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EP-4735801-A1 - AIR DEHUMIDIFIER

EP4735801A1EP 4735801 A1EP4735801 A1EP 4735801A1EP-4735801-A1

Abstract

An air dehumidifier comprises an inlet, an outlet for a processed air flow, at least a first path extending between said inlet and said outlet and along which an evaporator is arranged which is configured to act on a first portion of air flow to be processed. The dehumidifier further comprises first heat exchange means, first ventilation means to at least a second path, separate with respect to the first path, for a second portion of the air flow to be processed. The second path is configured to pass through respective second heat exchange means and at least second ventilation means. The dehumidifier further comprises heat transfer means which are configured to cool the first portion of air flow, upstream of the evaporator, and to heat the first portion of air flow downstream of the evaporator.

Inventors

  • GASPARINI, ALBERTO

Assignees

  • Fral Srl

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240701

Claims (18)

  1. 1. An air dehumidifier (10) comprising: - at least one inlet (11) for an air flow (Al, A2) to be processed, - at least one outlet (12) for a processed air flow (Bl, B2), - at least a first path (Pl) for a first portion of the air flow (Al) to be processed which extends between the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet (12) and along which an evaporator (15) which is configured to act on the first portion of the air flow (Al) to be processed is arranged, - at least first heat exchange means (13), - first ventilation means (14) for causing the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed to pass through the first heat exchange means (13), the dehumidifier (10) is characterized in that it comprises at least a second path (P2), which is different from the first path (Pl), over a second portion of the air flow (A2) to be processed, which is configured to pass through respective second heat exchange means (16) and at least second ventilation means (17) in order to cause the second portion of air flow (A2) to pass through the second heat exchange means (16), - heat transfer means (18) which are configured to cool the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed, upstream of the evaporator (15), and to heat the first portion of air flow downstream of the evaporator (15).
  2. 2. A dehumidifier (10) according to claim 1, wherein the heat transfer means (18) are arranged between a location upstream and a location downstream of the evaporator (15).
  3. 3. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least first heat exchange means (13) are included in a refrigeration circuit.
  4. 4. A dehumidifier (10) according to claim 3, wherein the refrigeration circuit comprises at least one compressor, at least a first condenser, at least one lamination member, at least one evaporator (15), the first path (Pl) being configured to pass through the refrigeration circuit at the first condenser and the evaporator (15), the first heat exchange means (13) preferably being defined by the first condenser.
  5. 5. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second heat exchange means (16) are defined by a second condenser.
  6. 6. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heat transfer means comprise a heat exchanger (18) with intersecting flows which is configured, by intercepting the first path (Pl), to cool the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed upstream of the evaporator (15) and to heat a second flow of the same air flow downstream of the same evaporator (15).
  7. 7. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising auxiliary heat transfer means (19) configured for the passage of a heated air flow being discharged from the heat transfer means (18).
  8. 8. A dehumidifier (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the first heat exchange means (13) and the second heat exchange means (16) are defined by different portions of the same heat exchanger, the different portions being configured to be passed through by the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed and by the second portion of air flow (A2) to be processed, respectively.
  9. 9. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is present at least one control unit for the first ventilation means (14) and the second ventilation means (17).
  10. 10. A dehumidifier (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein the control unit is configured to independently control one or other of the first and second ventilation means (14, 17) so as to regulate the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed and the second portion of air flow (A2) to be processed in order to optimize the energy and/or in order to control humidity and temperature of the environment.
  11. 11. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second path (P2) is separated from the first path (Pl) via physical separation means (20) so as to maintain the first portion of air flow (Al) to be processed independent of the second portion of air flow (A2) to be processed.
  12. 12. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising channelling means (22) which are configured so as to channel the first processed air flow (Bl) and/or the second processed air flow (B2) into an additional flow (B3), wherein the channelling means include additional ventilation means (23) configured so as to increase the pressure of the additional flow (B3).
  13. 13. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the air flow to be processed is common and the inlet (11) is configured so that the air to be processed is divided into the first portion (Al) and the second portion (A2) when fed into the dehumidifier.
  14. 14. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outlet (12) is configured to feed the first portion (Al) being discharged from the first path (Pl) and the second portion being discharged from the second path (P2) into the same environment.
  15. 15. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said outlet is common to both the first path and the second path (P2).
  16. 16. A dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first ventilation means (14) and the second ventilation means (17) are arranged immediately upstream of the outlet (12).
  17. 17. A method for dehumidifying an air flow by means of a dehumidifier (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: - Dividing an air flow to be processed into a first portion of air (Al) and a second portion of air (A2); - Feeding the first portion of air (Al) into the first path (Pl) and the second portion of air (A2) into the second path (P2); Processing the first portion of air (Al) and the second portion of air (A2) in the dehumidifier so as to obtain a first portion of processed air (Bl) and a second portion of processed air (B2); - Discharging the first portion of processed air (Bl) and the second portion of processed air (B2) from the outlet (12).
  18. 18. A method according to the preceding claim, further comprising discharging the first portion of processed air (Bl) and the second portion of processed air (B2) to a common environment at which said first portion of processed air (Bl) and said second portion of processed air (B2) are combined into a single processed air flow.

