Proyecto Final

Investigacin de artculo cientfico;

Heat and Mass Transfer Model for Desiccant Solution Regeneration Process in Liquid Desiccant
Dehumidification System

Fenmenos de Transferencia de Calor y

Masa

Adalberto Corts Ruiz

Instructor: Dr. Miguel ngel Morales Cabrera

Introduccin
Planteamiento del problema
En este artculo de investigacin, se desarrolla un modelo para describir el proceso de transferencia
de calor y masa de un regenerador de desecante lquido en columna empacada para la
deshumidificacin del aire.
Al relacionar las propiedades termodinmicas de los fluidos y las especificaciones geomtricas como
constantes, se desarrollan dos ecuaciones relacionadas con siete parmetros identificados para
predecir la velocidad de transferencia de calor y masa para los procesos de regeneracin de la
solucin en el regenerador. La informacin de puesta en marcha y el mtodo de LevenbergMarquardt se emplean para determinar los parmetros desconocidos. En comparacin con los
modelos anteriores (reportados en literatura), el modelo presentado es simple y preciso y no
requiere clculos iterativos mientras se aplica en la prediccin de la tasa de transferencia de calor y
masa una vez que se determinan los parmetros del modelo propuesto. Los resultados
experimentales demuestran que el modelo actual es eficaz para predecir el rendimiento de la
regeneracin del desecante en el regenerador en condiciones de trabajo amplias. El modelo
propuesto promete tener amplia aplicacin para monitoreo, optimizacin y control de desempeo
en tiempo real para la regeneracin de desecantes lquidos

Consideraciones en los modelos

Durante el desarrollo de modelos de fenmenos de transporte de masa y calor aplicados a este
proceso, es comn despreciar los mecanismos de transporte molecular, debido a que, al ser
comparados con los mecanismos de transporte por conveccin forzada, estos son muy pequeos.

Conceptos bsicos
La deshumidificacin consiste en retirar el vapor de agua o humedad, contenida en el aire.
Los desecantes son sustancias que atrapan las molculas de agua en el ambiente por medio de
procesos de adsorcin o absorcin, son conocidas como sustancias higroscpicas, (Murphy &
Bradley, 2005). De esa manera, Los sistemas por desecacin, se llevan a cabo poniendo en contacto
la corriente de aire hmedo con un desecante, que provoca la migracin de la humedad, por
absorcin o adsorcin, hacia el desecante.

Metodologa
Proceso general de la deshumidificacin con desecante lquido
En el proceso de deshumidificacin con desecante lquido (Figura 1), el aire hmedo se circula a
travs de un deshumidificador a contracorriente, el cual, consiste en un contenedor con una serie
de paredes en zigzag o forma escalonada para la retencin del desecante lquido que cae por
aspersin, absorbiendo as, la humedad del aire entrante.
En los fondos del deshumidificador, 2, se tiene desecante lquido saturado de humedad. Los fondos
se bombean hasta un intercambiador de calor y despus se calientan con un sistema de circulacin
de agua caliente, 3. A partir de ah, el desecante lquido comienza a desprender humedad debido al
calor suministrado. Esta humedad es arrastrada por una corriente de aire, a esta parte del proceso
se le conoce como regeneracin, y consiste meramente en una columna empacada de la misma
forma que el deshumidificador, y se le conoce como regenerador.
Finalmente, los fondos del regenerador, 4, se recirculan hacia el intercambiador de calor en
contracorriente con la corriente de desecante lquido saturado, a fin de minimizar la cantidad de
energa y tiempo que requerir el enfriador para disminuir la temperatura del desecante lquido, 1,
de tal forma que sea posible la absorcin de la humedad en el aire.

Figura 1. Esquema del sistema de deshumidificacin del desecante lquido.

Transferencia de Calor y Masa en el Regenerador

Modelo de transferencia de Calor
El empacado en la columna se aplica a menudo en el regenerador para aumentar el rea de contacto
de la disolucin desecante con el aire, porque se formar una pelcula delgada sobre la superficie
del material de relleno cuando la disolucin desecante caiga a lo largo de los canales del empaque
(Figura 2). La disposicin escalonada del empaque puede aumentar el efecto convectivo entre el

aire caliente de regeneracin ascendente y la disolucin desecante descendente. Se produce una

transferencia de calor sensible entre los dos fluidos a travs de los canales del empacado. El calor
se transfiere desde la solucin desecante caliente en conveccin hasta la interfase, se realiza a
travs de la interfase y finalmente se transfiere al aire de regeneracin.
La velocidad de transferencia de calor se expresa con la ley de Newton del enfriamiento:

Q hov A(Ts ,in Ta,in )

(1)

Donde Q, A, Ts ,in , Ta ,in y hov son el flujo de calor, el rea de transferencia de calor, la temperatura
del desecante en la entrada, la temperatura del aire de regeneracin en la entrada y el coeficiente
global de transferencia de calor, respectivamente.
El coeficiente global de transferencia de calor es determinado a partir de la siguiente analoga de
resistencias:

hov
Donde

hs As m Am ha Aa

(2)

, m , hs , ha , As , Aa y Am son el espesor de la interfase, la conductividad trmica de la

interfase por conduccin, el coeficiente de transferencia de calor local por conveccin del aire de
regeneracin, el coeficiente de transferencia de calor local por conveccin de la disolucin
desecante, el rea de transferencia de calor del aire de regeneracin, el rea de transferencia de
calor del desecante y el rea de transferencia de calor de la interfase, respectivamente.
Si se supone las reas de transferencia de calor son la misma, y la resistencia de la conduccin es
muy pequea, de tal forma que se puede despreciar, el coeficiente global de transferencia de calor
es determinado por:

hov

1
1 hs 1 ha

(3)

El tipo de transferencia de calor entre la disolucin desecante y el aire de regeneracin puede

considerarse como una transferencia de calor por conveccin forzada. Para la transferencia de calor
por conveccin forzada, el coeficiente de transferencia de calor, h , depende del dimetro del paso,
D , la velocidad del fluido, v , y tambin influye a travs de la temperatura media de la pelcula por
la viscosidad del fluido, , calor especfico, c p (para la humedad del aire, se utiliza calor hmedo)
y la conductividad trmica , respectivamente. La siguiente ecuacin se ha desarrollado despus
del anlisis dimensional, (mtodo de Buckingham):

Nu C Re Pr

(4)

Donde Nu hD / , Re Dv / y Pr c p / son los nmeros adimensionales que se

presentan en la transferencia de calor y dinmica de fluidos, mientras que C y los exponentes
f son los parmetros constantes que se deben determinar.

