Abstract
The desiccant liquid air membrane energy exchanger is a promising technology used to recover both latent and sensible heat. In this paper, a numerical investigation is carried out to provide the optimal operating fluids properties as well as to enhance the exchanger performance. The physical problem involves a two dimensional model including the momentum, heat and mass transport equations in both air and desiccant liquid channels. The impact of air and desiccant liquid properties on the heat and mass transfer distributions is determined. Optimal values of inlet air and desiccant liquid properties are established. The thermal and mass fields inside desiccant liquid air membrane energy exchanger are numerically presented. This performance investigation provides a solution to improve the heat and mass transfer rates in the addressed membrane based technology. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.