On the absorption rate of membrane-based adiabatic sorber beds: An analytical approach

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer Vol. 209; p. 124105
• Main Authors: Ashouri, Mahyar, Bahrami, Majid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2023
• Subjects: Absorber and desorber; Analytical solution; Heat and mass transfer; Hollow fiber membrane; Membrane; Membrane; Hollow fiber membrane; Absorber and desorber; Heat and mass transfer; Analytical solution
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2023.124105

•Two analytical models are developed for flat and hollow fiber membrane-based adiabatic sorber beds.•The analytical models are validated with experimental data available in the literature.•Flat membrane-based sorber bed shows a higher absorption rate compared to HFM sorber bed.•A parametric study is carried out on the operating conditions and membrane properties.
Membrane-based sorber beds play a key role in numerous engineering applications. As an emerging design, adiabatic membrane-based sorber beds can provide compact heat and mass exchangers. For the first time, this study presents two analytical solutions for coupled heat and mass transfer in the flat and hollow fiber membrane-based adiabatic sorber beds used in absorption heat pump/chiller applications. The similarity solution and Laplace transform method are used to develop the analytical models. The proposed models are validated with experimental data and numerical results available in the literature. In addition, a parametric study is performed to analyze the impact of operating conditions and the physical properties of membrane on the absorption rate. Based on the parametric study, the solution inlet concentration is the most effective parameter for increasing the absorption rate. Also, porosity is the key membrane property for enhancing absorption rate. It is shown that the absorption rate of a flat membrane-based sorber bed is higher than that of a hollow fiber membrane-based sorber bed under the same conditions.
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