Figura 2. Representacin esquemtica del regenerador para la disolucin desecante.

Expresando la Ec. (4) en trminos del dimetro de paso y del flujo msico y despejando h :

4m c p
h C
bm

D D
f

(5)

Siendo b C 4 c p

D D
f

Sustituyendo las Eq. (5) en (3)

hov

b R m
1
a as s
1 bs m s 1 ba ma 1 ba R
as
bs

(6)

Donde ms y ma son los flujos msicos del desecante lquido y el aire de regeneracin,
respectivamente. Ras ma / ms es la relacin del flujo de aire y la del desecante, bs y ba son dos
constantes que relacionan los coeficientes de la disolucin desecante y el aire de regeneracin.
Combinando (1) y (6), se obtiene una expresin que define el flujo de calor en la columna empacada
(regenerador) a partir de ste modelo hibrido:

Donde c1 ba A, c2 ba / bs , c3 .

c1 Ra ,s ms

c3

1 c2 Ra , s

c3

s ,in

Ta ,in

(7)

Modelo de transferencia de Masa

En el proceso de regeneracin, se tienen tres resistencias de transferencia de masa para el vapor de
agua que va en la disolucin desecante al aire de regeneracin: la resistencia en la propia solucin
desecante, la que es en la interfase de los dos fluidos y finalmente la resistencia del aire de
regeneracin.
La resistencia de la interfase entre los dos fluidos puede ser muy pequea y se puede despreciar
porque el flujo de la disolucin es veloz y se aplica generalmente en el regenerador y la transferencia
de masa entre el aire de regeneracin y las soluciones desecantes en la interfase son muy rpidas
comparadas con la transferencia de masa dentro de la disolucin desecante o del aire de
regeneracin. Adems, se puede suponer que existe un estado de equilibrio en la interfase en
trminos de transferencia de masa. Consecuentemente, la transferencia de masa con la fuerza
impulsora en trminos de la presin de vapor de agua en la fase vapor puede ser descrita para
desarrollar el modelo hbrido en naturaleza emprica:

N KG Ps*,in Pa ,in

(8)

Donde N , KG , Ps*,in y Pa ,in son el flux msico, el coeficiente global de transferencia de masa en el
regenerador, la presin en el equilibrio de la disolucin desecante y la presin del vapor de agua en
la entrada del aire de regeneracin, respectivamente.

K G puede expresarse con base la ley de Henry y la teora de la pelcula bajo la analoga de
resistencias,

KG

1
1/ ka 1/ Hks

(9)

Donde ka , ks y H son el coeficiente de transferencia de masa por conveccin en la fase vapor, son
el coeficiente de transferencia de masa por conveccin en la fase lquida y la constante de Henry,
respectivamente.
Las correlaciones para los coeficientes de transferencia de masa para las fases vapor y lquida en la
columna empacada del aire de regeneracin y la disolucin desecante estn dadas por (Onda,
Takeuchi, & Okumoto, 1968):
e1

4ma H a
ka a1

2
t a D Da
e2

4ms s
ks a2

2
w s D s Ds

f1

f2

D
t

D
t

g1

g2

t Da

(10)

RTa
s

s g

j2

(11)

w es el rea hmeda superficial especfica, t es el rea superficial especfica, y D p es el tamao

nominal del material del empaque, que se determina por la geometra del relleno y permanece
constante para un cierto tipos de materiales, Da , H , a y Ds , s , s son la difusividad, el

volumen de humedad o la densidad y la viscosidad del aire de regeneracin y la disolucin

desecante, respectivamente. Suponiendo que no hay variaciones bruscas en la temperatura, se
reducen a:

ka b3 ma 1
e

1
Ta ,in

(12)

ks b4 ms 2
e

(13)

Donde b3 y b4 agrupan todos los trminos constantes de las Ecs. (10) y (11), respectivamente.
Sustituyendo todas estas ecuaciones en la Ec. (8) y reduciendo trminos, se obtiene la expresin
final que determina el flux msico en la columna empacada.

c4 ms 6
c

1 c5Ta ,in ms

c6

ma

c7

*
s ,in

Pa ,in

(14)

La presin Pa ,in se determina a partir de la definicin de la humedad relativa:

Pa ,in a ,in Pa, sat

(15)

La presin Ps*,in se determina por aproximacin por medio de una expresin polinomial que est
en funcin de la temperatura de la fase lquida en la entrada.

Validacin experimental de los modelos

La validacin se hizo a escala piloto

N ma Ya ,out Ya ,in
Q ma H a ,out H a ,in w N

(16)
(17)

Donde Ya ,out , Ya ,in , H a ,out y H a ,in son la humedad absoluta y la entalpa del aire de regeneracin
en la salida y en la entrada, respectivamente. Estos parmetros se determinan experimentalmente
de manera indirecta, es decir, a travs de la temperatura, humedad relativa y flujos msicos.
Tomando como datos reales, se tiene una desviacin tipo error porcentual mximo aceptable del
10%, lo que quiere decir que el modelo del flujo de calor puede tener validez hasta 1.6 kW, mientras
que para el modelo para el flux msico es de 0.016 kg/(m 2s)

Figura 3.Prediccin del modelo para el flujo de calor y el flux msico.

Conclusiones
Artculo
Se present un modelo hbrido simple que es adecuado para el monitoreo del desempeo,
optimizacin y control de regeneradores desecantes lquidos operativos. El rendimiento de los
procesos de transferencia de calor y masa en el regenerador de desecante lquido puede ser
predicho por el modelo hbrido desarrollado con slo siete parmetros caractersticos.
A diferencia de otros modelos anteriores, slo participan en este modelo variables relacionadas con
la entrada con el regenerador, de manera que se puede evitar el clculo iterativo cuando se aplica
el modelo propuesto en la prediccin de rendimiento para el regenerador de desecante lquido.
Adems, los parmetros complejos como las propiedades termodinmicas de los fluidos, las
especificaciones geomtricas de empaque y los nmeros termodinmicos (Reynolds, Nusselt y
Prandtl) se consideran parmetros agrupados y pueden identificarse mediante datos operativos. De
acuerdo con los resultados de la validacin, el modelo de regenerador actual es lo suficientemente
preciso para la prediccin del desempeo y el monitoreo
En una amplia gama de funcionamiento: velocidad de transferencia de calor de 0,6 a 1,6 kW y flujo
de masa de 0,002 a 0,016 kg / m2s. El modelo actual, con slo siete parmetros implicados, es
simple, flexible, relativamente preciso y fcil para aplicaciones de ingeniera en comparacin con los
modelos anteriores del regenerador.

