Falling-film thermosyphons: Application to water harvesting from humid gas streams
- Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- United Technology Research Center, East Hartford, CT (United States)
- Gas Technology Inst., IL (United States)
- Texas A & M Univ., Kingsville, TX (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
- Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Water harvesting from humid gas streams is central to fresh-water production, desalination, and particulate removal from combustion gas streams. Two-phase thermosyphons are well suited for these applications due to their very low thermal resistance, but have several operating limits at the high heat flows required for such applications. This work introduces the falling-film thermosyphon for large-scale condensation applications. Working fluid is pumped to the top of the evaporator to provide the evaporating liquid film on the inner tube wall, rather than by vapor condensation. The flooding, dry-out and pool-boiling limits are eliminated, resulting in significantly higher maximum heat fluxes for the same physical evaporator size. Furthermore, the condenser no longer needs to be located vertically above the evaporator, which allows for a standard steam condenser to be used. A model for the condensation process in humid air was developed that estimates the fluid and heat transfer and is confirmed experimentally. Further benefits include the use of a high-thermal-conductivity polymer material for the evaporator section to minimize corrosion, and the ability to impose a temperature boundary condition on the evaporator, which is made possible due to the elimination of a liquid pool.
- Research Organization:
- State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AR0000575; DE–AR0000575
- OSTI ID:
- 1848204
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1775820
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 164, Issue C; ISSN 0017-9310
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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