Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

1996, 35, 4185-4193 4185

Dimensionless Mass-Transfer Correlations for Packed-Bed

Liquid-Desiccant Contactors
Shailesh V. Potnis† and Terry G. Lenz*
Chemical and Bioresource Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523

Random and structured packings were studied with varying bed depths in the regenerator and
the dehumidifier of a solar-assisted liquid-desiccant system. The slopes of the log-log plots of
mass-transfer rate vs solution flow rate were found to be close to 0.8, which indicated that the
conditions for the liquid phase were turbulent for the operating conditions in both contactors.
The small intercepts obtained for the Wilson plots indicated that the gas-phase mass-transfer
resistance was negligible compared to the liquid-phase mass-transfer resistance. Liquid-phase
mass-transfer coefficients for the packed bed alone were obtained by separating the contributions
of the other mass-transfer regions in the contactors. The random packing mass transfer
coefficients varied from 0.48 to 2 mol/(s m2), while the double-layer, structured packing mass-
transfer coefficients varied from 0.018 to 0.035 mol/(s m2). These mass-transfer coefficients were
converted into a dimensionless form, utilizing experimentally obtained diffusivity values.

Introduction water. This indicates that mass transfer in air-solution

Desiccant systems utilize the moisture affinity of a
desiccant material to control the humidity of the air
used for a process or for comfort purposes. Commonly
used desiccants include aqueous lithium chloride or
lithium bromide solution and zeolites. The moisture
content of these materials approaches saturation as they
remove moisture from the incoming air. They can then
be regenerated to restore their capacity to remove
moisture by heating them in the presence of relatively
dry air.
Desiccant systems are particularly useful for air
conditioning applications where the latent heat load is
large compared to the sensible heat load. Energy
savings, relative-to-conventional vapor compression sys-
tems, of up to 40% can be achieved by using a desiccant-
assisted air conditioning system (Griffiths, 1987). Also,
the regeneration temperatures required by desiccants,
such as lithium bromide solution, usually vary between
60 and 75 °C, which can easily be obtained using flat
plate solar collectors. Thus, fossil fuel energy savings
can be increased further if solar energy is utilized for
the regeneration of the desiccant.
The major process components of interest regarding
mass transfer for such a system are the regenerator and
the dehumidifier. The mass-transfer rates achieved in
these units determine the capacity of these systems.
However, the process of mass transfer in these contac-
tors is not well understood, and as a result, the
measured performance of many absorption chillers and
heat pumps, using similar components, is smaller than
expected (Wahlig, 1993). These contactors are usually
designed assuming air-solution contact to be the same
as air-water contact (Khan and Ball, 1992). Löf et al.
(1984) studied reconcentration of lithium chloride solu-
tion in an open-cycle absorption chiller by passing solar-
heated air through a packed column. They found that
mass-transfer coefficients show considerable variability
and generally lower values than would be predicted by
use of the heat/mass-transfer ratio for air and pure
* Corresponding author. Phone: (970) 491-2540. Fax: (970)
491-7369.
† Present address: Energy Concepts Co., 627 Ridgely Ave.,
Annapolis, MD 21401.
S0888-5885(96)00212-6 CCC: $12.00
contacting is not the same as in air-water contacting.
Gandhidasan et al. calculated (1986) the coefficients
and analyzed (1987) the processes of heat and mass
transfer in a calcium chloride-based liquid-desiccant
system. They assumed the heat-transfer resistance of
the liquid phase to be negligible and found that the
desiccant-air system has a mass-transfer resistance in
the liquid phase unlike that for the air-water system.
Thus, it is necessary to calculate the liquid-phase mass-
transfer resistance to obtain the overall mass-transfer
resistance, which ultimately determines the air and
solution flow rates, auxiliary power input, contactor size,
solar collector area, and performance of the system. A
better understanding of the process of mass transfer in
these contactors can thus significantly improve the
contactor efficiency and suggest ways to reduce the
initial and operating costs.
The present research probes the variation of mass-
transfer rate with solution flow rate to obtain the
relative magnitudes of mass-transfer resistances offered
by each phase. Packed-bed liquid-phase mass-transfer
coefficients were obtained from the contactor liquid-
phase mass-transfer coefficients by separating contribu-
tions of other mass-transfer regions. These mass-
transfer coefficients were then converted into a dimen-
sionless form using the experimentally measured dif-
fusivity values.
Experimental Apparatus
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the experi-