Personal
Los de sistemas de deshumidificacin tienen distinto tipo de aplicaciones, son sistemas simples y
efectivos para combatir los problemas de humedad ambiental, retardar la corrosin por humedad
y mantener intactas las caractersticas de equipos y productos almacenados. Por ejemplo, en ciertos
productos de la industria alimenticia, se deben mantener a cierto nivel de humedad relativa, por lo

que un ambiente seco previene que estos productos vayan incrementando su nivel de humedad
relativa, manteniendo as, el nivel estndar de humedad que debe contener.
Desde el punto de los fenmenos de transporte y del proceso, disponer de un modelo simple para
la estimacin del flux msico y el de calor es importante a la hora de llevar a cabo el control de un
proceso en el que su eficiencia depender principalmente de la transferencia de masa y de la
temperatura (calor).
En el artculo se abordan conceptos vistos en clase como:

Ley de Newton del enfriamiento

Analoga de resistencias
Difusin por conveccin (forzada)
Condiciones de frontera (equilibrio: Ley de Henry)
Conceptos de la teora de la pelcula

Adems de que se aplica el mtodo de Buckingham para la determinacin de parmetros constantes

que resultaran difcil de calcular por medio del uso de balances y leyes, ya que se podran involucrar
un mayor nmero de variables.

Referencias
Murphy, J., & Bradley, B. (2005). Advances in desiccant-based dehumidification. Trane Engineers
Newsletter, 34(4).
Onda, K., Takeuchi, H., & Okumoto, Y. (1968). Mass transfer coeffients between gas and liquid
phases in packed columns. J. Chem. Eng. Jpn, 56-62.

Artculo citado
Wang, X., Cai, W., Lu, J., & Ding, X. (2014). Heat and Mass Transfer Model for Desiccant Solution
Regeneration Process in Liquid Desiccant Dehumidification System. Industrial &
Engeneering Chemistry Research, 10.

Article
pubs.acs.org/IECR

Heat and Mass Transfer Model for Desiccant Solution Regeneration

Process in Liquid Desiccant Dehumidication System
Xinli Wang,, Wenjian Cai,*, Jiangang Lu, Youxian Sun, and Xudong Ding

State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Department of Control Science and Engineering Zhejiang University,
Hangzhou 310027, China

EXQUISITUS, Centre for E-City, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
639798
ABSTRACT: In this paper, a simple model, but with high accuracy for a packed column liquid desiccant regenerator, to describe
the heat and mass transfer process is developed. By lumping uids thermodynamic properties and the geometric specications as
constants, two equations related with seven identied parameters are developed to predict the heat and mass transfer rate for
solution regeneration processes in the regenerator. Commissioning information and the LevenbergMarquardt method are
employed to determine the unknown parameters. Compared with previous models, the presented model is simply constructed
and accurate and requires no iterative computations while applied in predicting the heat and mass transfer rate once the
parameters of the proposed model are determined. Experimental results demonstrate that the current model is eective to predict
the performance of desiccant regeneration in the regenerator over wide working conditions. The proposed model promises to
have wide application for real-time performance monitoring, optimization, and control for liquid desiccant regeneration.
Goswami14 carried out investigations on coupled heat- and
mass-transfer processes of a liquid desiccant dehumidier by
experimental investigation and proposed a nite dierence
model. Fumo and Goawami15 and Yin et al.16 made some
modications based on the model proposed by Oberg and
Goswami to discuss the performance of a random-packing
LDDS with lithium chloride as desiccant solution. The
analytical solution of the modied nite dierence model is
developed by employing some linear approximations, and
outlet conditions can be estimated more accurately through this
method.17 Babakhani and Soleymani18 presented a nite
dierence model to describe heat and mass transfer process
for the packed liquid desiccant regenerator and the analytical
solution of the model war also given. However, it is quite
complex to develop and solve the nite dierence models and
iterative calculation is essential since outlet states of uids are
general unknown, therefore the nite model is not suitable to
be utilized in real-time performance evaluation and optimization of the LDDS.19
For the NTU and empirical approaches, Chen et al.19
presented NTU models for both counter-ow and parallel-ow
congurations in a packed-type LDDS. The solution of the
proposed models has satisfactory accuracy when compared to
the data available from the literature. Liu et al.20 developed a
theoretical model using NTU as input parameter correlated
with the corresponding experimental data to simulate the heat
and mass transfer process in a cross-ow dehumidier and
regenerator. Further, the authors showed that the analytical
solutions which can be utilized in optimization design of the

1. INTRODUCTION
During the past several decades, the liquid desiccant
dehumidication system (LDDS) has achieved a steady rise
for air dehumidication in comfort conditioning of buildings.
Compared with the conventional cooling-based dehumidication method by cooling air below the dew point, the LDDS
shows excellent performance characteristics with the possibility
of energy conservation through turning the energy usage away
from electric power to low grade and renewable energyfor
instance solar energy, industrial waste heat, etc.;1with
exibility in operation of independent air humidity and
temperature control; and with the advantage of employing
the environment-friendly hygroscopic salt solutions as working
uids which do not deplete the ozone layer.2
The study on liquid desiccant air dehumidication can be
traced back to 1955 when the rst open-cycle air-conditioning
system operating with triethylene glycol as the liquid desiccant
was designed by Lof.3 Since then a large number of studies have
been made on system design,4,5 experimental investigation6,7
and performance evaluation.810 Among these, the development of the heat- and mass-transfer models in LDDS is
essential for all of these studies. So far, three kinds of models
have been developed, namely: nite dierence model,
eectiveness number of transfer units (NTU) model, and
empirical model.11 In the nite model, the packed column is
divided into small control volumes, and the energy and material
balances are solved in each control volume. Wide investigation
has been carried out on the nite dierence model to predict
the performance of LDDS due to the high accuracy.
Gandhidasan et al.12 and Factor and Grossman13 proposed
theoretical models for the LDDS to analyze the hea- and masstransfer processes in both dehumidier and regenerator under
various operating conditions, and good agreement was achieved
between the experiments and the theoretical model. Oberg and
2014 American Chemical Society

Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
2820

September 18, 2013

January 11, 2014
January 29, 2014
January 29, 2014
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie403102x | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2014, 53, 28202829

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

Article

Figure 1. Scheme of a packed liquid desiccant dehumidication system.

