State-of-the-art in liquid-to-air membrane energy exchangers (LAMEEs): A comprehensive review

Buildings are responsible for a significant portion of the global energy consumption. In particular, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings consume significant amounts of energy. Liquid desiccant dehumidification and energy recovery are effective energy conservation technologies in HVAC systems. Direct-contact liquid desiccant air-conditioning systems have the risk of carry-over of aerosol droplets to the supply airstream, which may cause health problems for occupants and corrosion of the ducting system. Liquid-to-air membrane energy exchanger (LAMEE) is a novel semi-permeable membrane-based liquid desiccant energy exchanger, which transfer heat and moisture simultaneously but can eliminate the desiccant solution aerosol carry-over problem. Two LAMEEs can also be used to constitute a run-around membrane energy exchanger (RAMEE) system to recover heat and moisture from exhaust air in buildings. In the past decade, research and development of LAMEEs has been very active to show that high effectiveness is possible. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the design and performance of LAMEEs.