Development of moisture absorber based on hydrophilic membrane mass exchanger and alkoxylated siloxane liquid desiccant

By using small, decentralized liquid desiccant dehumidification combined with radiant panels or other low exergy chiller technologies large amounts of energy can be saved. This study builds off previous work characterizing a novel liquid desiccant system using a vapor permeable Pebax® membrane in conjunction with an alkoxylated siloxane liquid desiccant. Previous work addresses the chemical viability of the membrane/desiccant pair to produce dehumidified air by leveraging partial pressure differences as well as the full scale adaptation including pumping and regeneration costs. This study considers the overall heat and mass exchange of such a system, from initial kinetics experimentation through scaling the system up to dehumidify air at building-level flow rates, and develops a 3D printed prototype mass exchanger element for kinetic optimization. The results show further progress in the development of novel mixing stages to maintain good kinetics for water vapor removal from the air stream.