A cooling system suitable for cooling a building 3 comprises a desiccant regenerating section 2 to regenerate diluted desiccant liquid into concentrated desiccant liquid using a solar or waste heat source 30. A desiccant cooling section 1 is used to cool air and comprises a first mass-heat exchanger 11 having a scavenging air pathway for evaporatively cooling a scavenging or return air stream which is then used to cool the concentrated desiccant liquid and a process air pathway for dehumidifying a first incoming air stream 20, using the cooled concentrated desiccant liquid. A second mass-heat exchanger 12 comprises a first air pathway for evaporatively cooling the first incoming air stream using water, and an outlet for outputting the cooled air stream 16 to the building. The first incoming air preferably produces the cooled air stream from the evaporation process. The second mass-heat exchanger may comprise a second air pathway for receiving a second incoming air stream. Fan(s) may be used to generate the first incoming air stream and / or the scavenging air stream. The desiccant regeneration section preferably comprises a solar or waste heat circuit which includes a solar pond and the desiccant liquid may be seawater bittern.
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