Performance characterization of a novel membrane-based liquid desiccant air conditioning system

Abstract Membrane-based liquid desiccant air conditioning (MLAC) system is one of the energy-efficient alternatives to the conventional vapor compression based air conditioning systems. However, due to inherent resistance for heat and mass transfer in the membrane and heat of absorption generated during the mass transfer, the desired room temperature and specific humidity are not achieved in the MLAC system. Present study proposes a novel MLAC system with an additional air cooling heat exchanger for the efficient control of both temperature and specific humidity of the supply air. The influences of different liquid desiccants, ambient conditions, and design and operating parameters are studied. The performance of MLAC system is presented in terms of room temperature and specific humidity, latent effectiveness of dehumidifier and regenerator, coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency. The results of the present study prove that the proposed MLAC system is capable of achieving better indoor conditions than the conventional MLAC system. The effects of the mass flow rate of desiccant and the effectiveness of the desiccant to desiccant heat exchanger on the performance of the proposed MLAC system are found to be significant.