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Enhancing membrane-based air dehumidification through non-isothermal operation.

Number: 2174

Author(s) : FIX A., BRAUN J., WARSINGER D.

Summary

Condensation-based air dehumidification has been a major source of inefficiency in air conditioning systems for decades. As global warming progresses and greater populations attain improved thermal comfort, air conditioning energy consumption will grow well past its current benchmark of nearly 2,400 terawatt-hours (10% of the global electricity consumption). Recently, selective membrane-based air dehumidification has gained attention as a promising alternative technology for providing high-efficiency air dehumidification in buildings. Prior work by the authors has presented a system concept, termed the Active Membrane Energy Exchanger (AMX), that exploits clever thermodynamic design to enhance the efficiency of membrane dehumidification and air cooling beyond other proposed membrane-based systems through non-isothermal operation. This work presents the first experimental evaluation of an active non-isothermal membrane-based dehumidification device in the form of an AMX module. The membrane material fabrication and characterization are covered in detail, with particular emphasis on showing the improved membrane permeance to water vapor at cooler air temperatures. The system performance is evaluated while providing simultaneous cooling and membrane dehumidification, showing up to a 6% increase in dehumidification performance, a sensible heat ratio ranging between 0.3-0.7, and an ideal latent coefficient of performance around 2.2. Furthermore, the crossflow tubes (used to carry chilled water) induce an additional 4-8% improvement in dehumidification performance compared to a system without crossflow tubes due to the added air mixing. While prior modeling work has shown the technology can provide up to 60% energy savings through clever system design, the present study provides new insight into additional benefits that were not accounted for in the system models.

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  • Original title: Enhancing membrane-based air dehumidification through non-isothermal operation.
  • Record ID : 30030507
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: 2022 Purdue Conferences. 19th International Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Conference at Purdue.
  • Publication date: 2022/07/10

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