LDDS based on the available NTU model.21 Sensitivity analysis

of the heat- and mass-transfer process were carried out by Khan
and Ball22,23 conducted in a packed-type liquid desiccant
system to determine the dehumidier and regenerator
performance by using methods of an empirical nature. Though
the empirical models are easy to develop, some crucial
parameters related to the performance of the system should
be obtained in advance which is very dicult in practical
applications. Furthermore, accuracy will be reduced if it is
extended over a wider operating region.
The nite dierence models can give predictions with good
accuracy, but the solving process is time-consuming and
requires iterative computing. The NTU model and the
empirical model are simplied but with low accuracy when
they are expanded. These models are unsuitable for real-time
performance monitoring and optimization and control of a
liquid desiccant regenerator for which accurate operating data
and heat/mass transfer prediction in real-time are required.
In this report, a hybrid modeling approach based on an
empirical nature and system operating data to develop simple
models,2426 for real-time applications of performance
monitoring and optimization and control of the regenerator,
is presented. By lumping dimensionless and thermodynamic
parameters into seven characteristic parameters, the heat- and
mass-transfer process in the regenerator can be described by
two simple nonlinear equations. An experiment is carried out to
determine the related parameters by using the Levenberg
Marquardt method, and the identied model is then varied by
the operating data collected from the experiment in real-time.
Also, the comparison between the presented model and
previous studies are made.

Figure 2. Water vapor pressure changes of desiccant solution during

the cycle.

the LDDS. The cool, strong desiccant solution (state 1) is

distributed into the dehumidier on the top, and the process air
is blown into the dehumidier at the bottom, making contact
with the falling desiccant solution in a counterow conguration. Water vapor pressure in the process air is greater than
that in the cool, strong desiccant solution; hence, the water
vapor in the process air can be absorbed by the desiccant
solution. The dierence in the water vapor pressure between
the process air and the desiccant solution acts as the masstransfer driving force. This process is described by lines 12 in
Figure 2. The moisture that transfers from the process air leads
to a dilution of the desiccant, resulting in a reducing of the
ability to absorb water vapor. To reuse the desiccant solution, a
heater is employed to heat the diluted desiccant solution (2
3), and the heated solution will be pumped to be concentrated
by regenerating the air in the regenerator. Mass transfer in the
direction opposite to that which happens in the dehumidier
takes places in the regenerator since the hot, diluted desiccant
solution has greater water vapor pressure than that of the
regenerating air, and thus, the absorbed moisture during the
dehumidication process can be transferred from the desiccant

2. THE ANALYSIS OF OPERATING LDDS

The dehumidier and the regenerator are the two main
components in the liquid desiccant dehumidication system
(LDDS), as shown in Figure 1. The dehumidier dehumidies
the process air, and the regenerator regenerates the diluted
desiccant solution to an acceptable concentration from the
diluted solutions in the dehumidier. Figure 2 describes water
vapor pressure changes of the desiccant solution in operating
2821

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie403102x | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2014, 53, 28202829

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

Article

transfer coecient with the heat transfer area and the

temperature dierence. By employing the above form, we
develop the hybrid model as follows:

solution to the regenerating air, shown by 34. Although the

desiccant solution is regenerated, the surface vapor pressure is
still high due to the high temperature. Therefore, the desiccant
solution should be cooled down until state 1 where the
desiccant solution can be reached to complete the cycle.
In the LDDS, the regenerator consumes a large amount of
thermal energy. To regulate the fan and pump so that
maximum energy eciency can be obtained in the regenerator,
a simple yet ecient model is necessary for real-time
performance monitoring, optimization, and control. The
modeling of a regenerator can be developed by a hybrid
approach from physical principles of heat and mass transfer in
the regenerator which is illustrated in Figure 3 schematically. In
order to simplify the derivation process in the following
sections, some reasonable assumptions are made:

Q = hovA(Ts , in Ta , in)

(1)

where Q, A, Ts,in, Ta,in, and hov are the heat transfer rate, the heat
transfer area, the inlet desiccant solution temperature, the inlet
regenerating air temperature, and the overall heat transfer
coecient, respectively. The overall heat transfer coecient can
be expressed in terms of heat transfer resistance:
1
1

1
=
+
+
hovA
hsAs
mA m
haAa

(2)

where , m, hs, ha, As, Aa, and Am are the thickness of the
interface, the thermal conductivity of the interface, local heat
transfer coecient regenerating air convection, the local heat
transfer coecient of desiccant solution convection, heat
transfer area of desiccant solution convection, the heat transfer
area of regenerating air convection, and the heat transfer area of
the interface, respectively.
However, the heat resistance of interface conduction is small
enough to be neglected as the interface between the two uids
is very thin, and in the packed column, the heat transfer areas in
dierent uids and the interface are the same. Therefore, the
overall heat transfer coecient can be simplied as:
hov =

1
1/hs + 1/ha

(3)

It is the characters of the interface and the moving uid, the

geometry of the packed column, and the velocity of uid over
the interface as well as the temperature dierences that
determine the heat transfer rate between the interface and the
uid moving over it. In the regenerator, the pump and fan are
used to drive the desiccant solution and regenerating air,
respectively. The type of heat transfer between the desiccant
solution and the regenerating air can be considered as forced
convection heat transfer. For the forced convection heat
transfer, the heat transfer coecient, h, depends on the passage
diameter, D, the velocity of uid, v, and is also inuenced
through the mean lm temperature by the uids viscosity, ,
specic heat, cp (for air humidity, humid heat is used), and
thermal conductivity , respectively. The following equation has
been developed after dimensional analysis:27

Figure 3. Schematic of a packed regenerator for desiccant solution

regeneration.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Heat loss to the surroundings is negligible.

Desiccant vaporization is neglected in the regenerator.
There is steady state for the heat and mass transfer.
Mass variations of regenerating air and desiccant solution
are negligible in the regenerator.
5. The properties of the desiccant with respect to a small
range of temperature variations are constant.

