Parametric analysis of heat and mass transfer regenerators using a generalized effectiveness-NTU method

A parametric analysis of heat and mass transfer in regenerative exchangers that employ sorbent materials has been performed. The adopted methodology is based on the effectiveness-NTU (number of transfer units) approach, traditionally employed for analyzing sensible heat exchangers. However, a generalization was developed to account for the effects of coupled heat and mass transfer, matrix diffusion, as well as physical adsorption. The generalized approach was applied to a unified mathematical formulation for this class of exchangers and the potential of the methodology was demonstrated through an analysis of the influence of several dimensionless parameters on regenerator performance.