Description

Air dehumidifier DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to an air dehumidifier with increased efficiency and performance. In the technical sector of reference, dehumidifiers are known for processing air to be re-fed into a room, to improve the thermal and hygrometric comfort thereof. In a conventional dehumidifier, there is a compressor which sends hot compressed refrigerant gas to a condenser, which receives the refrigerant gas and condenses it. A lamination member receives the liquid refrigerant from the condenser and expands it, lowering the temperature and pressure of the liquid. An evaporator receives the cold liquid refrigerant from the lamination member and makes it evaporate into cold refrigerant gas. The evaporated refrigerant discharged from the evaporator is sent to the compressor, closing the cycle. The air flow to be processed is directed through the evaporator to cool the air below the dew point so that the water vapour in the air is condensed to liquid to dehumidify it. The air is then passed through the condenser to be heated. In order to increase the efficiency of dehumidifiers, it is known to use systems which transfer heat between before and after the evaporator, e.g., cross-flow air-to-air heat exchangers, which envisage pre-cooling the air flow upstream of its passage through the evaporator. The pre-cooled air then passes in the evaporator and is subsequently reheated in the same heat exchanger in a subsequent step. The air flow discharged from the heat exchanger is then passed through the condenser to be post-heated and re-fed into the room. Such a solution has some limitations, including air-side pressure losses at this system, and for which the electrical consumption for ventilation is high and much higher with respect to the conventional systems without heat recovery. Furthermore, the system tends to work with a higher condensation temperature with respect to that of the conventional system, with a consequent increase in the electrical consumption of the compressor. Some solutions known to date also envisage the presence of ventilation means, to generate the air flow at the inlet and outlet of the device, and/or an additional heat exchanger placed upstream of the condenser and downstream of the previous exchanger, from which it receives the heated air flow. The air discharged from the additional heat exchanger is passed through the condenser. This solution allows the hot liquid discharged from the condenser to be further sub-cooled before it is sent to the lamination member, increasing the efficiency of the dehumidifier. In order to further increase the efficiency of the dehumidifier, other solutions envisage the addition of an air flow upstream of the condenser to the system just described, which is added to the air flow discharged from the additional heat exchanger. This solution allows to increase efficiency with respect to the previous system. A higher air flow to the condenser allows the condensation temperature to be lowered, resulting in lower electric consumption for the compressor, whereas with heat recovery, the system tends to work with a higher condensation temperature with respect to a conventional system. However, this solution does not overcome the drawback of high air-side pressure losses, which occur where a heat recovery system is present. Further examples of known solutions are described in EP 4 056 909 Al and CN 108 826 508 A. The technical problem underlying the present invention is to improve the prior art in one or more of the aspects indicated above. In the context of such a problem, one aim of the present invention is to propose a dehumidifier designed to work at high efficiency. Another aim of the invention is to propose a dehumidifier thanks to which it is possible to overcome the drawback of air-side pressure losses due to the presence of a heat recovery system, such as a cross-flow heat exchanger. A further aim of the invention is to propose a dehumidifier thanks to which the overall electric consumption of the device itself can be reduced. It is further an aim of the present invention to provide a dehumidifier which is capable of improving the known solutions in terms of performance and/or energy efficiency, within the context of a rational and relatively low-cost solution. This problem is at least partly solved and one or more of these aims are at least partly achieved by the invention by means of a dehumidification device comprising: - at least one inlet for an air flow to be processed, - at least one outlet for a processed air flow, - at least a first path for at least a first portion of said air flow to be processed. Preferably the device comprises heat transfer means which are configured to cool said first portion of air flow to be processed, upstream of said evaporator, and to heat said first portion of air flow downstream of said evaporator. The air flow to be processed herein means an air flow which undergoes a change in temperature and/o