Nu = C(Re)e (Pr ) f

(4)

where Nu = hD/, Re = Dv/ and Pr = cp/ are the wellknown dimensionless numbers in heat transfer and uid
dynamics, namely Nusselt number, Reynolds number, and
Prandtl number, while C and the exponents e and f are the
constant parameters that need to be determined, respectively.
It can be assumed that both the volume ow rate V and the
uid density remain constant for steady ow. Then the
product of V (the mass ow rate m ) is unchanged accordingly.
Moreover, and are approximately unchanged if the
temperature variation is not too big (less than 10% change
for desiccant solution and air according to previous
studies2729). Thus, eq 4 can be expressed as follows:

3. MODEL OF HEAT TRANSFER

Packing material is often applied in the regenerator to increase
the airdesiccant contact area because a thin lm will form on
the packing material surface when the desiccant solution falls
down along channels of the packing (shown in Figure 3). The
staggered arrangement of the packing can enhance the
convective eect between the rising regenerating hot air and
the falling desiccant solution. Sensible heat transfer occurs
between the two uids through the channels of packing
material. The heat is transferred from the hot desiccant solution
in convection to the interface, conducted through the interface,
and then nally transferred into the regenerating air. The heat
transfer rate is generally expressed by multiplying the heat

4m e cp f
= bm e
h = C

D D

(5)

where b = C(4/D)e(cp/)f /D.

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where a is the wetted specic surface area, t is the specic

surface area, and Dp is the packing material nominal size, which
is determined by the packing geometry and remains constant
for a certain type of packing material, Da, vH, a, and Ds,s,s are
the diusivity, humid volume or density, and viscosity of
regenerating air and desiccant solution, respectively. a, vH,
DassDs can be assumed not to change when the temperature
variations between regenerating air and desiccant solution are
small (less than 25 C for regenerating air and 10 C for
desiccant solution). The correlations mentioned above can
therefore be simplied below:

The overall heat transfer coecient of the packing column

can be written as:
e

hov =

b (R m )
1
= a bas s
1/bsm se + 1/bama e
1 + ba (Ras)e
s

(6)

where m s and m a are the ow rates of the desiccant solution and

regenerating air, respectively. Ra,s = m a/m s is the ratio of the
regenerating air ow rate to the desiccant solution ow rate, bs
and ba are the two constant coecients related to the desiccant
solution and the regenerating air. By combining eqs 1 with eq 6,
the heat transfer rate in the packing column regenerator for this
hybrid model in empirical nature is derived as:
Q=

c1(Ra , sms)c3
1 + c 2(Ra , s)c3

(Ts , in Ta , in)

ka = b3(ma )e1

ks = b4(m s)e2

KG =

KG =

1
Hb4(m s)e2

1 + Ta , inH b4 (ms)e2 (ma )e1

3

c4(m s)
1 + c5Ta , in(m s)c6 (ma )c7

(15)

where c4 = Hb4, c5 = Hb4/b3, c6 = e2,c7 = e1. Thus, the mass

transfer ux in the regenerator can be nally presented as:
N=

c4(m s)c6
(p* pa , in )
1 + c5Ta , in(m s)c6 (ma )c7 s , in

(16)

where the regenerating air water vapor pressure at the inlet of

the regenerator, pa,in, can be determined from the denition of
relative humidity:
pa , in = a , inpa , sat
(17)
where a,in is the relative humidity of inlet regenerating air, and
pa,sat is the saturated water vapor pressure, inuenced only by
the air temperature, and can be tted in terms of temperature
by the data available:31
pa , sat = 0Ta2, in + 1Ta , in + 2

(18)

For temperatures between 30 to 55 C, the constants are: 0 =

13.099, 1 = 688.46, 2 = 14009. For the temperature of
desiccant solution ranges from 50 to 60 C and the
concentration ranges from 27% to 35% in regenerator, the
thermodynamic properties of the lithium chloride solutions
have been discussed by Conde,32 and the surface of the water
vapor for the desiccant solution can be described by algebraic
tting:

where ka, ks, and H are the gas phase mass transfer coecient in
convection, the liquid phase mass transfer coecient in
convection, and Henrys law constant, respectively.
The correlations of the mass transfer coecients for both gas
and liquid phases in the packed column between regenerating
air and desiccant solution were respectively presented by
Onda29,30 as follows:

(11)

Hb4(m s)e2
(14)

(9)

4m e2 f2
j2
s
s
s
g2

ks = a 2
(
D
)
t p
2

D
sg
s
s s

Ta , in

c6

where N, KG, ps,in

* , and pa,in are the mass ux, overall mass
transfer coecient in the regenerator, the equilibrium water
vapor pressure of the desiccant solution, and the water vapor
pressure of the inlet of regenerating air, respectively, and KG
can be expressed as follows, based on Henrys law and the mass
transfer two-lm theory,28

(10)

1
b3(ma)e1

(8)

4m e1 v f1
D
H a
a
ka = a1
(t Dp)g1 t a
2
RTa
t a D Da

(13)

where b3 = a1(4/taD2)e1 (vH a/Da)f1 (tDp)g1 tDa/R, b4 =

a2(4/sD2)e2 (s/ sDs)f 2 (tDp)g2 (s/sg)j2.
Substituting eqs 11 and 12 into eq 8,

4. MODEL OF MASS TRANSFER

In the regenerating process, three mass transfer resistances have
to be overcome for water vapor on its way from the desiccant
solution to the regenerating air: the resistance in desiccant
solution itself, that at the interface of the two uids, and nally
the resistance of the regenerating air. The resistance of the
interface between the two uids can be very small and can be
neglected because the high solution ow rate is generally
applied in the regenerator and the mass transfer between the
regenerating air and the desiccant solutions at the interface is
very fast when compared to the mass transfer within either the
desiccant solution or the regenerating air. Moreover, an
assumption can be made that an equilibrium state exists at
the interface in terms of mass transfer. Consequently, mass
transfer with the driving force in terms of water vapor pressure
in the gas phase can be described to develop the hybrid model
in empirical nature:

1
KG =
1/ka + 1/Hks

(12)

and
(7)

where c1 = baA, c2 = ba/bs, c3 = e.

N = KG(ps*, in pa , in )

1
Ta , in

ps*, in = 0 + 1Ts , in + 2s + 3Ts2, in + 4 s2 + 5Ts , ins

(19)

where s is the desiccant solution concentration and the tted

parameters are: 0 = 2.6434273, 1 = 0.20955349, 2 =
5.2451548, 3 = 0.0054591075, 4 = 61.771904, 5 =
1.5411157.
Thus, eqs 7 and 16 together with only seven parameters (c1
c7) present the heat and mass transfer process in the
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installed in the outlet of the regenerator column (refer to 6 and

4 in Figure 4) to measure the outlet conditions of regenerating
air and the air ow rate. Solution temperature and ow rate are
respectively measured by a PT100 temperature sensor and a
magnetic ow meter located in the desiccant conduit (refer to 7
and 5 in Figure 4). The concentration of desiccant solution is
determined by the temperature and density,27 the density is
measured by a glass hydrometer. Table 1 lists the specications

regenerator. Compared with previous models, the proposed

model is characterized by fewer parameters than can be
identied through the LevenbergMarquardt method by realtime operating data (see Appendix A for details).

