Improving Liquid Desiccant Dehumidifiers through Square Baffle Plate Design and Nanofluid Innovation

Abstract

Enhancing the performance of the liquid desiccant dehumidifier (LDDs) is pivotal, with mass transfer playing a significant role. Compared to the previous method, using a baffles plate improved liquid desiccant dehumidification performance. The study utilized an aqueous solution containing nanocarbon tubes (NCTs) in LiCl/H2O as the desiccant, cascading over baffles plate with a square profile. The performance of this system was determined using numerical methods. The concentrations of NCTs ranged from 0.03% to 0.5% by weight. Furthermore, this paper investigates the impact of nanoparticles and parameters, including flow rates, solution concentration, humidity, solution temperature, etc. on the analysis through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. The study shows a 29% increase in moisture removal and humidity change, along with a 15.57% improvement in film thickness. These findings are underpinned by the principle of a reduced in contact angle from 57° to 29°, resulting in reduced partial pressure of water vapor from the solution, thereby enhancing the mass transfer mechanism. Consequently, the utilization of baffles plate demonstrates a significant improvement in the moisture removal performance of the LDDs.