Humidity controller

Abstract

To provide technique capable of reducing energy necessary for dehumidification in a humidity controller.SOLUTION: A humidity controller includes: a liquid desiccant for absorbing steam in air; a treatment machine for dehumidifying the air by bringing the liquid desiccant into contact with the air; and a regeneration machine which heats the liquid desiccant that has been used for dehumidification in the treatment machine to be in a higher temperature state than when it is in use for dehumidification in the treatment machine, and brings the liquid desiccant into contact with the air, thereby humidifying the air and concentrating the liquid desiccant. The treatment machine includes a first gas-liquid contact unit for bringing a first liquid desiccant into contact with the air, and a second gas-liquid contact unit for bringing the air dehumidified by the first gas-liquid contact unit into contact with a second liquid desiccant of which temperature is lower than that of the first liquid desiccant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a humidity control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Humidity control devices that use a liquid humidity control agent to control humidity have been known for some time. For example, in the humidity control devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the liquid humidity control agent is brought into contact with air, so that the liquid humidity control agent absorbs water vapor contained in the air and dehumidifies the air. The liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the air is regenerated by being heated and brought into contact with air. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-36093 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-6299 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even with the prior art such as Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is still room for improvement in the technology for reducing the energy required for dehumidification in a humidity control device. For example, in the humidity control devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when dehumidifying air, a heat pump is used to cool the liquid humidity control agent. However, when the air is hot or the absolute humidity is high, the heat of absorption of the water vapor generated during dehumidification becomes large, so the power consumption of the heat pump for controlling the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent becomes large. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technology for reducing the energy required for dehumidification in a humidity control device that uses a liquid humidity control agent to control humidity.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a technique for reducing the energy required for dehumidification in a humidity control device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve at least part of the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized in the following forms.

[0007] (1) According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a humidity control device comprising: a liquid humidity control agent that absorbs water vapor in the air; a processor that brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the air to dehumidify the air; and a regenerator that brings the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification in the processor into a state where the liquid humidity control agent is at a higher temperature than when the liquid humidity control agent is used for dehumidification in the processor and brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the air to humidify the air and concentrate the liquid humidity control agent, the processor including a first gas-liquid contactor that brings the first liquid humidity control agent into contact with the air, and a second gas-liquid contactor that brings the air dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor into contact with a second liquid humidity control agent having a lower temperature than the first liquid humidity control agent.

[0008] According to this configuration, the treatment machine that dehumidifies air includes a first gas-liquid contactor and a second gas-liquid contactor that are arranged in series with respect to the air flow. As a result, in the treatment machine, the liquid humidity control agents with different temperatures gradually absorb the water vapor contained in the air, so that the load of the gas-liquid contactor during dehumidification can be divided, and the energy required for temperature control of the liquid humidity control agent can be reduced. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be reduced.

[0009] (2) The humidity control device of the above embodiment may further include a heat medium supplying unit that supplies the first gas-liquid contactor with a heat medium that adjusts the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent to a temperature within a predetermined range including the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. According to this configuration, the heat medium that the heat medium supplying unit supplies to the first gas-liquid contactor adjusts the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent to a temperature within a predetermined range including the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Here, the "temperature within a predetermined range including the temperature of the air" refers to a temperature that is not excessively cooled or heated compared to the temperature of the air, and for example, refers to a temperature within a range of ±5°C with respect to the temperature of the air. In the treatment machine, the first gas-liquid contactor dehumidifies the air to a certain degree, and then the second gas-liquid contactor further dehumidifies the air that has been dehumidified to a certain degree in the first gas-liquid contactor, thereby adjusting the temperature and humidity of the air to target values. This allows the cooling of the air to be dehumidified by the treatment machine to be divided between the first gas-liquid contactor and the second gas-liquid contactor. Therefore, the energy required for regulating the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent can be further reduced, and the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced.

[0010] (3) In the humidity control device of the above embodiment, the heat medium supplying unit may have a heat dissipating unit that dissipates heat of the heat medium to the air, and may supply the first gas-liquid contactor with a heat medium that makes the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent the same as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. According to this configuration, in the first gas-liquid contactor, the air is dehumidified by the first liquid humidity control agent having the same temperature as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Here, "the same temperature as the temperature of the air" refers to a temperature within a range of +5°C with respect to the temperature of the air, for example. The first liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification dissipates the heat of absorption of water vapor by the heat dissipating unit. As a result, the heat medium supplying unit can continuously supply the first gas-liquid contactor with a heat medium that makes the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent the same as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Therefore, in the heat medium supplying unit, cooling of the first liquid humidity control agent by a heat pump or the like is not required, and the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced.

[0011] (4) The humidity control device of the above embodiment may further include a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the air in the second gas-liquid contactor and the liquid humidity control agent used to humidify the air in the regenerator. With this configuration, the heat of the liquid humidity control agent heated in the regenerator can be used to preheat the relatively low-temperature second liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the air, thereby reducing the energy required to heat the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced.

[0012] (5) The humidity control device of the above embodiment may further include a heating unit that heats the liquid humidity control agent used in the treatment unit to dehumidify the air, and the heating unit may supply the heat medium heated by solar heat to the regenerator. According to this configuration, the hot heat supply unit supplies the heat medium heated by solar heat, which is a renewable energy, to the regenerator. This makes it possible to reduce the fossil energy required for dehumidification.

[0013] (6) The humidity control device of the above embodiment may further include a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the air in the processor and the liquid humidity control agent used to humidify the air in the regenerator. With this configuration, heat exchange between the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the processor and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the regenerator can be used effectively, thereby making it possible to further reduce the energy required for dehumidification.

[0014] The present invention can be realized in various forms, for example, in the form of a method for manufacturing a humidity control device, a system including a humidity control device, a control method for these devices and systems, and a computer program for causing dehumidification in these devices and systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a humidity control device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 3 is a first diagram illustrating an example of operation of the humidity control device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a second diagram illustrating an example of operation of the humidity control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the amount of work required for dehumidification in a heat pump of a comparative example. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a humidity control device according to a comparative example. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the workload required for dehumidification in a humidity control device of a comparative example. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the workload required for dehumidification in the humidity control apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a humidity control device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of the humidity control device according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a humidity control device 1 of the first embodiment. The humidity control device 1 of this embodiment controls the humidity of gas using a liquid humidity control agent. In this embodiment, the humidity control device 1 dehumidifies outdoor air, which is the air outside the room, and regenerates the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification using indoor air, which is the air inside the room. The humidity control device 1 includes a processor 10 that dehumidifies the outdoor air, a regenerator 20 that regenerates the liquid humidity control agent, a flow path 30 that connects the processor 10 and the regenerator 20, a first cooling section 41 and a second cooling section 42 that cool the liquid humidity control agent of the processor 10, a heating section 43 that heats the liquid humidity control agent of the regenerator 20, a plurality of heat exchangers 51, 52, 54, and 55 provided in the flow path 30, and a control section 60.

