EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE AIR CLEANING EFFECT OF A DESICCANT DEHUMIDIFIER ON PERCEIVED AIR QUALITY

摘要

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the co-sorption effect of a desiccant rotor on improving perceived air quality. A rotary desiccant dehumidifier was used for the investigation. Carpet and linoleum emissions as well as human bio-effluents were used as air pollution sources. Up to thirty subjects served on a sensory panel to test and judge the effectiveness of pollutant removal by a desiccant rotor. The results of the experiment showed that a desiccant rotor has great potential for air cleaning. The effectiveness of air pollutant removal in terms of sensory pollution load was better than 80% for the three types of air pollutant. The air-cleaning effect was found to be independent of air humidity and the processed airflow rate of the dehumidifier. The effect of the reactivation air temperature on the effectiveness of pollutant removal by the dehumidifier remains to be further investigated. The observed air-cleaning effect of a desiccant rotor can be used to improve indoor air quality and decrease energy consumption of HVAC systems that use desiccant cooling.