mental system employed in these studies. The dehu-
midifier is an 81-cm-diameter, 200-cm high fiberglass
tower. The solution entering the dehumidifier is dis-
tributed on top of a packed bed using a manifold of three
spray nozzles. An electric steam humidifier permits
variable moisture addition to the air before it enters the
dehumidifier. A mist eliminator is used to minimize the
liquid entrainment before the air exits the dehumidifier.
In a decoupled mode, the solution exiting the dehumidi-
fier is cooled in a cooling unit before it is sent back to
the top of the dehumidifier. In coupled mode, this
solution is sent to the regenerator through the econo-
mizer where it is heated by heat exchange with the hot
solution from the regenerator. The regenerator is
© 1996 American Chemical Society
4186 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the solar-assisted liquid-desic-
cant system.
similar in dimension and construction to the dehumidi-
fier unit. Hot air to the regenerator is provided by a
flat-plate solar collector array having a total area of 55.7
m2. Auxiliary heat is also supplied by three electric
strip heaters to increase the air temperature and
maintain a high regeneration rate under varying ambi-
ent conditions.
The hot solution exiting the regenerator is cooled in
the economizer by exchanging heat with the solution
from the dehumidifier. After passing through the
economizer, the warm solution is further cooled by water
in a four-pass shell-and-tube heat exchanger. A cooling
tower with a capacity of 28 kW supplies water to the
heat exchanger.
Mass-Transfer-Rate Studies
Initially, energy balance studies were carried out to
identify the reliably measured parameters and to mini-
mize the errors. The experimental system employed
provided energy balance data having a maximum error
of 10% in the decoupled mode (Lenz and Potnis, 1991).
Precautions suggested by these studies were observed
during subsequent experiments conducted to obtain the
relative magnitudes of mass-transfer resistances.
The mass-transfer rate in the packed-bed contactors
(the dehumidifier and the regenerator) depends on
various parameters such as air flow rate, solution
concentration, height of the packed bed, air and solution
inlet temperatures, and solution flow rate. All these
parameters except the solution flow rate were main-
tained constant (with a solution concentration of 51%
by weight) in a decoupled mode, for each contactor, to
study the dependency of the mass-transfer rate on
solution flow rate. Packed beds of random packing
(Polypropylene Tripack), with height 30 cm, and struc-
tured packing (Munters CELDEK), with heights 30 and
55 cm, were used to study the variation of mass-transfer
rates with types and heights of packings. The mass-
transfer rate between the two phases was obtained from
the rate of enthalpy change associated with the phase
change of water.
A log-log plot of Sherwood number vs Reynolds
number is generally employed to correlate various flow
parameters. However, since all parameters except the
solution flow rate were kept constant, a plot of mass-
transfer rate vs solution flow rate was constructed to
represent the conventional plot. Figures 2 and 3 show
that these plots are straight lines with slopes near 0.8.
This indicates that the dehumidifier and the regenerator
were operated under well-mixed, near-turbulent condi-
tions for liquid flow for all the variations of the packed
Figure 2. Comparison of mass-transfer rates obtained using
different packings in the dehumidifier.
Figure 3. Comparison of mass-transfer rates obtained using
different packings in the regenerator.
bed. However, for the random packed bed, the evapora-
tion rates in the regenerator were found to be ap-
proximately 300% and 130% greater and the conden-
sation rates in the dehumidifier were found to be
approximately 60% and 45% greater than the packed
beds of structured packing with heights 30 and 55 cm,
respectively. Considering the experimental error, there
was no significant difference between the condensation
rates offered by the structured packed beds of heights
55 and 30 cm. Therefore, there was no advantage
associated with the additional height of structured
packing observed for the dehumidifier.
Figures 4 and 5 show Wilson plots constructed using
the mass-transfer-rate data. The small magnitudes of
the intercepts obtained for these plots indicate that the
gas-phase mass-transfer resistance is negligible com-
pared to the liquid-phase mass-transfer resistance for
these contact operations. Therefore, a dimensionless
mass-transfer correlation to estimate the liquid-phase
mass-transfer coefficient would be a very useful tool for
the design of these systems. However, to convert the
data obtained from the mass transfer experiments into
dimensionless form, it is necessary to know the diffu-
sivity of water in lithium bromide solution.
Diffusivity Studies
A diffusivity apparatus was developed by suitably
combining the twin-bulb method and the diaphragm cell
method (Potnis et al., 1995). The diffusivity of water
in aqueous lithium bromide solutions was measured,

