Osmotic membrane distillation regeneration of liquid desiccant solutions used for air conditioning: a proof of concept

Hung Cong Duong; Nhan Trong Nguyen; Oanh Thi Doan; Lan Thi Thu Tran

doi:10.15625/2525-2518/16045

Author affiliations

Authors

Hung Cong Duong Le Quy Don Technical University, 236 Hoang Quoc Viet, Bac Tu Liem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4732-3440
Nhan Trong Nguyen Faculty of Environment, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment, 41A Phu Dien, Bac Tu Liem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Oanh Thi Doan Faculty of Environment, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment, 41A Phu Dien, Bac Tu Liem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Lan Thi Thu Tran Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Ha Noi, Viet Nam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15625/2525-2518/16045

Keywords:

osmotic membrane distillation, membrane distillation, concentration polarization effects, liquid desiccant air conditioning, liquid desiccant regeneration.

Abstract

Liquid desiccant air-conditioning (LDAC) has emerged as a promising technology to meet the increasing demand for indoor thermal comfort. In LDAC systems, regeneration of liquid desiccant solution is a critical step. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) has been explored for regeneration of liquid desiccant solutions used in LDAC systems, but faced with the technical challenges caused by the hyper salinity of the solutions. Osmotic membrane distillation (OMD) is a variant of DCMD that can treat hyper saline waters. In this study, a proof of concept of OMD regeneration of liquid desiccant solution was experimentally demonstrated. Compared to DCMD, the OMD process exhibited significantly higher water flux due to the reduced water vapor pressure on the permeate side of the membrane. Indeed, the OMD process of the liquid desiccant LiCl 20% solution feed achieved water flux two-fold higher than that of the DCMD process under the same operating conditions. Given its increased water flux, the OMD process could regenerate the LiCl solution of much higher concentration: the OMD process with the initial CaCl₂ 20% solution osmotic agent concentrated LiCl solution from 20% to 38.4% after a continuous 8-hour operation.

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