5. MODEL VALIDATION AND DISCUSSION

In order to validate the present regenerator model, the
experiment is conducted on a liquid desiccant dehumidication
system operating with aqueous lithium chloride as the desiccant
(illustrated in Figure 4). The regeneration capacity of the
experimental rig is as follows:

Table 1. Specication of the Sensors

sensors

type

humidity/temperature
transmitter
solution temperature
sensor
solution ow meter

accuracy

probe
PT100, 3-wire
magnetic ow
meter
blade
glass
hydrometer

airow meter
density meter

range

0.5%,
0.1 C
0.15 C

0100%, 060 C

0.5%

025L/min

0.5%
1 kg/m3

0600m3/h
11001300 kg/m3

0100 C

of the installed sensors. By using the sensors, the heat transfer

rate and mass ux in the regenerator can be calculated by the
real-time operating data based on the energy and mass balances,
N = ma (Ya , out Ya , in)

(20)

Q = ma (Ha , out Ha , in) wN

(21)

where Ya,out, Ya,in, Ha,out, and Ha,in are the absolute humidity and
enthalpy of regenerating air at the outlet and inlet sides,
respectively. The absolute humidity and enthalpy can be
determined by the temperature and relative humidity which are
measured and recorded by the data acquisition system. w is the
latent heat of water vaporization.
In order to show the eectiveness of the model, two error
indexes, relative error (RE) and root-mean-square of relative
error (RMSRE), are proposed:
RE =

|Dreal Dcalc |
100%
Dreal
M

Figure 4. Photo of regenerator: 1 - regenerator (packed column); 2 heater; 3 - pump; 4 - airow meter; 5 - solution ow meter; 6 humidity/temperature transmitter; 7 - solution temperature sensor.

RMSRE =

i = 1

Dreal Dcalc
Dreal

(22)
2

(23)

Experimental data with 100 sets from a wide operating range

of the regenerator is acquired to determine the model
parameters through the LevenbergMarquardt method.
Ambient air is utilized as the regenerating air, and its conditions
cannot be controlled; thus, only inlet desiccant solution
conditions and air ow rate are changed in the experiment.
After identication, the parameters are determined as c1 =
4.9895, c2 = 4.2247, c3 = 1.0113 in eq 7 and c4 = 0.0104, c5 =
0.4660, c6 = 0.5455 and c7 = 0.5313 in eq 16. To show the
eectiveness of the proposed model in system performance
prediction and monitoring, 270 points which can cover 10
90% of the designed capacity tested and the heat transfer rate
from 0.6 to 1.6 kW and mass ux from 0.002 to 0.016 kg/m2s,
respectively. Table 2 gives the description of the identication
and validation data in the experiment, while predicted values of
heat transfer rate together with the experimental values are
given in Figure 5 and the RE is shown in Figure 6, accordingly.
It can be deduced that for most of the data points, the RE is less

Regenerating air ow 500 m /h

Heater capacity 3.0 kW
Regeneration rate 5 kg/h
which can supply enough concentrated desiccant solution to
the dehumidier which can cover the sensible and latent load
from a 100 m2 room in Singapore. The polypropylene column,
which is made of anticorrosive material, is 1 m in height.
Structured packing material with face dimensions 300 mm 00
mm 450 mm is lled in the packed column. To obtain a good
distribution of desiccant solution, a distributor is installed on
the top of column, and a wire mesh made of stainless steel is
equipped to remove desiccant droplets carried by the highspeed regenerating air. All motors (fans, pumps) are installed
with variable speed drive (VSD) to adjust the air and solution
ow rates during dierent conditions. A humidity/temperature
transmitter with probe type and a blade airow meter are
3

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Table 2. Data Description in the Experiment

regenerating
air

desiccant solution
data sets

Ts (C)

s (%)

m s
(kg/min)

m a(kg/min)

identication data
testing data

52.860.3
52.461.5

29.738.5
29.539.1

3.67.08
3.07.08

1.53.18
1.623.0

Figure 7. Model prediction for mass transfer.

Figure 5. Model prediction for heat transfer.

Figure 8. Relative error for mass transfer.

transfer rate, and regeneration rate. Flow rate and temperature

of the desiccant solution are the two variables that have the
most signicant eect on the performance of the regenerator.
Figures 912 show the experimental data for regeneration
together with the model predicting results with the liquid
desiccant ow rate varying from 2.86 to 7.12 kg/min and liquid
desiccant temperature from 53.6 to 61 C. Uncertainties of the
Figure 6. Relative error for heat transfer.

than 10% with the average RE of 3.84% and RMSRE of 0.0473.

While the comparison results of the mass ux in the
regenerator predicted by the proposed model with the collected
experimental data and the RE are shown in Figure 7 and Figure
8, respectively, 94% of the 270 data points are within the RE of
10% with the average RE of 5.02% and RMSRE of 0.0623.
The conclusion can be drawn from the results that the
proposed model shows satifactory agreements with the
experimental data (RE < 10%) and that validating the modeling
approach is eective and accurate enough for real-time
applications in performance monitoring, optimization, and
control for the regenerator in the liquid desiccant dehumidication system.
Some experimental data sets have been selected to study the
inuence of the variables on regenerator performance, heat

Figure 9. Experimental data and predicted results by the proposed

model for inuence of the desiccant ow rate on the heat transfer rate.
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rate can enhance the heat transfer process by increasing the

convective heat transfer coecient and a higher inlet desiccant
temperature can give bigger convective heat transfer coecient
and temperature dierence and consequently gives the increase
of heat transfer. For the regeneration rate is enhanced with the
increase of the desiccant ow rate and desiccant inlet
temperature, as shown in Figure 11 and Figure 12. It happens
because a higher desiccant ow rate will maintain a higher
regeneration rate with less desiccant temperature reduction,
and a higher desiccant inlet temperature means a higher water
vapor pressure and higher potential for heat and mass transfer
since the vapor pressure of the desiccant is highly dependent on
the temperature.
Moreover, in order to illustrate the eectiveness of the
proposed model in dierent systems, reliable sets of
experimental data in the study of Fumo and Goswami15 are
used to identify the model, and comparisons are made between
the predicting values from the proposed model and that from
the study of Babakhani and Soleymani18 which also refers to the
same data. The regeneration rate is taken as the predicting
variable to be compared because it is the key factor to show the
performance of the regenerator. Figure 13 gives the comparison

Figure 10. Experimental data and predicted results by the proposed

model for inuence of the desiccant inlet temperature on the heat
transfer rate.

