehumidifier, there is a drawback that power consumption becomes large.
As an improvement measure, as disclosed in the patent document, a purge zone is provided in the dehumidification rotor, and a part of the regeneration energy of the dehumidification rotor is recovered to save energy.

JP 2002-320817 A

  The problem to be solved is to further increase the energy saving effect of the dehumidifier supplying low dew point air and to reduce the size.

  In the present invention, the dehumidification rotor is provided with a plurality of stages of dehumidification rotors in the front stage and the rear stage, each dehumidification rotor is provided with a purge zone, and each purge zone is a positive purge that flows air in the same direction as the air passing through the treatment zone The main feature is that the purge zone outlet air is used as the regeneration air for the rear-stage dehumidification rotor, and the regeneration zone outlet air of the rear-stage dehumidification rotor is used as the regeneration air for the front-stage dehumidification rotor.

  The dehumidifier of the present invention is provided with a plurality of stages of dehumidification rotors, and the regeneration zone outlet air of the rear stage dehumidification rotor is used as the regeneration air of the front stage dehumidification rotor. Since it uses as regeneration air, there exists an advantage that the energy for producing the regeneration air of a front stage dehumidification rotor decreases. In particular, since the absolute humidity of the air flowing through the treatment zone of the latter-stage dehumidification rotor is low, the amount of moisture adsorbed on the latter-stage dehumidification rotor is small. For this reason, the regeneration energy of the rear-stage dehumidification rotor is small, and thus the temperature of the regeneration zone outlet air of the rear-stage dehumidification rotor is high. Therefore, the energy required for producing the regeneration air of the first stage dehumidification rotor is greatly reduced.

  Furthermore, since the entire amount of air that has passed through the purge zones of the first and second dehumidifying rotors is introduced into the regeneration zones of the respective dehumidifying rotors, the heat energy recovered in the purge zones can be used without waste.

  Since the forward and backward purge directions are the normal purge in the same direction as the air flowing through the treatment zone, opposite to the direction of the air flowing through the regeneration zone, more energy in the regeneration zone can be recovered.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a dehumidifier.

  The purpose of supplying air with low dew point with energy saving is to provide multiple stages of dehumidification rotors in the front and rear stages, and to provide a purge zone in each dehumidification rotor, and each purge zone supplies air in the same direction as the air passing through the treatment zone. This was realized by using a positive purge to flow, using the purge zone outlet air of the rear stage dehumidification rotor as the regeneration air of the rear stage dehumidification rotor, and using the regeneration zone outlet air of the rear stage dehumidification rotor as the regeneration air of the front stage dehumidification rotor.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a front-stage dehumidification rotor, and reference numeral 2 denotes a rear-stage dehumidification rotor. These are honeycomb-shaped rotors that carry a moisture adsorbent such as silica gel or hydrophilic zeolite. Further, the front-stage dehumidification rotor 1 is divided into three zones, a treatment zone 3, a regeneration zone 4 and a purge zone 5, and the rear-stage dehumidification rotor 2 is similarly divided into three zones, a treatment zone 6, a regeneration zone 7 and a purge zone 8. ing. The two dehumidifying rotors 1 and 2 are each driven by a motor (not shown), but since this technique is general, a description thereof will be omitted.

  Reference numerals 9 and 10 respectively denote valves, the valve 9 adjusts the amount of outside air OA introduced, and the valve 10 adjusts the amount of indoor return air RA. That is, by adjusting the opening degree of the valve 9 and the valve 10, the ratio of the outside air OA and the indoor return air RA can be adjusted.

  11 is a filter that removes dust and dirt in the outside air. Reference numeral 12 denotes a precooler that cools the outside air and is provided with a drain for flowing condensed water. A processing fan 13 sends outside air OA and indoor return air RA to the processing zone 2 of the preceding stage dehumidification rotor 1. Reference numeral 14 denotes an intercooler that cools the air whose temperature has risen out of the processing zone 2 of the preceding stage dehumidifying rotor 1.

  Reference numeral 15 denotes an after heater which adjusts the temperature of the supply air SA to the room as necessary. Reference numerals 16 and 17 denote valves, respectively. The valve 16 adjusts the amount of supply air SA that supplies processing air into the room, and the valve 17 adjusts the amount of exhaust EA. That is, the amount of air flowing into the purge zones 5 and 8 is also adjusted by the opening degree of the valves 16 and 17.

  Reference numeral 18 denotes a regeneration heater that heats the air sent to the regeneration zone 4 of the upstream dehumidification rotor 1, and reference numeral 19 denotes a regeneration heater that heats the air sent to the regeneration zone 7 of the downstream dehumidification rotor 2. Reference numeral 20 denotes an exhaust fan for releasing the air that has passed through the regeneration zone 4 to the atmosphere.

  The first embodiment of the dehumidifier of the present invention is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below. First, the outside air OA and the indoor return air RA are sucked by the processing fan 13. At this time, the ratio of the amount of the outside air OA and the return air RA is determined by the opening degree of the valve 9 and the valve 10.