[0017] Here, the liquid humidity control agent used in the humidity control device 1 will be described. The liquid humidity control agent used in the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment for dehumidifying the outside air is an aqueous solution containing lithium chloride (LiCl) as a solute. In the liquid humidity control agent of this embodiment, the amount of water contained in the liquid humidity control agent per unit mass decreases as the lithium chloride concentration increases at the same temperature in gas-liquid equilibrium. In other words, the lower the lithium chloride concentration at the same temperature, the greater the ability of the liquid humidity control agent to absorb water vapor, i.e., the dehumidification ability. In this embodiment, an aqueous solution with a lithium chloride concentration of 35% is used as the liquid humidity control agent. The lithium chloride concentration of the liquid humidity control agent is not limited to this.

[0018] The treatment machine 10 dehumidifies the outside air by contacting the liquid humidity control agent with the outside air. The treatment machine 10 includes a first gas-liquid contactor 11 and a second gas-liquid contactor 12. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the second gas-liquid contactor 12 are connected in series with respect to the flow of the outside air, and dehumidify the outside air. Here, for convenience, the outside air before being introduced into the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is referred to as outside air g10, the outside air that has come into contact with the liquid humidity control agent in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is referred to as outside air g11, and the outside air that has come into contact with the liquid humidity control agent in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 is referred to as outside air g12.

[0019] The first gas-liquid contactor 11 has a hollow container 11a, a gas-liquid contact material 11b, and an injection unit 11c. The gas-liquid contact material 11b is a porous material having excellent hydrophilicity and water absorption, such as cellulose. The container 11a has an opening 11d through which the outside air g10 can flow into the container 11a, and an opening through which the outside air g11 can flow out of the container 11a. In this embodiment, the opening 11d is installed, for example, outside the room. The gas-liquid contact material 11b is arranged in the container 11a so that the outside air g10 passing through the opening 11d passes through the inside by driving a blower (not shown). The injection unit 11c is formed so that the liquid humidity control agent can be injected into the gas-liquid contact material 11b. As a result, the outside air passing through the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 11b is dehumidified by contacting with the liquid humidity control agent injected by the injection unit 11c and held in the gas-liquid contact material 11b. The liquid humidity control agent sprayed by the spraying portion 11c comes into contact with the outside air in the gas-liquid contact material 11b, absorbs water vapor contained in the outside air, and then accumulates at the bottom of the container 11a.

[0020] The second gas-liquid contactor 12 has a hollow container 12a, a gas-liquid contact material 12b, and an injection part 12c. The gas-liquid contact material 12b is a porous material with excellent hydrophilicity and water absorption, such as cellulose. The container 12a has an opening 12d through which the outside air g11 can flow into the container 12a, and an opening through which the outside air g13 can flow out from the container 12a. The gas-liquid contact material 12b is disposed in the container 12a so that the outside air passes through the inside. The injection part 12c is formed so that the liquid humidity control agent can be injected into the gas-liquid contact material 12b. As a result, the outside air passing through the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 12b is dehumidified by contacting with the liquid humidity control agent injected by the injection part 12c and held in the gas-liquid contact material 12b. The liquid humidity control agent sprayed by the spraying portion 12c comes into contact with the outside air in the gas-liquid contact material 12b, absorbs water vapor contained in the outside air, and then accumulates at the bottom of the container 12a.

[0021] The regenerator 20 heats the liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the outside air in the processor 10 and brings it into contact with the inside air, thereby humidifying the inside air and concentrating the liquid humidity control agent. The regenerator 20 includes a regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21. For the sake of convenience, the inside air before being introduced into the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 is referred to as inside air g20, and the inside air that has come into contact with the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 is referred to as inside air g21.

[0022] The regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 has a hollow container 21a, a gas-liquid contact material 21b, and an injection unit 21c. The gas-liquid contact material 21b is a porous material with excellent hydrophilicity and water absorption, such as cellulose. The container 21a has an opening 21d through which the inside air g20 can flow into the container 21a and an opening through which the inside air g21 can flow out from the container 21a. In this embodiment, the opening 21d is installed, for example, indoors. The gas-liquid contact material 21b is arranged in the container 21a so that the inside air g20 passing through the opening 21d by driving a blower (not shown) passes through the inside. The injection unit 21c is formed so that a liquid humidity control agent can be injected into the gas-liquid contact material 21b. As a result, the inside air passing through the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 21b is humidified by contacting with the liquid humidity control agent injected by the injection unit 21c and held in the gas-liquid contact material 21b. The liquid humidity control agent sprayed by the spraying portion 21c comes into contact with the inside air at the gas-liquid contact material 21b, releases its own moisture into the inside air, and then accumulates at the bottom of the container 21a.

[0023] The flow path 30 is a flow path through which the liquid humidity control agent flows, and has a plurality of flow paths 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e, 30f, 30g, 30h, 30i, 30j, and 30k. The flow path 30a is connected to the bottom of the container 11a of the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and a heat exchanger 51. The flow path 30a is provided with a liquid feed pump 31 that adjusts the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent. The flow path 30b is connected to the heat exchanger 51 and the heat exchanger 52. The flow path 30c is connected to the heat exchanger 52 and the injection part 21c of the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21. The flow path 30d is connected to the bottom of the container 21a of the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 and the heat exchanger 51. The flow path 30d is provided with a liquid feed pump 33 that adjusts the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent. The flow path 30e is connected to the heat exchanger 51 and the heat exchanger 54. The flow path 30f is connected to the heat exchanger 54 and the injection part 11c of the first gas-liquid contactor 11.

[0024] The flow path 30g is connected to the bottom of the container 12a of the second gas-liquid contactor 12 and the heat exchanger 53. A liquid feed pump 32 that adjusts the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent is provided in the flow path 30g. The flow path 30h is connected to the heat exchanger 51 and the flow path 30a. The flow path 30i is connected to the flow path 30e and the heat exchanger 53. The flow path 30j is connected to the heat exchanger 53 and the heat exchanger 55. The flow path 30k is connected to the heat exchanger 55 and the injection section 12c of the second gas-liquid contactor 12.

