RÉSUMÉ

In this study, a desiccant air conditioning system based on a solar-powered composite desiccant bed heat exchanger has been proposed and experimentally investigated. The system consists of a composite desiccant bed heat exchanger, an evacuated tube solar water heater, cooling tower, and a direct evaporative cooling unit. The composite desiccant material is synthesized by using CaCl₂ as a hygroscopic salt and floral foam as a host matrix. The system operated in two different modes, i.e., heating/humidification mode during a winter season and cooling/dehumidification mode during a summer season. During the cooling/dehumidification mode the system operated with two different dehumidification approaches. The experimental results demonstrate that the second dehumidification approach dominates over the first one. The average cooling and heating capacity of the system is 404 W and 663 W with COP_th of 0.31 and 0.69 during the cooling/dehumidification mode and heating/humidification mode, respectively.