A novel finite difference model coupled with recursive algorithm for analyzing heat and mass transfer processes in a cross flow dehumidifier/regenerator

Maintaining the relative humidity within the desired level in hospitals, research laboratories and pharmaceutical industries is very crucial. Among the various techniques reported over the last three decades, liquid desiccant dehumidification has been found promising. Dehumidifier and regenerator are the key components in the liquid desiccant dehumidification system. In this paper, the coupled heat and mass transfer analyses in a cross flow liquid desiccant dehumidifier and regenerator are presented. A novel finite difference based thermodynamic model is developed using the governing equations of mass, momentum and energy and a recursive algorithm is proposed for solving the developed model. The simulated results obtained from the developed model are validated with the experimental data reported in the literature and a good agreement is observed between them. The contour plots for the distribution of air and desiccant enthalpies, air specific humidity and solution concentration along the longitudinal and the transverse directions of the packed tower are represented. Also, the contour plots for the desiccant concentration at different Lewis numbers are presented. Further, the influence of Lewis number on operating and performance parameters are also discussed in detail.