[0025] The first cooling section 41 adjusts the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the first gas-liquid contactor 11. The first cooling section 41 includes a heat source 41a and a heat exchange section 41b. The heat source 41a generates a medium-temperature heat medium. Here, "medium temperature" is a temperature higher than the set temperature of the second cooling section 42 and lower than the set temperature of the heating section 43. In this embodiment, the heat source 41a generates a heat medium that makes the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent that contacts the air in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 the same as the temperature in the environment in which the humidity control device 1 is installed, that is, the outside air temperature (the temperature of the outside air). Here, "the same temperature" refers not only to a temperature exactly the same as the outside air temperature, but also to a temperature within a range of +5°C with respect to the outside air temperature. The heat source 41a is, for example, an outdoor unit, a cooling tower, a radiator, etc., and has an air-cooled heat dissipation section 41c that releases the heat of the heat medium to the outside air by contacting the heat medium with the outside air. The heat exchange section 41b is built in the gas-liquid contact material 11b of the first gas-liquid contactor 11. The heat source 41a and the heat exchange section 41b are connected by a flow path through which the medium-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 41a can flow. The heat source 41a corresponds to a "heat medium supply section" in the claims.

[0026] The second cooling section 42 adjusts the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The second cooling section 42 includes a heat source 42a and a heat exchange section 42b. The heat source 42a generates a low-temperature heat medium. Here, "low temperature" means a temperature lower than the set temperature of the first cooling section 41. In this embodiment, the heat source 42a generates a heat medium that makes the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent that contacts with air in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 lower than the outside air temperature where the humidity control device 1 is installed. The heat source 42a is, for example, a heat pump. The heat exchange section 42b is built into the gas-liquid contact material 12b of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The heat source 42a and the heat exchange section 42b are connected by a flow path through which the low-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 42a can flow.

[0027] The heating unit 43 adjusts the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the gas-liquid contactor 21 for regeneration. The heating unit 43 includes a heat source 43a and a heat exchanger 43b. The heat source 43a generates a high-temperature heat medium. Here, "high temperature" means a temperature higher than the set temperature of the first cooling unit 41. The heat source 43a is, for example, a heat pump or a solar light receiving device. The heating unit 43 of this embodiment heats the heat medium to be supplied to the regenerator 20 by using solar heat generated by receiving solar light. The heat exchanger 43b is built in the gas-liquid contact material 21b of the gas-liquid contactor 21 for regeneration. The heat source 43a and the heat exchanger 43b are connected by a flow path through which the high-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 43a can flow.

[0028] The heat exchanger 51 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the processor 10 toward the regenerator 20 and the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the regenerator 20 toward the processor 10. The heat exchanger 52 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent and the heat medium. The heat exchanger 52 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 52 and the high-temperature heat medium generated by the heating section 43 before being supplied to the heat exchange section 43b. The heat exchanger 53 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent before being supplied to the injection section 12c of the second gas-liquid contactor 12 and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 12a of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The heat exchanger 54 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 51 and the medium-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 41a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 41b. The heat exchanger 55 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent and the heat medium. The heat exchanger 55 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 53 and the low-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 42a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 42b.

[0029] The control unit 60 is a computer including a ROM, a RAM, and a CPU. The control unit 60 is electrically connected to the liquid pumps 31, 32, and 33, the first cooling unit 41, the second cooling unit 42, the heating unit 43, and a blower (not shown). The control unit 60 controls the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent by the first cooling unit 41, the second cooling unit 42, and the heating unit 43 according to a program input in advance, and controls the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent by the liquid pumps 31, 32, and 33. The control unit 60 also controls the blower to adjust the flow rate of the outside air g10 introduced into the processing machine 10 and the flow rate of the inside air g20 introduced into the regenerator 20.

[0030] Next, a detailed description will be given of the dehumidification method using the humidity control apparatus 1 of this embodiment. The dehumidification method using the humidity control apparatus 1 of this embodiment can be performed, for example, by a person (operator) in a room operating the humidity control apparatus 1 when lowering the humidity in the room.

[0031] When an operator inputs a dehumidification command to the control unit 60, the control unit 60 drives the liquid sending pumps 31, 32, and 33, the first cooling unit 41, the second cooling unit 42, the heating unit 43, and the blower. Driving the liquid sending pumps 31, 32, and 33 starts the liquid humidity control agent to flow in the flow path 30. As a result, the spraying units 11c, 12c, and 21c start spraying the liquid humidity control agent, and the gas-liquid contact materials 11b, 12b, and 21b become wet with the liquid humidity control agent.

[0032] The first cooling unit 41 generates a medium-temperature heat medium in the heat source 41a and supplies it to the first gas-liquid contactor 11. As a result, the gas-liquid contact material 11b has a temperature approximately equal to the temperature of the environment in which the humidity control device 1 is installed, that is, the same temperature as the outside air temperature, and therefore the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent wetting the gas-liquid contact material 11b also becomes the same temperature as the outside air temperature. For convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, the liquid humidity control agent wetting the gas-liquid contact material 11b is referred to as the "first liquid humidity control agent."

[0033] The second cooling section 42 generates a low-temperature heat medium in the heat source 42a and supplies it to the second gas-liquid contactor 12. As a result, the gas-liquid contact material 12b becomes at a temperature lower than the temperature of the environment in which the humidity control device 1 is installed, i.e., lower than the outside air temperature, and the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent wetting the gas-liquid contact material 12b also becomes lower than the outside air temperature. For ease of explanation, in this embodiment, the liquid humidity control agent wetting the gas-liquid contact material 12b is referred to as the "second liquid humidity control agent."

[0034] The heating unit 43 generates a high-temperature heat medium in the heat source 43a and supplies it to the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21. As a result, the gas-liquid contact material 21b has a higher temperature than both of the gas-liquid contact materials 11b and 12b, and therefore the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent that wets the gas-liquid contact material 21b also becomes higher than the outside air temperature.

