Experimental investigation of a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) based humidity pump under high humidity conditions

Abstract

Latent heat load accounts for a significant proportion of air-conditioning energy consumption and particularly for specific environment in humid climates. Traditional vapor-compression refrigeration dehumidification faces the problem of refrigerant leakage, overcooling and complicated mechanical systems. Here, we report a novel humidity pump that uses semiconductor refrigeration and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as dehumidification method, which can efficiently transport moisture from a relatively 'low-humidity' space to a high-humidity one. The working principles of the humidity pump were introduced that the process air flows through the cold desiccant coated heat exchanger and then comes into direct contact with the MOF coatings to transfer heat and mass. The dehumidification performance of humidity pump was investigated in high humidity, and the dehumidification coefficient of performance (DCOP), dehumidification rate and moisture removal efficiency using MIL-100(Fe) coatings were calculated. The results indicated that the MOF humidity pump possesses excellent moisture transfer ability.