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Cyclic operation of a membrane-based vacuum dehumidification system by finite selectivity of the membrane

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Abstract

Water vapor can be selectively separated from humid indoor air using membrane-based vacuum dehumidification (MVD). This non-vapor compression dehumidification system is an alternative to conventional air conditioning systems because water vapor separation through the membrane is an isothermal process. Some researchers have analyzed the dehumidification performance of MVD and proposed the most efficient structure for a membrane with infinite selectivity. In this study, finite selectivity was considered, and an additional vacuum pump was installed on the basic MVD structure. The cyclic operation performance of the revised MVD was calculated and optimized according to the vacuum compressor performance. Consequently, the cyclic average dehumidification COP was maximized on a specific compression ratio. The higher the water vapor selectivity, the higher the maximum values, and the lower the marginal compression ratio.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area of membrane (m2)

h fg :

Enthalpy of vaporization (kJ/kg)

k :

Specific heat ratio (-)

M :

Molecular mass (kg/kmol)

m :

Mass (kg)

ṁ :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

m 0 :

Clearance ratio (-)

P :

Pressure (kPa)

P a :

Partial pressure of air (kPa)

P v :

Maximum vacuum pressure of vacuum pump (kPa)

P w :

Partial pressure of water vapor (kPa)

\({\dot Q_{lat}}\) :

Latent heat removed per unit time (kW)

r p :

Compression ratio (-)

RH :

Relative humidity (%)

T :

Temperature (K)

t :

Time (s)

V :

Volume of membrane mass exchanger (m3)

V max :

Compressor total volume (m3)

V 0 :

Clearance volume (m3)

V :

Pumping speed (m3/s)

v :

Specific volume (m3/kg)

Ẇ :

Power consumption (kW)

α :

Selectivity (-)

β :

Permeance (kg/s·kPa·m2)

η isen :

Vacuum compressor isentropic efficiency (-)

η v :

Clearance volume efficiency (-)

a :

Air

amb :

Ambient condition

cv :

Control volume

DH :

Dehumidification

d :

Discharge

s :

Suction

vc :

Vacuum compressor

vp :

Vacuum pump

w :

Water

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Chung-Ang University Graduate Research Scholarship in 2021. The authors also appreciate the grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea (No. NRF-2019R1A2C1088694) and from the Korea Institute of Energy Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intelligent Energy and Industry, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, Korea

    Donik Ku, Soojin Bae, Soyeon Kim, Minkyu Jung, Sanghun Jeong & Minsung Kim

  2. School of Energy Systems Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, Korea

    Gijeong Seo & Minsung Kim

Authors
  1. Donik Ku
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  2. Soojin Bae
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  3. Soyeon Kim
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  7. Minsung Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minsung Kim.

Additional information

Donik Ku is a graduate student of Intelligent Energy and Industry at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. He received his B.S. as a Mechanical Energy Major in the School of Energy Systems Engi-neering from Chung-Ang University in 2021. His research interests include mem-brane-based vacuum dehumidification systems.

Soojin Bae is a graduate student of Intelligent Energy and Industry at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. She received her B.S. as a Mechanical Energy Major in the School of Energy Systems Engineering from Chung-Ang University in 2022. Her research is focused on experimental validation of membrane performance.

Soyeon Kim is a Ph.D. student of Department of Intelligent Energy and Industry at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. She received her B.S. and M.S. as a Mechanical Energy Major in the School of Energy Systems Engineering from Chung-Ang University in 2019 and 2021. Her research interests include fine-dust removal with electrospray for exhaust gas treatment and factory energy management systems with machine learning.

Minkyu Jung is a graduate student of Department of Intelligent Energy and Industry at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. He received his B.S. as a Mechanical Energy Major in the School of Energy Systems Engineering from Chung-Ang University in 2020. His research interests include fine-dust removal with electrospray for exhaust gas treatment and image processing of electrospray with machine vision.

Sanghun Jeong is a graduate student of Department of Intelligent Energy and Industry at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. He received his B.S. as a Mechanical Energy Major in the School of Energy Systems Engineering from Chung-Ang University in 2021. His research interests include factory energy management system (FEMS) with machine learning and fault detection and diagnosis of thermal systems.

Gijeong Seo is an undergraduate student of School of Energy Systems Engineering at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. He is planning on proceed to graduate school at the same University in 2020. His research interests include factory energy management system (FEMS) with machine learning.

Minsung Kim is a Professor of School of Energy Systems Engineering at Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1996, 1998, and 2002. Formerly, he was involved in Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), Daejeon, Korea and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg MD, USA. His research interests include environmental engineering, heat pump applications, and big data analysis of energy systems.

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Ku, D., Bae, S., Kim, S. et al. Cyclic operation of a membrane-based vacuum dehumidification system by finite selectivity of the membrane. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 2087–2094 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0344-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0344-6

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