[0035] In the processing machine 10, the outside air g10 is introduced by driving a blower (not shown). The introduced outside air g10 flows through the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 11b of the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 12b of the second gas-liquid contactor 12 in this order, and comes into contact with the liquid humidity control agent in each. Inside the gas-liquid contact material 11b, the outside air g10 comes into contact with the first liquid humidity control agent having the same temperature as the outside air, so that a part of the water vapor contained in the outside air g10 is absorbed by the first liquid humidity control agent, and becomes the outside air g11. Furthermore, inside the gas-liquid contact material 12b, the outside air g11 comes into contact with the second liquid humidity control agent, so that a part of the water vapor contained in the outside air g11 is absorbed by the second liquid humidity control agent. As a result, the outside air g12 becomes the outside air g12 that is further dehumidified than the outside air g11. The outside air g12 is supplied into the room as supply air. This makes it possible to reduce the humidity in the room.

[0036] The first liquid humidity control agent that has come into contact with the outside air g10 in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 has absorbed some of the water vapor contained in the outside air g10, and therefore the lithium chloride concentration has decreased. The first liquid humidity control agent that has come into contact with the outside air g10 is sent to the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 through the flow paths 30a, 30b, and 30c. The second liquid humidity control agent that has come into contact with the outside air g11 in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 has absorbed some of the water vapor contained in the outside air g11, and therefore the lithium chloride concentration has decreased. The second liquid humidity control agent that has come into contact with the outside air g11 is sent to the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 through the flow paths 30g, 30h, 30a, 30b, and 30c.

[0037] In the regenerator 20, the inside air g20 is introduced by driving a blower (not shown). The introduced inside air g20 flows inside the gas-liquid contact material 21b of the regenerator gas-liquid contactor 21 and comes into contact with the liquid humidity control agent sent from the processor 10. Inside the gas-liquid contact material 21b, which is relatively hot due to the high-temperature heat medium, the liquid humidity control agent comes into contact with the inside air g20, and some of the water contained in the liquid humidity control agent is released as water vapor to the inside air, so that the inside air g20 is humidified and becomes the inside air g21. Meanwhile, the liquid humidity control agent that has released some of its own water is concentrated and the lithium chloride concentration increases, so that the dehumidification ability of the liquid humidity control agent is restored and regenerated. The inside air g21 is exhausted to the outside of the room as exhaust air.

[0038] A part of the regenerated liquid humidity control agent passes through the flow paths 30d, 30e, and 30f, and is sprayed from the spray portion 11c of the first gas-liquid contactor 11. This allows the dehumidification of the outside air g10 in the gas-liquid contact material 11b to be continued. The rest of the regenerated liquid humidity control agent passes through the flow paths 30d, 30e, 30i, 30j, and 30k, and is sprayed from the spray portion 12c of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. This allows the dehumidification of the outside air g11 in the gas-liquid contact material 12b to be continued.

[0039] In the heat exchanger 51, heat exchange is performed between the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the processor 10 to the regenerator 20 and the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the regenerator 20 to the processor 10. The liquid humidity control agent flowing from the processor 10 to the regenerator 20 is at a relatively low temperature, and the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the regenerator 20 to the processor 10 is at a relatively high temperature. Due to the heat exchange in the heat exchanger 51, the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the processor 10 to the regenerator 20 increases, and the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent flowing from the regenerator 20 to the processor 10 decreases. This makes it possible to reduce the energy required to cool the liquid humidity control agent in the processor 10, and to reduce the energy required to heat the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator 20.

[0040] In the heat exchanger 53, heat exchange is performed between the liquid humidity control agent before being supplied to the injection section 12c of the second gas-liquid contactor 12 and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 12a of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The liquid humidity control agent before being supplied to the injection section 12c is at a relatively high temperature due to regeneration in the regenerator 20, and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 12a is at a relatively low temperature because it has been used to dehumidify the outside air g11. Due to the heat exchange in the heat exchanger 53, the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent before being supplied to the injection section 12c is lowered, and the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 12a is raised. This reduces the energy required for cooling the liquid humidity control agent in the processing device 10, and reduces the energy required for heating the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator 20.

[0041] Next, the details of dehumidification by the humidity control apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described. Here, the dehumidification by the humidity control apparatus 1 will be described using specific values ​​in an xy diagram showing gas-liquid equilibrium.

[0042] Fig. 2 is a first diagram for explaining an operation example of the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 2 shows the relationship between the temperature and absolute humidity of the lithium chloride aqueous solution in an xy diagram showing the gas-liquid equilibrium on the psychrometric chart of the lithium chloride aqueous solution. In Fig. 2, relative humidities of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 100% are shown by dashed lines L20, L30, L40, L50, L60, L70, and L80, and a solid line L100.

[0043] The operating conditions of the operation example of the humidity control device 1 shown in Fig. 2 are as follows: In Fig. 2, the gas-liquid equilibrium line of a liquid humidity control agent with a lithium chloride concentration of 35% is shown by a solid line C35 in the xy diagram. Outside air: Temperature 35°C, relative humidity 60% (point P10 shown in Figure 2) Supply air (dehumidified outside air): Temperature 25°C, relative humidity 30% (point P12 in Figure 2) Lithium chloride concentration of liquid humidity control agent: 35% Heat source temperature of the first cooling section: 35℃ (same as outside temperature) Heat source temperature of the second cooling section: 25℃ (room temperature)

[0044] The outside air is first dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor 11. In the first gas-liquid contactor 11, the temperature of the gas-liquid contact material 11b is the same as the outside air temperature, and the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent (first liquid humidity control agent) that wets the gas-liquid contact material 11b is also the same as the outside air temperature. As a result, when the first gas-liquid contactor 11 reaches a gas-liquid equilibrium state, the relative humidity of the outside air drops to about 30% (point P11 shown in FIG. 2, the air temperature remains at 35° C.). The absorption heat of the water vapor generated by the dehumidification in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is released to the outside air from the heat dissipation section 41c of the first cooling section 41. The dehumidification amount Dh1 by the dehumidification in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is 10.8 g / kg, and the absorption heat H1 of the water vapor is 27.8 kJ / kg.

[0045] The outside air dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is further dehumidified and cooled in the second gas-liquid contactor 12. In the second gas-liquid contactor 12, the temperature of the gas-liquid contact material 12b is lower than the outside air temperature, and the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent (second liquid humidity control agent) that wets the gas-liquid contact material 12b is also lower than the outside air temperature. As a result, when a gas-liquid equilibrium state is reached in the second gas-liquid contactor 12, the temperature of the outside air becomes 25°C and the relative humidity becomes 29%. The dehumidification amount Dh2 by the dehumidification in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 becomes 4.9 g / kg, and the heat source 42a of the second cooling section 42 releases a heat amount H2 of 22.8 kJ / kg.

