Second Law Analysis of Desiccant Cooling Systems

A second law analysis of constant pressure open cycle cooling systems was performed in order to assess the potential performance of desiccant cooling systems. The results yield upper bounds which are independent of the nature of the desiccant. Calculations carried out for a wide range of operating conditions show that the performance of these open cycle systems strongly depends on the humidity ratio. For ARI conditions, the reversible COP is about 4.66, and it approaches infinity at very low outdoor humidity ratios.