Researchers: Shamim Ahamed, Abir Ahsan, Amrit Kumar Thakur
Project Summary: This proposed Project aims to test, model, and validate the feasibility of innovative commercially available technologies for supplying the required cooling and dehumidification loads for indoor farming units.
The proposed cooling and dehumidification system (the “System”) regulates and controls the microclimate of enclosed controlled environment agriculture (“CEA”) facilities, especially during hot seasons in terms of relative humidity and temperature, via two (2) commercially available technologies, namely heat pump-powered solid desiccant dehumidification unit for dehumidification and an indirect evaporative cooling (“IEC”) unit for cooling. In the dehumidification unit, a high-temperature heat pump is used for the regeneration of the solid desiccants (mainly metal-organic frameworks) by the rejected heat at the condenser while condensing the generated water vapor at its evaporator, ensuring superior energy efficiency and saving potentials compared to traditional vapor compression-based dehumidification methods. The dehumidification unit will utilize the non-compressor-based IEC to deliver the required cooling loads at low energy inputs, which can be harvested from the dehumidification process to minimize overall water consumption. This is especially true for warmer seasons at high ambient temperatures and relatively low humidity.