Investigating the performance of PES and PC hollow fiber membranes in air humidification

In this study a hollow fiber membrane contactor system with co-current flow configuration was proposed. Two different hollow fiber membranes made of Polyethersulfone (PES) and Polycarbonate (PC) were produced and their humidification performance for use in air conditioning systems was investigated. For different inlet air dry bulb temperature (25°C, 30°C, 35°C) and relative humidity (20%, 30%, and 40%), the behavior of the membrane system was experimentally studied. The effect of various inlet conditions on the outlet air dry bulb temperature, water vapor flux and cooling capacity of the system for two different hollow fiber membranes were studied. The results showed that the outlet air temperature, water vapor flux and maximum cooling capacity of PES membranes were about 19 °C, 0.007 mol/m2.s and 1.2 W, respectively which is higher than PC membranes because of its higher surface porosity and having superior membrane structure. The final outcome of the experiments further showed that by increasing the entrance air temperature at constant air relative humidity, water vapor flux increased