Analytical model for assessing mass transfer of VOC in liquid desiccant dehumidifier: A broad-range response to Henry's law constant

Abstract

Removing indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is crucial for human health. Liquid dehumidification is considered as a promising way for VOC removal. The methods for predicting its performance are limited to numerical simulations or experiments, which are time-consuming, expensive, effort-intensive, and unintuitive. Although analytical method is advantageous for resolving these problems, existing analytical models focus primarily on single-VOC benzene, neglecting the effect of Henry's law constant (HLC) and leading to inaccurate predictions for other VOCs. In this study, considering the effect of HLC, a new analytical model with a broad-range response to HLC is proposed. Moreover, a correction method is proposed to enhance the application range and precision of analytical model. Thus, the definition domain of the proposed model is segmented into various zones, considering accuracy and key parameters. The validity of the proposed model is demonstrated under two conditions: HLCs are on the orders of 10–4 and 10–5. Results show that the proposed analytical solutions show good agreement with published data with a deviation within ±20%. Thus, the proposed model exhibits a broad-range response to HLC, resolving the limitation of existing analytical solution. This study provides an analytical method for assessing VOC removal using liquid dehumidifier.