Experimental analysis of mass transfer in adiabatic structured packing dehumidifier/regenerator with liquid desiccant

Mass-transfer characteristics of a structured packing dehumidifier/regenerator were studied using a lithium chloride solution as the desiccant. Experiments included air dehumidification and desiccant regeneration in typical operating ranges of air-conditioning applications. When the air velocity increased from 0.5 to 1.5 m/s, the overall mass-transfer coefficient in the structured packing dehumidifier and regenerator varied from 4.0 to 8.5 g/m2 s and from 2.0 to 4.5 g/m2 s, respectively. Higher solution temperature resulted in lower overall mass-transfer coefficients. Dimensionless overall mass-transfer coefficient correlations were developed for the dehumidifier and regenerator. Deviations between predicted values and experimental values were within ±20%.