Análise teórico/experimental de dessecante em um sistema solar térmico estudos de caso: sílica-gel, carvão ativado e bentonita

Abstract

Thepresentstudyaimstoconductanexperimentalanalysisofasolarcollectorusingthree typesofdesiccantmaterialsforheatedair:silicagel,activatedcarbon,andbentonite,withthe intentionofoptimizingtheheattransferprocessandimprovingthesystem'sthermal performance.Theadoptedmethodologyincludedthereuseofasolardryerprototype,connected to adataacquisitionandmeasurementsystem(SMAD)withsixmeasurementpoints. Temperatureandrelativehumiditymeasurementsofthedryingairwereperformedusingan Arduino Mega2560microcontroller,coupledwithadistributionboarddevelopedforthis projectandinterchangeableDHT22sensors.Theresultsshowedthat,althoughthetemperatures inside thedesiccantunitweresimilarandthoseinsidethesolarcollectordiffered,therelative humidity oftheairvariedconsiderablywiththeuseofdesiccants.Inthetestwithsilicagel inside thesolarcollector,thelowestrelativehumiditywasapproximately7.9%,whileinthe systemwithactivatedcarbonitwasabout9.6%,andwithbentonite,10.2%.Basedonthe collecteddata,thermodynamiccalculationswereperformedbasedonthefirstlawof thermodynamics,resultinginanaveragethermalefficiencyof46%forsilicagel,34%for activatedcarbon,and22%forbentonite.Itisconcludedthatsilicagelexhibitedthehighest thermalefficiency,beingmoreeffectivethantheothertesteddesiccants,asdemonstratedby SMAD measurementsandtheoreticalanalyses.