  Dust and dust are removed from the outside air OA by the filter and cooled by the precooler 12. As a result, the dew point of the outside air OA decreases to the temperature of the precooler 12, and the temperature also decreases. The outside air OA and the indoor return air RA are mixed and enter the processing fan 13, and are pressurized and pass through the processing zone 3 of the preceding stage dehumidification rotor 1.

  Moisture in the air is adsorbed by the treatment zone 3 and becomes dry air. At this time, the temperature rises due to the heat of adsorption and enters the intercooler 14 as high-temperature dry air. The dry air cooled by the intercooler 14 is branched into the treatment zone 6 and the purge zone 8 of the post-dehumidification rotor 2.

  The dry air that has passed through the processing zone 6 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2 is further adsorbed when passing through the processing zone 6, further lowering the absolute humidity and becoming air with an ultra-low dew point. This ultra-low dew point air is heated by the after heater 15 as necessary, and supplied into the room as supply air SA.

  On the other hand, the air branched into the purge zone 8 recovers the heat of the regeneration zone 7, rises in temperature, becomes high temperature by the regeneration heater 19, and passes through the regeneration zone 7. By this passage, moisture adsorbed by the latter-stage dehumidification rotor 2 is desorbed, and the absolute humidity of the air that has exited the regeneration zone 7 increases. However, since the amount of moisture adsorbed by the rear-stage dehumidification rotor 2 is small, the air exiting the regeneration zone 7 has a humidity of 10 parts for the regeneration of the front-stage dehumidification rotor 1.

  The air that has passed through the regeneration zone 7 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2 enters the purge zone 5 of the former-stage dehumidifying rotor 1, where the regeneration energy is recovered and enters the regeneration heater 18. The air heated to high temperature by the regeneration heater 18 passes through the regeneration zone 4 and regenerates the preceding stage dehumidification rotor 1.

  That is, the high-temperature air that has entered the regeneration zone 4 desorbs the moisture adsorbed by the upstream dehumidification rotor 1 and is sucked into the regeneration fan 20 as humid air. The amount of the humid air that has passed through the regeneration fan 20 is adjusted by the valve 17 to be discharged into the atmosphere as exhaust EA.

  The above operation will be described with reference to a table for actually measured data. Tables 1 and 2 should be connected to each other originally, but are divided into two in consideration of easy viewing. Symbols (1) to (18) in Tables 1 to 13 correspond to the symbols (1) to (18) on FIG. 1, respectively, and represent the air conditions of the portions indicated by the respective symbols on FIG. Regarding the dew point temperature in Table 1, 0 degrees Celsius or less is indicated as a frost point (freezing point), and the above is indicated as a dew point (condensation point).

The measurement data shown in Tables 1 to 13 are the results of experiments conducted assuming the following conditions. In other words, outside air OA = dry bulb 35.0 degrees Celsius,
Relative humidity 60%, indoor return air RA = 4020 m ³ / hour (20 degrees Celsius), dry bulb 23.0 degrees Celsius, dew point -40 degrees Celsius, supply air SA = 4260 m ³ / hour (20 degrees Celsius), dry bulb 14.5 degrees Celsius or less, dew point -80 degrees Celsius or less, indoor heat load = 12.04 KW, indoor moisture load = 4 persons × 100 g / (hour / person) = 400 g / hour.

Tables 1 and 2 specifically show the air condition of each part in the above description of the operation, and it can be seen that the outside air OA is finally supplied into the room under the condition of the target supply air SA.
Table 3 shows the results of an experiment on how the air conditions changed before and after the treatment zone 3 of the pre-dehumidification rotor 1. Thus, it can be seen that 7052 g / hour of water was removed in the treatment zone of the first stage dehumidifying rotor 1.

  Table 4 shows the results of experiments conducted on how the air conditions changed before and after the purge zone 5 of the first stage dehumidifying rotor 1. This shows that 66113 kJ / hour of energy has been recovered.

  Table 5 shows the results of experiments conducted on how the air conditions changed before and after the regeneration zone 4 of the first stage dehumidifying rotor 1. This shows that 7083 g / hour of water is released to the atmosphere OA.

    Table 6 shows the results of experiments conducted on how the air conditions changed before and after the treatment zone 6 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2.

  Table 7 shows the results of experiments conducted on how the air conditions changed before and after the purge zone 8 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2. This shows that 95267 kJ / hour of energy has been recovered.

  Table 8 shows the results of experiments conducted on how the air conditions changed before and after the regeneration zone 7 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2. As a result, it can be seen that 69 g / hr of moisture is desorbed from the post-dehumidification rotor 2. The air to which the moisture amount is added is used for regeneration of the pre-stage dehumidification rotor 1, but as shown in Table 5, since the water amount before and after the regeneration zone 4 of the pre-stage dehumidification rotor 1 is much smaller, the regeneration zone It can be seen that there is no problem even if the air exiting 7 is used for the regeneration of the first stage dehumidifying rotor 1.

