A novel membrane liquid desiccant system for air humidity control

Abstract

Humidity control using efficient dehumidification technologies is considered a promising way to achieve energy savings in air-conditioning systems in buildings. The present study examines the performance of a novel liquid desiccant air system that employs a cross-flow hollow fiber membrane module. Moreover, a bubble regenerator is introduced to regenerate the diluted desiccant solution. The proposed dehumidifier driven by a heat pump is investigated in a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) under the climatic conditions of the subtropical zones, especially in a Mediterranean climate. The variations in the dehumidification effectiveness and moisture removal rates are numerically tested under various conditions. The developed mathematical models are validated by the conducted experiments and show that they can predict the system accurately. The results demonstrate that the novel system achieves a higher moisture removal rate in comparison to the conventional system, with an improvement of 28–134%. The obtained results prove the proposed system's ability for proper outdoor air treatment and may be helpful in assessing its optimal operating and control strategy.