Investigating the Effect of Polymer Membrane Characteristics on the Performance of the Membrane Humidifier

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Seyyed Morteza Mousavi Zahed

Ebrahim Afshari

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

10.22067/jacsm.2023.81524.1174

Abstract

In the membrane humidifier, the characteristics of the membrane as the heart of the humidifier and the selection of Nafion as the most common membrane for use in the process of separating two wet and dry streams have a great impact on its performance. In this study, a numerical and three-dimensional investigation of a flat membrane humidifier including the dry flow channels, membrane, wet flow channels and plates on the two sides of the membrane has been investigated by Ansys Fluent software and the effect of membrane characteristics including: thickness, permeability and porosity coefficient on the mass (water) and heat transfer through the membrane and as a result the performance of the humidifier has been investigated. The results show that the use of Nafion 111 due to its lower thickness compared to Nafion 115, 117 and 211, leads to improved heat and mass transfer and therefore improves the performance of the membrane humidifier. Considering the dew point which shows the simultaneous effect of mass and heat transfer; increasing the permeability coefficient of the membrane from 10-15 to 10-21 square meters, the dew point temperature at the outlet of the dry side increases by about 3.5K. In the common limits of the porosity coefficient of common commercial membranes, the change of the porosity coefficient does not have much effect on the performance of the membrane humidifier.

Keywords

Membrane Humidifier

Permeability

Porosity Coefficient

Thickness

Dew Point Temperature

Numerical Modeling

Subjects

• Renewable energy

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