Testing and performance analysis of a hollow fiber-based core for evaporative cooling and liquid desiccant dehumidification

Jradi, M.; Riffat, Saffa

Abstract

In this study, an innovative heat and mass transfer core is proposed to provide thermal comfort and humidity control using a hollow fiber contactor with multiple bundles of micro-porous hollow fibers. The hollow fiber-based core utilizes 12 bundles aligned vertically, each with 1,000 packed polypropylene hollow fibers. The proposed core was developed and tested under various operating and ambient conditions as a cooling core for a compact evaporative cooling unit and a dehumidification core for a liquid desiccant dehumidification unit. As a cooling core, the fiber-based evaporative cooler provides a maximum cooling capacity of 502 W with a wet bulb effectiveness of 85%. As a dehumidification core and employing potassium formate as a liquid desiccant, the dehumidifier is capable of reducing the air relative humidity by 17% with an overall dehumidification capacity of 733 W and humidity effectiveness of 47%. Being cheap and simple to design with their attractive heat and mass transfer characteristics and the corresponding large surface area-to-volume ratio, hollow fiber membrane contactors provide a promising alternative for cooling and dehumidification applications.

Citation

Jradi, M., & Riffat, S. (in press). Testing and performance analysis of a hollow fiber-based core for evaporative cooling and liquid desiccant dehumidification. International Journal of Green Energy, 13(13), https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2016.1183205

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 24, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Oct 24, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 23, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 23, 2017
• Journal: International Journal of Green Energy
• Print ISSN: 1543-5075
• Electronic ISSN: 1543-5083
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Open
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 13
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2016.1183205
• Keywords: Cooling capaity, effectiveness, evaporative cooling, hollow fiber membrane, liquid desiccant dehumidifcation
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/822020
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15435075.2016.1183205
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Green Energy on 24 Oct 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15435075.2016.1183205.