Figure 11. Experimental data and predicted results by the proposed

model for inuence of the desiccant ow rate on the regeneration rate.

Figure 13. Comparison between the predicted regeneration rates in

dierent models and the experimental data from Fumo and
Goswami.16

of predicting regeneration rates presented in the current study

and those obtained by Fumo and Goswami15 and Babakhani
and Soleymani.18 The relative error comparison between the
proposed model and models presented in refs 15 and 18 is
shown in Figure 14. It should be pointed out that the
regeneration rates predicted by Fumo and Goswami15 are
consistently a little smaller than the experiment data and with
higher relative errors, as shown in Figure 13 and Figure 14.
Babakhani and Soleymani18 and the proposed model can obtain
more accurate predictions of the regeneration rates, and the
relative errors are less than 10%. However, complex parameters
such as thermodynamic properties of the uids, geometric
specications of the packing materials, and the heat and mass
transfer coecients are needed in both the models of Fumo
and Goswami15 and Babakhani and Soleymani.18 These
parameters can hardly be obtained in practical applications
which limit its applications in real-time performance monitoring, optimization, and control. While only the input variables of
the regenerator such as desiccant solution temperature, ow
rate, concentration, and the air temperature, ow rate, relative

Figure 12. Experimental data and predicted results by the proposed

model for inuence of the desiccant inlet temperature on the
regeneration rate.

experimental data are calculated, and the error bars are also
given in the gures. It turns out once again that the current
model has good accuracy and the calculated heat and mass
transfer rates show good agreement with the experimental data.
From Figure 9 and Figure 10, the heat transfer rate increases
with the increase of desiccant ow rate and inlet desiccant
temperature. It can be explained that a higher desiccant ow
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variables with the regenerator are involved in this model so

that iterative computation can be avoided when the proposed
model is applied in performance prediction for the liquid
desiccant regenerator. Furthermore, complex parameters such
as the thermodynamic properties of the uids, packing
geometric specications, and thermodynamic numbers (Reynolds, Nusselt, and Prandtl) are considered as lumped
parameters and can be identied by operating data. According
to the validation results, the current regenerator model is
accurate enough for performance prediction and monitoring
over a wide operating range: heat transfer rate from 0.6 to 1.6
kW and mass ux from 0.002 to 0.016 kg/m2s. The present
model, with only seven parameters involved, is simple, exible,
relatively accurate, and easy for engineering applications
compared with the previous models of the regenerator. After
identication of the operating data collected from a specic
system, the proposed model can be used to monitor, optimize,
and control the performance of the regenerator by predicting
the heat- and mass-transfer processes with the inlet conditions,
such as ow rate, concentration, and temperature of the
desiccant solution and ow rate, relative humidity, and
temperature of regenerating air. It should be pointed out,
however, that the model parameters may vary after a long
period of operating time and should be updated periodically to
predict the regenerator performance accurately. The performance optimization by using the proposed model is under study
currently, and the results will be discussed later.

Figure 14. Comparison of relative errors for predicting the

regeneration rate in dierent models.

humidity are involved in the current model which is developed

based on a hybrid method. Real-time predicting can be
obtained because of all the input variables involved in the
model can be measured directly by the sensors and transducers
installed in the system. Moreover, in the studies of Fumo and
Goswami15 and Babakhani and Soleymani,18 the heat and mass
transfer process was described by basic dierential equations,
and solving these equations is time-consuming and complex
because the outlet conditions of the regenerator must be
initially guessed, and iterative computations are required until
the results converge to the known inlet conditions. In the
current model, the complex parameters are processed by
lumping parameters and the lumped parameters can be
determined by the operating data; no iterative computing is
needed while the identied model is applied in real-time
performance monitoring, optimization, and control for the
regenerator. Therefore, in comparison with the existing models,
the present model is simple, accurate, able to be expanded, and
suitable for real-time performance monitoring, optimization,
and control. Table 3 illustrates the comparison between the
existing regenerator models and the current model.

APPENDIX A
In order to identify the seven unknown parameters, the
nonlinear least-squares method is employed as follows:
take M samples for the variables Ta,in, Ts,in, m a, m s, a,in, s, Q,
and N, and dene two objective functions as the sum of the
residual squares between the evaluated data and experimental
data in order to determine the empirical parameters.

r2,2 i(u2)
i=1

2
* p ) Ni
(
p
c6
c 7 s , in , i
a , in , i

i = 1 1 + c5Ta , in , i(m s , i ) (ma , i )

M

model

geometric

nite
dierence
empirical
model
NTU

yes

yes

present
model

physical

no

no

empirical

yes

yes

physical

no

no

hybrid

c1(Ra , s , im s , in)c3

(A.1)

Table 3. Comparison of Dierent Regenerator Models

modeling
technique

r1,2i(u1) =
i=1

f2 (u 2) =
iterative
computation

(
)
T
T
Q

s , in , i
a , in , i
i
1 + c 2(Ra , s , i)c3

i=1

f1 (u1) =

model application
design and
simulation
design and
control
design and
control
control and
optimization

c4(m s , i)c6

(A.2)
T

where f1(u1),f 2(u2),r1(u1),r2(u2), u1 = [c1 c2 c3] and u2 = [c4 c5

c6 c7]T are the heat transfer objective function, mass transfer
objective function, residuals between the evaluated data and
experimental data for heat transfer objective function, residuals
between the evaluated data and experimental data for mass
transfer objective function, parameter vector in heat transfer
equation and parameter vector in mass transfer equation,
respectively.
Employing the LevenbergMarquardt method to nd the
nonlinear unconstraint optimization solution, its search
direction of between the steepest descent and the Gauss
Newton can be obtained by solving the following equations:

6. CONCLUSIONS
A simple hybrid model which is suitable for performance
monitoring, optimization, and control of operating liquid
desiccant regenerators was presented in this paper. The
performance of the heat and mass transfer processes in the
liquid desiccant regenerator can be predicted by the developed
hybrid model with only seven characteristic parameters.
Dierent from other previous models, only inlet-related
2827

