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

Main Subjects

• Renewable energy

---

References

[1]    R. W. Baker, “Future directions of membrane gas separation technology,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 1393–1411, (2002).

[2]    W. J. Koros and R. Mahajan, “Pushing the limits on possibilities for large scale gas separation: Which strategies?,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 181, no. 1, pp. 141, (2001).

[3]    C. H. Li, C. Y. Chen, T. F. Yang, W. K. Li, and W. M. Yan, “Experimental study on heat and mass transfer of a multi-stage planar dehumidifier,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 148, pp. 119104, (2020).

[4]    A. Ferraris et al., “Nafionr tubing humidification system for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells,” Energies, vol. 12, no. 9, (2019).

[5]    J. Woods, “Membrane processes for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 33, pp. 290–304, (2014).

[6]    K. R. Kistler and E. L. Cussler, “Membrane modules for building ventilation,” Chemical Engineering Research and Design , vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 53–64, (2002).

[7]    W. Albrecht, R. Hilke, K. Kneifel, T. Weigel, and K. V. Peinemann, “Selection of microporous hydrophobic membranes for use in gas/liquid contactors: An experimental approach,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 263, no. 1–2, pp. 66–76, (2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2005.04.005

[8]    G. Glenn Lipscomb and S. Sonalkar, “Sources of non-ideal flow distribution and their effect on the performance of hollow fiber gas separation modules,” Separation and Purification Reviews, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 41–76, (2004).

[9] T. Maiyalagan and S. Pasupathi, “Components for PEM fuel cells: An overview,” Materials Science Forum , vol. 657. (2010).

[10]  H. Li et al., “A review of water flooding issues in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell,” Journal of Power Sources, vol. 178, no. 1, pp. 103–117, (2008).

[11]  B. Jiang, L. Wu, L. Yu, X. Qiu, and J. Xi, “A comparative study of Nafion series membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 510, pp. 18–26, (2016).

[12]  J. L. Niu and L. Z. Zhang, “Membrane-based Enthalpy Exchanger: Material considerations and clarification of moisture resistance,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 189, no. 2, pp. 179–191, (2001).

[13]  T. D. Bui, F. Chen, A. Nida, K. J. Chua, and K. C. Ng, “Experimental and modeling analysis of membrane-based air dehumidification,” Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 144, pp. 114–122, (2015).

[14]  D. T. Bui, A. Nida, K. C. Ng, and K. J. Chua, “Water vapor permeation and dehumidification performance of poly(vinyl alcohol)/lithium chloride composite membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 498, pp. 254–262, (2016).

[15]  M. Nasif, R. Al-Waked, G. Morrison, and M. Behnia, “Membrane heat exchanger in HVAC energy recovery systems, systems energy analysis,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 1833–1840, (2010).

[16]  L. Z. Zhang and J. L. Niu, “Effectiveness correlations for heat and moisture transfer processes in an enthalpy exchanger with membrane cores,” Journal of Heat Transfer, vol. 124, no. 5, pp. 922–929, (2002).

[17]  R. Huizing, H. Chen, and F. Wong, “Contaminant transport in membrane based energy recovery ventilators,” Science and Technology for the Built Environment, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 54–66, (2015).

[18]  L. Wang, D. Curcija, and J. Breshears, “The energy saving potentials of zone-level membrane-based enthalpy recovery ventilators for VAV systems in commercial buildings,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 109, pp. 47–52, (2015).

[19]  X. R. Zhang, L. Z. Zhang, H. M. Liu, and L. X. Pei, “One-step fabrication and analysis of an asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane for heat and moisture recovery,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 366, no. 1–2, pp. 158–165, (2011).

[20]  S. Park and I. H. Oh, “An analytical model of NafionTM membrane humidifier for proton exchange membrane fuel cells,” Journal of Power Sources, vol. 188, no. 2, pp. 498–501, (2009).

[21]  J. Min, T. Hu, and X. Liu, “Evaluation of moisture diffusivities in various membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 357, no. 1–2, pp. 185–191, (2010).

[22]  J. Min, T. Hu, and Y. Song, “Experimental and numerical investigations of moisture permeation through membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 367, no. 1–2, pp. 174–181, (2011).

[23]  V. Kord Firouzjaei, S. M. Rahgoshay, and M. Khorshidian, “Planar membrane humidifier for fuel cell application: Numerical and experimental case study,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 147, pp. 118872, (2020).

[24]  S. Z. Hashemi-Valikboni, S. S. M. Ajarostaghi, M. A. Delavar, and K. Sedighi, “Numerical prediction of humidification process in planar porous membrane humidifier of a PEM fuel cell system to evaluate the effects of operating and geometrical parameters,” Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, vol. 141, no. 5, pp. 1687–1701, (2020).

[25]  H. N. Vu, X. L. Nguyen, J. Han, and S. Yu, “A study on vapor transport characteristics in hollow-fiber membrane humidifier with empirical mass transfer coefficient,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 177, pp. 121549, (2021).

[26]  H. N. Vu, X. L. Nguyen, and S. Yu, “A Lumped-Mass Model of Membrane Humidifier for PEMFC,” Energies, vol. 15, no. 6, (2022).

[27]  X. L. Nguyen, H. N. Vu, and S. Yu, “Parametric understanding of vapor transport of hollow fiber membranes for design of a membrane humidifier,” Renewable Energy, vol. 177, pp. 1293–1307, (2021).

[28]  F. Wolfenstetter, M. Kreitmeir, L. Schoenfeld, H. Klein, M. Becker, and S. Rehfeldt, “Experimental study on water transport in membrane humidifiers for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 47, no. 55, pp. 23381–23392, (2022).

[29]  J. Li et al., “A review of air-to-air membrane energy recovery technology for building ventilation,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 265, pp. 112097, (2022).

[30]  W. Yan et al., “Effects of membrane characteristics on the evaporative cooling performance for hollow fiber membrane modules,” Energy, vol. 270, no. November 2022, pp. 126873, (2023).

[31]  J. D. Anderson, “Governing Equations of Fluid Dynamics,” Computational Fluid Dynamics, pp. 15–51, (1992).

[32]  N. B. Houreh, E. Afshari, H. Shokouhmand, and S. Asghari, “Numerical study and experimental validation on heat and water transfer through polymer membrane by applying a novel enhancement technique,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 29, no. March, pp. 101387, (2020).(In Persian).

[33]  Y. Wang and C. Y. Wang, “Simulation of flow and transport phenomena in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell under low-humidity operation,” Journal of Power Sources, vol. 147, no. 1–2, pp. 148–161, (2005).

[34]  N. Baharlou Houreh, M. Ghaedamini, H. Shokouhmand, E. Afshari, and A. H. Ahmaditaba, “Experimental study on performance of membrane humidifiers with different configurations and operating conditions for PEM fuel cells,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 4841–4859, (2020). (In Persian).

[35]  S. Yu et al., “A parametric study of the performance of a planar membrane humidifier with a heat and mass exchanger model for design optimization,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 54, no. 7–8, pp. 1344–1351, (2011).