  Table 9 shows the results of an experiment on how the air conditions changed before and after the precooler 12. This shows that the heat load of 78202 kJ / hr has been removed. Since the precooler 12 can use a heat pump, the removal of the heat load here contributes to the enhancement of the subsequent processing efficiency.

    Table 10 shows the results of an experiment on how the air conditions changed before and after the intercooler 14. As a result, it can be seen that the heat load is greatly removed at 161904 kJ / hour. Since the precooler 14 can use a heat pump, removing the heat load here contributes to increasing the adsorption efficiency of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2.

  Table 11 shows changes in the air conditions before and after the regeneration heater 18 that heats the air sent to the regeneration zone 4 of the upstream dehumidifying rotor 1. The regeneration heater 18 applies energy of 49722 kJ / hour to the regeneration air. Here, referring to Table 4, it can be seen that 66113 kJ / hour of energy is recovered in the purge zone 5 of the preceding stage dehumidification rotor 1 out of the energy given to the regeneration air by the regeneration heater 18.

  Table 12 shows how much energy is given to the supply air SA by the after heater 15. In this example, energy of 2578 kJ / hour is given.

  Table 13 shows changes in the air conditions before and after the regeneration heater 19 that heats the air sent to the regeneration zone 7 of the latter-stage dehumidifying rotor 2. The regeneration heater 19 gives 89499 kJ / hour of energy to the regeneration air. Here, referring to Table 7, it can be seen that 95267 kJ / hour of energy is recovered in the purge zone 8 of the post-dehumidification rotor 2 out of the energy given to the regeneration air by the regeneration heater 19. Looking at this alone, it appears that the recovered energy is much more inconsistent than the input energy, but as shown in Table 8, the energy difference before and after the regeneration zone 7 is 115721 kJ / hour, which is based on the energy balance of the post-stage dehumidifying rotor 2. There is no contradiction.

  As described above, the dehumidifier of the present invention can suppress energy consumption while lowering the dew point of the supply air SA to −80 degrees Celsius.

  Although the embodiment of the dehumidifier of the present invention is configured and operates as described above, the intercooler 14 and the after-heater 15 may be omitted depending on the required air condition and the air condition of the outside air OA. That is, if zeolite is used as the moisture adsorbent of the latter-stage dehumidification rotor 2, moisture is adsorbed even if the temperature of the air is high, so the intercooler 14 is not necessary depending on the conditions. Further, when the temperature of the supply air may be low, the after heater 15 is not necessary.

  Since the intercooler 14 and the after-heater 15 are not necessary depending on the required air condition and the air condition of the outside air OA, the energy consumption can be further reduced in such a case.

  This means that if the required air condition or the air condition of the outside air OA changes, an intercooler 14 or an after-heater 15 is installed, and cold water or refrigerant to be turned to the intercooler 14 is allowed to flow depending on the condition. The energy consumption can be reduced by stopping and turning on / off the power of the after heater 15.

  The dehumidifier of the present invention can supply air with very low dew point temperature with less energy, and can be applied to a lithium battery manufacturing process, a pharmaceutical factory, and the like.

1 Pre-stage dehumidification rotor 2 Post-stage dehumidification rotor 3 Processing zone 4 Regeneration zone 5 Purge zone 6 Processing zone 7 Regeneration zone 8 Purge zone 9 Valve 10 Valve 11 Filter 12 Precooler 13 Processing fan 14 Intercooler 15 After heater 16 Valve 17 Valve 18 Regeneration heater 19 Regenerative heater 20 Regenerative fan

Claims (2)

  There are at least two dehumidification rotors, a front stage and a rear stage, and each dehumidification rotor is divided into a treatment zone, a regeneration zone, and a purge zone, and the direction of the air flowing through each purge zone is the direction of the air flowing through each processing zone. In the same direction, outside air is sent to the processing zone of the front dehumidification rotor, the air that has exited the processing zone of the front dehumidification rotor is sent to the processing zone of the rear dehumidification rotor, and the air that has exited the processing zone of the rear dehumidification rotor is used as product air The air sent to the processing chamber of the subsequent-stage dehumidification rotor is branched and flowed to the purge zone of the subsequent-stage dehumidification rotor, and the air exiting the purge zone of the subsequent-stage dehumidification rotor is heated to regenerate the regeneration zone of the subsequent-stage dehumidification rotor. To the purge zone of the upstream dehumidification rotor, and the air that has exited the purge zone of the upstream dehumidification rotor. Dehumidifier, characterized in that the send upstream dehumidification rotor of the regeneration zone by heating the.   2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein an intercooler is provided between the processing zone of the front-stage dehumidification rotor and the processing zone of the rear-stage dehumidification rotor and before the branch point to the purge zone of the rear-stage dehumidification rotor. .

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