(J1(k)(u1)T J1(k)(u1) + 1(k)I )d1(k) = J1(k)(u1)R1(u1)

(A.3)

(J2(k)(u 2)T J2(k)(u 2) + 2(k)I )d 2(k) = J2(k)(u 2)R 2(u 2)

(A.4)

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where (k) 0 is a scalar, and I is the 3rd order identity matrix

for the particular heat transfer model with three parameters and
of order 4 for the particular mass transfer model which has four
parameters, R1(u1) = [ r1,1(u1) r1,2(u1) r1, M(u1)]T and

r2,1

c4

r2,2
J2 (u 2) = c4

r2, M
c
4

c 2

r1,1

c3

r1,2
c3

r1, M
c3

r2,1

r2,1

c5

c6

r2,2

r2,2

c5

c6

r2, M

r2, M

c5

c6

r1,1
c 2
r1,2
c 2

r1, M

MODEL NOMENCLATURE
A
heat transfer area (m2)
Aa
heat transfer area of regenerating air convection (m2)
Am
heat transfer area of the interface (m2)
As
heat transfer area of desiccant solution convection (m2)
b
constant [W/m2 C(kg/s)e]
b1b4 constant [W/m2 C(kg/s)e]
C
constant (dimensionless)
c1c3 heat transfer model parameters
c4c7 mass transfer model parameters
cp
specic heat capacity of uids [J/(kg C)]
D
the structured packing diameter (m)
Da
regenerating air diusivity (m2/s)
Dcalc calculated data
Dp
packing material nominal size (m)
Dreal experimental data
Ds
desiccant solution diusivity (m2/s)
g
gravitational acceleration (m/s2)
h
heat transfer coecient [W/(m2 C)]
H
Henrys law constant (Pa)
Ha,in enthalpy of inlet regenerating air (kJ/kgdray air)
Ha,out enthalpy of outlet regenerating air (kJ/kgdray air)
ha
air convection heat transfer coecient [W/(m2 C)]
hov
overall heat transfer coecient in the regenerator [W/
(m2 C)]
hs
desiccant solution convection heat transfer coecient
[W/(m2 C)]
k
convection mass transfer coecient [kg/(m2 s Pa)]
ka
gas phase convection mass transfer coecient in the
regenerator [kg/(m2 s Pa)]
KG
overall mass transfer coecient in the regenerator [kg/
(m2 s Pa)]
ks
liquid phase convection mass transfer coecient in the
regenerator [kg/(m2sPa)]
m
uid mass ow rate (kg/s)
m a
regenerating air mass ow rate (kg/s)
m s
desiccant solution mass ow rate (kg/s)
N
mass ux in the regenerator (kg/m2 s)
pa,in regenerating air water vapor pressure at inlet of the
regenerator (Pa)
pa,sat saturated water vapor pressure (Pa)
ps,in
*
equilibrium water vapor pressure of desiccant solution
at inlet of the regenerator (Pa)
Q
heat transfer rate in the regenerator (W)
R
ideal gas constant [J/(mol C)]
Ras
mass ow rate ratio between the regenerating air and
the desiccant solution (dimensionless)
Ta,in regenerating air temperature at inlet of the regenerator
(C)
Ts,in desiccant solution temperature at inlet of the regenerator (C)
uk1
value of c1c3in the kth iteration
uk2
value of c4c7in the kth iteration
V
uid volume ow rate (m3/s)
v
uid velocity (m/s)

(A.5)

r2,1

c 7

r2,2
c 7

r2, M
c 7

(A.6)

(k)
(k)
For suciently large values of (k)
1 and 2 , the matrixes of J1
T (k)
T (k)
(k)
(k)
(k)
(u1) J1 (u1) + 1 I and J2 (u2) J2 (u2) + 2 I are positive
denite matrixes, and thus, d(k)
and d(k)
are in a descent
1
2
direction. Therefore, proper values should be assigned to (k)
1
(0)
(0)
and (k)
2 during the process of iteration. For 1 = 0.01, 2 =
0.01 and v = 10, it is specic as:

1(k + 1)

2(k + 1)

(k)/v iff (k + 1) (c ) < f (k) (c )

1
1
1
1
1
=
k
k
+
k
(
)
(
1)
(
)
1 v iff
(c1) > f1 (c1)

(A.7)

(k)/v iff (k + 1) (c ) < f (k) (c )

2
2
2
2
2
=
2(k)v iff (k + 1) (c 2) > f (k) (c 2)

2
2

(A.8)

and
u1(k + 1) = u1(k) + d1(k)

(A.9)

u 2(k + 1) = u 2(k) + d 2(k)

(A.10)

where is the value of c1c3 in the kth iteration and

is the
+ 1)
value of c4c7 in the kth iteration. The iteration ends if |u(k
1
k
(k + 1)
k
u1| < 1, |u2
u2| < 2, where 1 and 2 are predetermined
positive numbers (generally from the range of 1 1061
105).
uk1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by National Research Foundation of

Singapore under the grant NRF2011 NRF-CRP001-090, the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No.
21076179), and the National Basic Research Program of China
(973 Program: 2012CB720500).

R 2(u 2) = [ r2,1(u 2) r2,2(u 2) r2, M(u 2)]T , and the Jacobian

matrixes are dened as:
r
1,1
c1

r1,2
J1(u1) = c1

r1, M
c
1

Article

u2k

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*Tel: +65 6790 6862. Fax: +65 6793 3318. E-mail: ewjcai@ntu.
edu.sg.
Notes

The authors declare no competing nancial interest.

2828

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie403102x | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2014, 53, 28202829

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

vH
Ya,in
Ya,out
t

m
w

a
s
s
a
s

Article

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humid volume of regenerating air (m3/kg)

absolute humidity of inlet regenerating air (kgwater/
kgdry air)
absolute humidity of outlet regenerating air (kgwater/
kgdry air)
specic surface area (m2/m3)
wetted specic surface area (m2/m3)
thickness of the interface (m)
thermal conductivity [W/(mC)]
thermal conductivity of the interface [W/(mC) ]
latent heat of water vaporization (kJ/kg)
uid viscosity (Pa)
regenerating air viscosity (Pa)
desiccant solution viscosity (Pa)
desiccant solution density (kg/m3)
regenerating air relative humidity (%)
desiccant solution concentration (%)

Subscripts

a
G
in
m
out
s
sat

regenerating air
gas phase
inlet
interface
outlet
desiccant solution
saturated

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