[0046] FIG. 3 is a third diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the respective states (temperature, relative humidity, absolute humidity, enthalpy) of the outside air, the outside air after the "first stage dehumidification" in the first gas-liquid contactor 11, and the outside air after the "second stage dehumidification" in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 in the dehumidification by the humidity control device 1 described with reference to FIG. 2. The outside air introduced into the processing device 10 has water vapor with an absolute humidity of 21.4 g / kg, but the absolute humidity becomes 10.6 g / kg by the "first stage dehumidification", and the absolute humidity becomes 5.7 g / kg by the "second stage dehumidification". Therefore, it has become clear that approximately 69% of the amount of water vapor dehumidified by the humidity control device 1 is dehumidified by the "first stage dehumidification".

[0047] Next, the effects of the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. Here, as comparative humidity control devices, a comparative heat pump, a comparative humidity control device using a liquid humidity control agent, and the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment will be described focusing on the workload required for dehumidification.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the workload required for dehumidification in the heat pump of the comparative example. The heat pump of the comparative example dehumidifies outdoor air by utilizing cold energy generated by the heat of vaporization of the heat medium. In the heat pump of the comparative example, as in the operation example described in FIG. 2, when outdoor air (point P10 shown in FIG. 4) with a temperature of 35° C. and a relative humidity of 60% is supplied indoors as supply air (point P12 shown in FIG. 4) with a temperature of 25° C. and a relative humidity of 30%, the outdoor air needs to be cooled to 6.2° C., which is the dew point. For this reason, cold energy Hh1 of 69 kJ per kg of air is required, and hot energy Hh2 of 19 kJ per kg of air is required for reheating. Therefore, the workload required for dehumidification in the heat pump of the comparative example is 88 kJ per kg of air.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a humidity control device 9 of a comparative example. The humidity control device 9 of the comparative example includes a processor 91 that dehumidifies the outside air, a regenerator 92 that regenerates the liquid humidity control agent, a flow path 93 that connects the processor 91 and the regenerator 92, a cooling section 94a that cools the liquid humidity control agent, a heating section 94b that heats the liquid humidity control agent, a plurality of heat exchangers 95a, 95b, and 95c provided in the flow path 93, and a control section 96. As shown in FIG. 5, the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example is a so-called single-stage humidity control device in which the processor 91 and the regenerator 92 each have one gas-liquid contactor 91a and 92a. In the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example, the liquid humidity control agent dehumidifies the outside air g10 in the gas-liquid contactor 91a of the processor 91. After the liquid humidity control agent dehumidifies the outside air g10, it is sent to a regenerator 92 via a flow path 93, where it is heated in a gas-liquid contactor 92a and comes into contact with the inside air g20, thereby humidifying the inside air g20 and concentrating itself, thereby being regenerated.

[0050] In the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example, the cooling section 94a is a heat pump. That is, in the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example, the outside air g10 is dehumidified by a combination of a liquid humidity control agent and a heat pump.

[0051] Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the workload required for dehumidification in the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example. In the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example, when dehumidifying outdoor air, unlike the heat pump of the comparative example, there is no need to cool the outdoor air to the dew point of the supply air. Therefore, when outdoor air with a temperature of 35°C and a relative humidity of 60% (point P10 shown in Fig. 6) is supplied to a room as supply air with a temperature of 25°C and a relative humidity of 30% (point P12 shown in Fig. 6), a cold energy HL of 50.6 kJ per kg of air is required.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the workload required for dehumidification in the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment. In the humidity control device 1, when outdoor air (point P10 shown in FIG. 7) with a temperature of 35° C. and a relative humidity of 60% is supplied indoors as supply air (point P12 shown in FIG. 7) with a temperature of 25° C. and a relative humidity of 30%, the apparent amount of change in enthalpy is Ht50.6 kJ / kg, which is the sum of H1 (27.8 kJ / kg) and H2 (22.8 kJ / kg), as shown in FIG. 7. However, the part corresponding to H1 is a part dehumidified using the first liquid humidity control agent that has the same temperature as the outdoor air P10. The first liquid humidity control agent is supplied to the first gas-liquid contactor 11 at the same temperature as the outdoor air P10 in order to release the heat of absorption when absorbing the water vapor of the outdoor air P10 to the outdoor air by the heat dissipation section 41c. That is, in the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment, only the portion corresponding to symbol H2 (22.8 kJ / kg) becomes the workload of the heat pump which is the heat source 42a of the second cooling section 42. Therefore, the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment can reduce the workload of the heat pump by approximately 55% compared to the humidity control device 9 of the comparative example.

[0053] According to the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment described above, the treatment machine 10, which brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the outside air to dehumidify the outside air, includes the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the second gas-liquid contactor 12 arranged in series with respect to the flow of the outside air. Since the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent is higher than that of the second liquid humidity control agent, the air dehumidified by the first liquid humidity control agent in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 is further dehumidified by the second liquid humidity control agent in the second gas-liquid contactor 12. In this way, since the treatment machine 10 dehumidifies using liquid humidity control agents with different temperatures, the water vapor contained in the air is absorbed by the liquid humidity control agent in stages. This suppresses the temperature rise due to the heat of absorption of water vapor, and the load in dehumidification per gas-liquid contactor can be divided, so that the dehumidification temperature can be higher than that in dehumidification in a single stage. Therefore, the energy required for temperature control of the liquid humidity control agent can be reduced, and the energy required for dehumidification can be reduced.

[0054] Further, according to the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment, the first cooling section 41 has a heat dissipation section 41c that dissipates the heat of the heat medium supplied to the first gas-liquid contactor 11 to the air. In the first gas-liquid contactor 11, the air is dehumidified by the first liquid humidity control agent having the same temperature as the outside air temperature to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor 11. At this time, the absorption heat of the water vapor absorbed by the first liquid humidity control agent can be dissipated to the air from the heat dissipation section 41c via the heat medium. Thereby, the first cooling section 41 can continue to supply the first gas-liquid contactor 11 with the heat medium that makes the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent the same as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor 11. That is, in the first cooling section 41, since cooling of the first liquid humidity control agent by a heat pump or the like is not required, the energy for cooling can be reduced compared to the case of using a heat pump. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced.

