Selective Transfer Membranes for Independent Air Cooling and Dehumidifying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current heat pump and refrigeration systems face limitations such as ozone depletion from chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants, and high global warming potential from hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, as well as thermodynamic efficiency limitations due to sensible heat transfer requirements.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for independently cooling and dehumidifying air using selective transfer membranes to separate water vapor from air, with a dehumidifier, cooler, and expirator, which includes a heat exchanger using cooled aqueous liquid and a chiller, allowing for water vapor transport across membranes to achieve efficient cooling and dehumidification without harmful refrigerants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If chlorofluorocarbon or hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants are used in vapor-compression systems, then cooling efficiency is improved, but ozone layer depletion occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates harmful refrigerants from the system by replacing the traditional vapor-compression cycle with a membrane-based dehumidification system that uses water vapor selective membranes to separate moisture from air, thereby removing the source of ozone-depleting substances while maintaining cooling functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces water vapor selective membranes as an intermediary mechanism to achieve cooling and dehumidification without harmful refrigerants. The membranes selectively transport water vapor from humid air through a temperature difference, serving as a benign mediator that replaces toxic refrigerants
2Object-affected harmful factors
If hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants are used to avoid ozone depletion, then environmental safety is improved, but global warming potential increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants from the system entirely by replacing the vapor-compression thermodynamic cycle with a membrane-based physical separation process that uses water vapor selective membranes and temperature gradients to achieve cooling without any refrigerant gases that contribute to global warming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs water vapor selective membranes and temperature difference as intermediary mechanisms to transfer heat and separate moisture, replacing hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants with a physical process that has zero global warming potential
3Power
If sensible heat transfer across metal surfaces is used for cooling, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but thermodynamic efficiency is limited due to sub-cooling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical vapor-compression system with a passive membrane-based system that uses water vapor selective membranes and temperature gradients to achieve cooling, eliminating the need for compressors and the associated thermodynamic inefficiencies of sub-cooling
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition of water vapor (from gas to liquid through condensation on the cold side of the membrane) as the primary cooling mechanism, replacing the phase transition of refrigerants in compression systems and eliminating the need for sub-cooling below saturation temperature
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy consumption, lowers emissions, and eliminates the need for harmful fluorocarbon refrigerants, offering a more efficient and environmentally friendly cooling and dehumidification process.
Implementation Method 1
a first selective transfer membrane configured for an inflow of the humid air adjacent a first surface of the first membrane under conditions sufficient to allow water vapor to be transported through the first membrane
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger for cooling using a cooled aqueous liquid and configured for an inflow of warm air flowing through the exchanger, resulting in warmed liquid
Implementation Method 3
a second selective transfer membrane configured for an inflow of the warmed liquid adjacent a first surface of the second membrane under conditions sufficient to allow water vapor to be transported through the second membrane
Implementation Method 4
pressurizing the separated water vapor for removal through an expirator, wherein the expirator includes a third selective transfer membrane configured for flowing the separated water vapor adjacent a first surface of the third membrane
Implementation Method 5
transferred water from a second aqueous liquid using a fourth selective transfer membrane, wherein the concentration of water in the second aqueous liquid adjacent a first surface of the fourth membrane is sufficiently higher than the concentration of water in the heat exchanger aqueous liquid adjacent a second surface of the fourth membrane to cause forward osmosis of water
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for cooling and/or separating a component from a fluid are disclosed herein. Such systems and methods can include one or more of a separator (e.g., a dehumidifier), a chiller, and/or an expirator, each of which can include a selective transfer membrane. Such systems and methods can be used for a wide variety of applications including, for example, cooling and/or dehumidifying air.