Modelling of heat and moisture transfer in desiccant packed bed utilizing spherical particles of clay impregnated with CaCl2

•Three models are developed for heat and mass transfer in clay + CaCl2 packed bed.•The numerical results are compared with the experimental data from literature.•The diffusivity is estimated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data.•The adiabatic diffusion model showed the best agreement with experimental data.•Maximum absorbent ratio of 0.09kgCaCl2kgclay−1 provides a maximum adsorbed mass per kg of desiccant.

Desiccant packed beds of clay particles impregnated with CaCl2 (clay + CaCl2) are employed for air dehumidification in different applications. For such beds, three mathematical models are developed for heat and moisture transfer, namely; isothermal, adiabatic and adiabatic diffusion. The models are solved numerically by finite difference method. In order to examine the accuracy of the developed models, the numerical results are compared with the available experimental data. The diffusivity of clay + CaCl2 particles is identified. In addition, the effect of the absorbent ratio on the bed operation is investigated numerically.