[0055] Furthermore, according to the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment, in the heat exchanger 53, heat exchange is performed between the second liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the outside air in the second gas-liquid contactor 12 and the liquid humidity control agent used to humidify the air in the regenerator 20. This allows the heat of the liquid humidity control agent heated in the regenerator 20 to be used to preheat the relatively low-temperature second liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the air, thereby reducing the energy required to heat the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator 20. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced.

[0056] Furthermore, according to the humidity control device 1 of this embodiment, the heating section 43 supplies the heating medium heated by solar heat to the regenerator 20. Since the humidity control device 1 can set the regeneration temperature relatively low, the liquid humidity control agent can be regenerated in the regenerator 20 even with a relatively low-temperature heat medium heated by solar heat, which is a renewable energy. This eliminates the need for energy required for heating in the regenerator 20, making it possible to reduce the fossil energy required for dehumidification.

[0057] Furthermore, according to the humidity control device 1 of the present embodiment, heat exchange is performed between the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the processor 10 and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the regenerator 20, thereby making it possible to effectively utilize the heat contained in the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the regenerator 20. This makes it possible to further reduce the energy required for dehumidification.

[0058] <Second embodiment> Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a humidity control apparatus according to a second embodiment. A humidity control apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment differs from the humidity control apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment (Fig. 1) in that the regenerator has a plurality of gas-liquid contactors.

[0059] The humidity control device 2 of this embodiment comprises a processor 10, a regenerator 70 that regenerates the liquid humidity control agent, a flow path 35 connecting the processor 10 and the regenerator 70, a first cooling section 41 and a second cooling section 42 that cool the liquid humidity control agent in the processor 10, a heating section 43 and a preheating section 44 that heat the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator 70, a plurality of heat exchangers 51, 52, 54, 54, 55, 56 provided in the flow path 35, and a control section 60.

[0060] The regenerator 70 heats the liquid humidity control agent used to dehumidify the outside air in the processor 10 and brings it into contact with the inside air to humidify the inside air and concentrate the liquid humidity control agent. The regenerator 70 includes two gas-liquid contactors 21 and 22 for regeneration.

[0061] The regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22 has a hollow container 22a, a gas-liquid contact material 22b, and an injection unit 22c. The gas-liquid contact material 22b is a porous material with excellent hydrophilicity and water absorption, such as cellulose. The container 22a has an opening 22d through which the inside air g20 can flow into the container 22a and an opening through which the inside air g21 can flow out from the container 22a. In this embodiment, the opening 22d is installed, for example, indoors. The gas-liquid contact material 22b is arranged in the container 22a so that the inside air g20 passing through the opening 22d by driving a blower (not shown) passes through the inside. The injection unit 22c is formed so that a liquid humidity control agent can be injected into the gas-liquid contact material 22b. As a result, the inside air passing through the inside of the gas-liquid contact material 22b is humidified by contacting with the liquid humidity control agent injected by the injection unit 22c and held in the gas-liquid contact material 22b. The liquid humidity control agent sprayed by the spray portion 22c comes into contact with the inside air at the gas-liquid contact material 22b, releases its own moisture into the inside air, and then accumulates at the bottom of the container 22a.

[0062] In the regenerator 70 of this embodiment, the regenerative gas-liquid contactor 22 is disposed upstream of the flow of the inside air, and the regenerative gas-liquid contactor 21 is disposed downstream of the flow of the inside air. As a result, the inside air passes through the regenerative gas-liquid contactor 22 and then the regenerative gas-liquid contactor 21 before being discharged to the outside.

[0063] The flow path 35 is a flow path through which the liquid humidity control agent flows, and has a plurality of flow paths 35a, 35b, 35c, 35d, 35e, 35f, 35g, 35h, 35i, 35j, 35k, and 35l. The flow path 35a is connected to the bottom of the container 11a of the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the heat exchanger 81. The flow path 35a is provided with a liquid feed pump 31 that adjusts the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent. The flow path 35b is connected to the heat exchanger 81 and the heat exchanger 82. The flow path 35c is connected to the heat exchanger 82 and the injection part 12c of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The flow path 35d is connected to the bottom of the container 12a of the second gas-liquid contactor 12 and the heat exchanger 81. The flow path 35e is connected to the heat exchanger 81 and the heat exchanger 83.

[0064] The flow path 35f is connected to the heat exchanger 83 and the injection part 22c of the gas-liquid contactor 22 for regeneration. The flow path 35g is connected to the bottom of the container 22a of the gas-liquid contactor 22 for regeneration and the heat exchanger 84. The flow path 35g is provided with a liquid feed pump 34 for adjusting the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent. The flow path 35h is connected to the heat exchanger 84 and the heat exchanger 85. The flow path 35i is connected to the heat exchanger 85 and the injection part 21c of the gas-liquid contactor 21 for regeneration. The flow path 35j is connected to the bottom of the container 21a of the gas-liquid contactor 21 for regeneration and the heat exchanger 84. The flow path 35j is provided with a liquid feed pump 33 for adjusting the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent. The flow path 35k is connected to the heat exchanger 84 and the heat exchanger 86. The flow path 35l is connected to the heat exchanger 86 and the injection portion 11c of the first gas-liquid contactor 11.

[0065] The preheating section 44 adjusts the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22. The preheating section 44 includes a heat source 44a and a heat exchanger 44b. The heat source 44a generates a medium-temperature heat medium. Here, "medium temperature" means a temperature higher than the set temperature of the second cooling section 42 and lower than the set temperature of the heating section 43. In this embodiment, the heat source 44a generates a heat medium having the same temperature as the outside air. Here, "the same temperature" refers not only to a temperature exactly the same as the outside air temperature, but also to a temperature within a range of +5°C with respect to the outside air temperature, as in the first embodiment. The heat exchanger 44b is built into the gas-liquid contact material 22b of the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22. The heat source 44a and the heat exchanger 44b are connected by a flow path through which the heat medium supplied from the heat source 44a can flow.

[0066] In this embodiment, in the heating section 43 that adjusts the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21, the heat source 43a supplies a heat medium having a temperature higher than that of the outside air to the heat exchange section 43b. As a result, the regeneration of the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 is performed at a higher temperature than the regeneration by the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22.

