Air-Conditioning with Lithium Chloride

A system of air-conditioning is described that employs lithium chloride for independently controlling both the relative humidity and the dry-bulb temperature of air. It is used both for comfort air-conditioning and for treating air for industrial processing work. — Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic of inorganic compounds, and the aqueous solution has the property of absorbing moisture from, or adding moisture to, the air, depending upon the vapor pressure difference between the air and the solution. From this it is seen that, by properly controlling the concentration and temperature, the lithium chloride solution is capable of either dehumidifying or humidifying the air, depending upon the requirements. The air is cooled or warmed when passed over an aqueous solution of lithium chloride, depending upon whether the solution is cooler or warmer than the air. Further cooling or warming of the air when desired is attained by using an after-cooling or after-heating coil. — The cycle of air-conditioning is explained and illustrations of an air-conditioning unit are shown. The application of the system to a typical problem of interest to motion picture engineers is discussed and illustrated by means of a schematic flow diagram. Operating data for full-load and for less than full-load conditions show low cost of operation and efficiencies equally as high when operating either at maximum load or at less than maximum load. Washing, deodorizing, and neutralizing bacteria from the air by contact with lithium chloride are important factors where pure clean air is desired.

Print ISSN

0097-5834

Published

1938-04

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J16600