In hot and humid climates, air conditioning is an energy-intensive process due to the latent heat load. A unitary air conditioner system is proposed, here, to reduce the latent heat of the humid air using a liquid desiccant followed by an evaporative cooling system. The heat liberated by the desiccant is removed by a solution to the solution heat exchanger. To restore the concentration of the liquid desiccant, the desiccant solution is regenerated by any low-temperature heat source such as solar energy. In order to make the system compact, the membrane heat exchanger is used for the dehumidifier and regenerator. This paper presents the numerical investigation of heat and mass transfer characteristics of a selected membrane dehumidifier under different climatic parameters. Membrane-based parallel-plate and hollow-fiber exchangers are used for this application. A parallel-plate heat-and-mass exchanger (contactor) is composed of a series of plate-type membrane sheets to form channels. On the other hand, hollow-fiber membranes are packed in a shell to form a shell-and-tube heat-and-mass exchanger. The two streams of both contactors are in a counter parallel flow, separated by micro-porous semi-permeable hydrophobic membranes. In this research, the equations governing the transport of heat and mass between the two streams along with the membrane effect in both contactors are solved numerically. The results are compared at different number-of-transfer units (NTU) on the airside and thermal capacity ratios. It is found that the hollow fiber is more efficient than the parallel plate.
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December 2019
Research-Article
Solar-Assisted Liquid Desiccant Dehumidification Using Hollow-Fiber and Parallel-Plate Membrane Dehumidifiers: Comparative Analysis
Haitham M. Bahaidaraha,
Haitham M. Bahaidaraha
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: haithamb@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: haithamb@kfupm.edu.sa
Search for other works by this author on:
Mohand H. Mohamed,
Mohand H. Mohamed
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: g201406880@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: g201406880@kfupm.edu.sa
Search for other works by this author on:
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
1
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
;K.A. CARE,
Energy Research and Innovation Center,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Energy Research and Innovation Center,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
;Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Haitham M. Bahaidaraha
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: haithamb@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: haithamb@kfupm.edu.sa
Mohand H. Mohamed
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: g201406880@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: g201406880@kfupm.edu.sa
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
;K.A. CARE,
Energy Research and Innovation Center,
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Energy Research and Innovation Center,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
;Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
,P. O. Box 279,
Dhahran 31261,
Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Advanced Energy Systems Division of ASME for publication in the Journal of Energy Resources Technology. Manuscript received April 6, 2019; final manuscript received June 3, 2019; published online June 28, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Hameed Metghalchi.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Dec 2019, 141(12): 121201 (12 pages)
Published Online: June 28, 2019
Article history
Received:
April 6, 2019
Revision Received:
June 3, 2019
Accepted:
June 3, 2019
Citation
Bahaidaraha, H. M., Mohamed, M. H., and Mokheimer, E. M. A. (June 28, 2019). "Solar-Assisted Liquid Desiccant Dehumidification Using Hollow-Fiber and Parallel-Plate Membrane Dehumidifiers: Comparative Analysis." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. December 2019; 141(12): 121201. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4044020
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