[0067] The heat exchanger 81 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 11a of the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the liquid humidity control agent discharged from the bottom of the container 12a of the second gas-liquid contactor 12. The heat exchanger 82 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 81 and the low-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 42a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 42b. The heat exchanger 83 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 81 and the medium-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 44a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 44b. The heat exchanger 84 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 81 and the liquid humidity control agent that has been discharged from the bottom of the container 21a of the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 and the liquid humidity control agent that has been discharged from the bottom of the container 22a of the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22. The heat exchanger 85 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 84 and the high-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 43a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 43b. The heat exchanger 86 exchanges heat between the liquid humidity control agent that has passed through the heat exchanger 84 and the low-temperature heat medium generated by the heat source 41a before being supplied to the heat exchange section 41b.

[0068] The control unit 60 is electrically connected to the liquid pumps 31, 32, 33, 34, the first cooling unit 41, the second cooling unit 42, the heating unit 43, the preheating unit 44, and a blower (not shown). The control unit 60 controls the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent by the first cooling unit 41, the second cooling unit 42, the heating unit 43, and the preheating unit 44 according to a program input in advance, and controls the flow rate of the liquid humidity control agent by the liquid pumps 31, 32, 33, 34. The control unit 60 also controls the blower to adjust the flow rate of the outside air g10 introduced into the processing machine 10 and the flow rate of the inside air g20 introduced into the regenerator 70.

[0069] In the conditioning device 2 of the second embodiment, the regenerator 70 has a plurality of gas-liquid contactors 21, 22. Of the plurality of gas-liquid contactors 21, 22, the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22 regenerates the liquid humidity control agent by using a heat medium of about medium temperature generated by using outside air.

[0070] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the humidity control apparatus 2 of the second embodiment. Fig. 9 shows the process of regenerating the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator 70 of the humidity control apparatus 2 on an xy diagram that represents the gas-liquid equilibrium on the psychrometric chart of the lithium chloride aqueous solution.

[0071] In the regeneration of the liquid humidity control agent by the regenerator 70, first, the inside air is introduced into the gas-liquid contactor 22 for regeneration. In the gas-liquid contactor 22 for regeneration, the low-temperature liquid humidity control agent sent from the processor 10 comes into contact with the inside air (point P13 shown in FIG. 9, temperature 25° C., relative humidity 50%) in the heat exchanger 44b, which is at approximately the same temperature as the outside air temperature due to the heat medium supplied by the heat source 44a of the preheating section 44. As a result, a part of the moisture contained in the liquid humidity control agent is released into the inside air, and the temperature of the inside air becomes 35° C. and the relative humidity becomes 30% (point P14 shown in FIG. 9, temperature 35° C., relative humidity 30%). The liquid humidity control agent that has released a part of its moisture into the inside air in the gas-liquid contactor 22 for regeneration is sent to the gas-liquid contactor 21 for regeneration. In the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21, the liquid humidity control agent sent from the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22 comes into contact with the inside air that has passed through the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22 in the heat exchange section 43b, which is at a temperature higher than the outside air temperature due to the heat medium supplied by the heat source 43a of the heating section 43. As a result, a part of the moisture contained in the liquid humidity control agent is released into the inside air, and the liquid humidity control agent becomes usable for dehumidification in the processing device 10. The inside air from which the liquid humidity control agent has been regenerated in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 (point P15 shown in FIG. 9, temperature 50° C., relative humidity 32%) is released to the outside of the humidity control device 2.

[0072] To regenerate the liquid humidity control agent in the humidity control device 2, the heat source 44a of the preheating unit 44 requires a heat quantity Rg1 of 12.2 kJ / kg, and the heat source 43a of the heating unit 43 requires a heat quantity Rg2 of 53.2 kJ / kg. Because the preheating unit 44 uses the temperature of the outside air, regeneration of the liquid humidity control agent in the entire humidity control device 2 can reduce energy consumption by about 18.7% compared to regeneration using only a heat pump.

[0073] According to the humidity control device 2 of the present embodiment described above, the treatment device 10 that brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the outside air to dehumidify the outside air includes the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the second gas-liquid contactor 12 that are arranged in series with the flow of the outside air. This suppresses the temperature rise caused by the heat of absorption of water vapor, and the dehumidification load per gas-liquid contactor can be divided, so that the energy required for temperature control of the liquid humidity control agent can be reduced. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be reduced.

[0074] Furthermore, according to the humidity control device 2 of this embodiment, regeneration of the liquid humidity control agent by the regenerator 70 is performed in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 22 using outside air as a heat source before regeneration in the regenerating gas-liquid contactor 21 using a heat pump as a heat source. This makes it possible to reduce the energy required for regenerating the liquid humidity control agent.

[0075] <Modifications of this embodiment> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the following modifications are also possible.

[0076] [Variation 1] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the humidity control device includes a processor that dehumidifies the outside air, a regenerator that regenerates the liquid humidity control agent, a flow path connecting the processor and the regenerator, a cooling unit that cools the liquid humidity control agent of the processor, a heating unit that heats the liquid humidity control agent of the regenerator, a plurality of heat exchangers provided in the flow path, and a control unit. However, the configuration of the humidity control device is not limited to this. The cooling unit and the heat exchanger may be omitted. Also, even if there is no cooling unit and no heating unit, it is sufficient that the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent of the regenerator can be made higher than that of the liquid humidity control agent of the processor.

[0077] [Variation 2] In the above-described embodiment, the processor is provided with two gas-liquid contactors. The number of gas-liquid contactors provided in the processor is not limited to this. The processor may be provided with two or more gas-liquid contactors, and may be provided with three or more gas-liquid contactors. The regenerator may also be provided with two or more gas-liquid contactors. The number of gas-liquid contactors provided in the processor may be different from the number of gas-liquid contactors provided in the regenerator.

[0078] [Variation 3] In the above embodiment, the heat source 41a generates a heat medium that makes the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent that contacts the air in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 the same as the temperature in the environment in which the humidity control device 1 is installed, that is, the outside air temperature (the temperature of the outside air). However, the heat medium generated by the heat source 41a is not limited to making the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent the same as the outside air temperature. The temperature of the heat medium generated by the heat source 41a may be a temperature within a predetermined range including the outside air temperature, for example, a temperature range of ±5°C including the outside air temperature. By setting the "predetermined range" to ±5°C, the heat source for the treatment in the first gas-liquid contactor 11 can be the outside air, so that the energy required for cooling the air can be reduced in the treatment machine 10 in which the cooling of the air to be dehumidified is divided between the first gas-liquid contactor 11 and the second gas-liquid contactor 12. Therefore, the energy required for dehumidification can be further reduced. Note that the "same temperature" is not limited to the range of +5°C, and the "predetermined range" is not limited to the range of ±5°C.

