Optimization of Moisture condensation rate of Liquid Desiccant Dehumidifier through Genetic Algorithm

Dehumidifier is the most important unit in liquid desiccant air conditioning system. This paper experimentally investigates the performance of an adiabatic dehumidifier using calcium chloride as a liquid desiccant. The dehumidifier inlet parameters namely desiccant flow rate, concentration, temperature, air humidity ratio and liquid to air flow rate ratio, each at four levels have been chosen and sixteen experimental runs based on L16 orthogonal array have been performed. A mathematical model relating the effect of the influencing parameters on the moisture condensation rate has been developed using nonlinear regression analysis with the help of MINITAB software. MATLAB genetic algorithm (GA) has been employed to enhance the performance of the dehumidifier. It has been noted that GA optimum condition would result in the dehumidifier with better performance.