Rotor for an air conditioning system with a plurality of sorbent sections

Abstract

An air conditioning system includes a rotor that may include a hydrophilic section and a hydrophobic section, and process air of a process air stream may flow though the hydrophilic process segment in series with the hydrophobic process segment. The rotor may include an inner core and an outer annulus. The outer annulus is arranged radially outward of the inner core and may be rotatable independently from the inner core. The hydrophilic section may be one of the inner core and the outer annulus, and the hydrophobic section may be the other one of the inner core and the outer annulus.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioning system for conditioning process air of a process air stream, the air conditioning system comprising:
 a rotor including:
 a hydrophilic section including a hydrophilic sorbent, the hydrophilic section having a hydrophilic process segment through which the process air stream is directed; and 
 a hydrophobic section including a hydrophobic sorbent, the hydrophobic section having a hydrophobic process segment through which the process air stream is directed, 
   wherein the process air of the process air stream flows though the hydrophilic process segment in series with the hydrophobic process segment, the process air flowing through the hydrophilic process segment before the hydrophobic process segment.   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the rotor includes an axis, with the axis defining an axial direction,
 wherein the process air stream is directed through the hydrophilic process segment in a hydrophilic process flow direction that is parallel to the axial direction, and   wherein the process air stream is directed through the hydrophobic process segment in a hydrophobic process flow direction, the hydrophobic process flow direction being parallel to the axial direction and opposite to the hydrophilic process flow direction.   
     
     
         3 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the hydrophilic section or the hydrophobic section is positioned radially outward of the other one of the hydrophilic section or the hydrophobic section. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the hydrophilic section or the hydrophobic section circumscribes the other one of the hydrophilic section or the hydrophobic section. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the rotor includes an inner core containing a sorbent and an outer annulus containing a sorbent, the outer annulus being arranged radially outward of the inner core, the hydrophilic section being one of the inner core or the outer annulus and the hydrophobic section being the other one of the inner core or the outer annulus. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioning system of  claim 5 , wherein the hydrophilic section is the inner core and the hydrophobic section is the outer annulus. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the rotor includes a regeneration segment through which regeneration air in a regeneration air stream is directed, and
 wherein the hydrophilic section is rotatable to move the hydrophilic sorbent between the hydrophilic process segment and the regeneration segment and the hydrophobic section is rotatable to move the hydrophobic sorbent between the hydrophobic process segment and the regeneration segment.   
     
     
         8 . The air conditioning system of  claim 7 , wherein the hydrophilic section and the hydrophobic section rotate in concert. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioning system of  claim 7 , wherein the hydrophilic section and the hydrophobic section are independently rotatable. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioning system of  claim 7 , wherein the hydrophilic section and the hydrophobic section are independently rotatable to rotate at different speeds. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioning system of  claim 7 , further comprising a heater positioned upstream of the regeneration segment of the rotor to heat the regeneration air stream. 
     
     
         12 . An air conditioning system comprising:
 a rotor including:
 an inner core having an inner core process segment through which process air from a first process air stream is directed and an inner core regeneration segment through which regeneration air from a first regeneration air stream is directed, the inner core containing a sorbent that is rotatable between the inner core process segment and the inner core regeneration segment; and 
 an outer annulus having an outer annulus process segment through which process air from a second process air stream is directed and an outer annulus regeneration segment through which regeneration air from a second regeneration air stream is directed, the outer annulus containing a sorbent that is rotatable between the outer annulus process segment and the outer annulus regeneration segment, the outer annulus being arranged radially outward of the inner core and being rotatable independently from inner core. 
   
     
     
         13 . The air conditioning system of  claim 12 , wherein the inner core and the outer annulus are independently rotatable to rotate at different speeds. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioning system of  claim 12 , further comprising ductwork including a partition separating the inner core process segment from the outer annulus process segment. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioning system of  claim 14 , wherein the partition includes a seal formed between the partition and a face of the rotor. 
     
     
         16 . The air conditioning system of  claim 12 , wherein the inner core regeneration segment and the outer annulus regeneration segment collectively form a rotor regeneration segment through which regeneration air from a rotor regeneration air stream is directed, and
 wherein the first regeneration air stream is a portion of the rotor regeneration air stream and the second regeneration air stream is another portion of the rotor regeneration air stream.   
     
     
         17 . The air conditioning system of  claim 16 , further comprising a heater positioned upstream of the rotor regeneration segment of the rotor to heat the rotor regeneration air stream. 
     
     
         18 . The air conditioning system of  claim 12 , wherein the first process air stream is the same air stream as the second process air stream and the process air is arranged to flow through the inner core and the outer annulus in series. 
     
     
         19 . The air conditioning system of  claim 18 , wherein the sorbent of the inner core is a different sorbent than the sorbent of the outer annulus. 
     
     
         20 . The air conditioning system of  claim 19 , wherein the sorbent of one of the inner core or the outer annulus is a hydrophilic sorbent, and the sorbent of the other one of the inner core or the outer annulus is a hydrophobic sorbent.