[0079] [Variation 4] In the above-described embodiment, the humidity control device includes a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the two liquid humidity control agents or between the liquid humidity control agent and the heat medium. Although a heat exchanger is not necessary, the energy consumption of the humidity control device as a whole can be reduced by exchanging heat between the relatively low-temperature liquid humidity control agent flowing through the treatment device 10 and the relatively high-temperature liquid humidity control agent flowing through the regenerators 20 and 70.

[0080] [Variation 5] In the above embodiment, in order to increase the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent in the regenerator, the liquid humidity control agent is heated using a heating medium generated by a hot heat source and a heat exchanger. However, the method of increasing the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent is not limited to this. For example, the liquid humidity control agent may be irradiated with sunlight and directly heated by solar heat, or the liquid humidity control agent may be directly heated by a heater or the like without using a heating medium. Also, only a heat exchanger may be provided as a supply source of the heating medium. Furthermore, when two gas-liquid contactors are provided as in the above embodiment, two gas-liquid contactors may be arranged in parallel with respect to the flow of the hot heat medium. Similarly, in the treatment machine, in order to lower the temperature of the liquid humidity control agent, the liquid humidity control agent may be directly cooled by a cooling tower or the like without using a cold heat medium, or only a heat exchanger may be provided as a supply source of the cold heat medium, or when two gas-liquid contactors are provided as in the above embodiment, two gas-liquid contactors may be arranged in parallel with respect to the flow of the cold heat medium.

[0081] [Variation 6] In the above-described embodiment, the humidity control device regenerates the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification by using indoor air, which is the air inside the room. The air for regenerating the liquid humidity control agent is not limited to indoor air, and regeneration may be performed by using outdoor air.

[0082] [Variation 7] In the above embodiment, the liquid humidity control agent is an aqueous solution containing lithium chloride (LiCl) as a solute. However, the type of liquid humidity control agent is not limited to this. Any liquid that generally has a moisture absorbing effect, such as an ionic liquid, may be used.

[0083] [Variation 8] In the above embodiment, the treatment device dehumidifies the outside air by bringing the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the outside air. The treatment device may be a dehumidifier for circulating indoor air that dehumidifies the indoor air by bringing the liquid humidity control agent into contact with the indoor air.

[0084] Although the present aspect has been described above based on the embodiment and modified examples, the above-mentioned embodiment of the aspect is intended to facilitate understanding of the present aspect and does not limit the present aspect. The present aspect may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents are included in the present aspect. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it may be deleted as appropriate.

[0085] <Application example 1> A humidity control device, comprising: A liquid humidity control agent that absorbs water vapor in the air; a treatment machine that brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with air to dehumidify the air; a regenerator that brings the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification in the processor into a state where the liquid humidity control agent is at a higher temperature than when the liquid humidity control agent is used for dehumidification in the processor, and brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with air, thereby humidifying the air and concentrating the liquid humidity control agent; The processor comprises: a first gas-liquid contactor that brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with air; and a second gas-liquid contactor that brings the air dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor into contact with a second liquid humidity control agent having a lower temperature than the first liquid humidity control agent. Humidity control device. <Application example 2> The humidity control device according to Application Example 1 further comprises: A heat medium supply unit supplies a heat medium to the first gas-liquid contactor so that the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent falls within a predetermined range including the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Humidity control device. <Application example 3> The humidity control device according to Application Example 2, The heat medium supply unit includes: A heat dissipation section is provided for dissipating heat of the heat medium into air, A heat medium is supplied to the first gas-liquid contactor to make the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent the same as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Humidity control device. <Application Example 4> The humidity control device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 3 further comprises: The second liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidifying the air in the second gas-liquid contactor is provided with a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the second liquid humidity control agent used for humidifying the air in the regenerator. Humidity control device. <Application example 5> The humidity control device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, further comprising: a heating unit for heating the liquid humidity control agent used in the treatment machine to dehumidify the air, The heating unit supplies a heat medium heated by solar heat to the regenerator. Humidity control device. <Application Example 6> The humidity control device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 5, further comprising: A heat exchanger is provided for exchanging heat between the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidifying the air in the treatment device and the liquid humidity control agent used for humidifying the air in the regenerator. Humidity control device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1... Humidity control device 10...Processing machine 11...First gas-liquid contactor 12...Second gas-liquid contactor 20,70…Regenerator 41a…Heat source 41c...Heat radiation part 43...Heating part 51,52,53,54,55,81,82,83,84,85,86...Heat exchanger

Claims

1. A humidity control device, comprising: A liquid humidity control agent that absorbs water vapor in the air; a treatment machine that brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with air to dehumidify the air; a regenerator that brings the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidification in the processor into a state where the liquid humidity control agent is at a higher temperature than when the liquid humidity control agent is used for dehumidification in the processor, and brings the liquid humidity control agent into contact with air, thereby humidifying the air and concentrating the liquid humidity control agent; The processor comprises: a first gas-liquid contactor that brings the first liquid humidity control agent into contact with air; and a second gas-liquid contactor that brings the air dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor into contact with a second liquid humidity control agent having a lower temperature than the first liquid humidity control agent. Humidity control device.

2. The humidity control device according to claim 1 further comprises: A heat medium supply unit supplies a heat medium to the first gas-liquid contactor so as to adjust the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent to a predetermined range including the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Humidity control device.

3. The humidity control device according to claim 2, The heat medium supply unit includes: A heat dissipation section is provided for dissipating heat of the heat medium into air, A heat medium is supplied to the first gas-liquid contactor to make the temperature of the first liquid humidity control agent the same as the temperature of the air to be dehumidified in the first gas-liquid contactor. Humidity control device.

4. The humidity control device according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises: a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the second liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidifying the air in the second gas-liquid contactor and the liquid humidity control agent used for humidifying the air in the regenerator; Humidity control device.

5. The humidity control device according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises: a heating unit for heating the liquid humidity control agent used in the treatment machine to dehumidify the air, The heating unit supplies a heat medium heated by solar heat to the regenerator. Humidity control device.

6. The humidity control device according to claim 1 or 2 further comprises: A heat exchanger is provided for exchanging heat between the liquid humidity control agent used for dehumidifying the air in the treatment device and the liquid humidity control agent used for humidifying the air in the regenerator. Humidity control device.

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