Figure 4. Wilson plots for the dehumidifier.
Figure 5. Wilson plots for the regenerator.
using tritiated water as the tracer, for concentrations
ranging from 0.5 to 11 M. The value of diffusivity was
found to increase from 13.2 × 10-10 to 16.7 × 10-10 m2/s
for the concentration variation of 0.5 to 4 M and then
to decrease to a steady value of approximately 6.5 ×
10-10 m2/s from 8 to 11 M.
Packed-Bed Mass-Transfer Coefficients
Overall mass-transfer coefficients for the contactors
were calculated using the data obtained from the mass-
transfer experiments. These mass-transfer coefficients
are composite coefficients for the packing, the spray
droplets, and the film flowing on the wall of the
contactor. The coefficients for the packing alone were
obtained from the composite coefficients for the contac-
tors by separating the other contributions.
Contactor Overall Mass-Transfer Coefficients.
The Wilson plots obtained from the mass-transfer
studies (Figures 4 and 5) have indicated that the gas-
phase mass-transfer resistance is negligible for these
contact operations. Therefore,
kx ) Kx xi ) x* (1)
The height of a contactor can be expressed as
Z) ∫K (x - x*)aS(1
L
- x)
dx (2)
x Zt
Since the change of solution mole fraction across the
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996 4187
contactor is small (0.2%),
Nw ) Kxa(x - x*av)SZ (3)
The values of inlet humidities were obtained from a
knowledge of dew points. The values of the outlet
humidities were obtained using the mass transfer rates.
The values of x*inlet and x*outlet were obtained from these
humidities using an equilibrium chart for aqueous
lithium bromide solutions. The volumetric mass-
transfer coefficients (Kxa) were then evaluated using the
mass-transfer rates (Nw) obtained earlier.
Processes Influencing the Overall Mass Trans-
fer. The process of mass transfer in the contactors
occurs in three separate regions: a first region of small
droplets created by the spray nozzles, a second region
of thin films of solution flowing on the packing surface,
and a third region of the film flowing down the wall of
the contactor. To obtain the mass-transfer rate due to
the packing alone, it was necessary to separate the
mass-transfer contributions due to the other two re-
gions.
In order to estimate the magnitude of the mass-
transfer contribution for the wall film, a thin plastic ring
was mounted at the bottom of the regenerator, just
above the pan. A tight fit was provided so that the ring
collected all the liquid flowing down the wall. The
solution flow rate on the wall was determined by
measuring the liquid collected by the ring in a known
time duration, using an external valve connected to the
ring. To allow for a maximum amount of liquid to flow
toward the wall, the measurements were done in the
absence of any packing. It was found that the solution
flow rates on the wall were only about 10% of the total
solution flow rates. This value was close to the other
experimental errors involved. Also, in the presence of
packing, the amount of solution flowing on the wall
would be further reduced due to the repeated redistri-
bution of liquid over the packing surface at the contact
points of the wall and the packing. Therefore, the mass-
transfer contributions due to the films flowing down the
walls of the contactors were neglected.
To separate the contribution of the region of small
droplets created by the spray nozzles, mass-transfer
studies were conducted using only spray nozzles in both
of the contactors (no packing). The experimental and
analytical procedure followed for these studies was
similar to the procedure followed for the mass transfer
studies with packings, described earlier.
Packing Kxa. Since the mass-transfer contribution
of the solution film on the wall is negligible, the total
mass-transfer rate in a contactor can be expressed as
Nw ) (Kxa)contactor(x - x*av)contactorSZt
) (Kxa)spray(x - x*av)spraySZs +
(Kxa)packing(x - x*av)packingSZp (4)
Since the concentration change of solution across the
tower was very small (0.2 wt %), x was taken to be
constant. The change of x* due to spray alone was found
to be very small (<1%) (Potnis, 1994). Also, this change
would be further reduced in the presence of a packing,
as the height of the spray would be reduced. Therefore,
the driving force term could be eliminated and the
volumetric mass transfer coefficient for the packing
could be obtained from eq 4.
Zs
(Kxa)packing ) (Kxa)contactor - (Kxa)spray (5)
Zp Zp
4188 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996

(Kxa)spray was obtained from the mass-transfer studies

conducted for spray alone, following the same method
employed to estimate (Kxa)overall. Using the values of
(Kxa)contactor, (Kxa)packing was then obtained from eq 5.
Random-Packing Mass-Transfer Coefficients.
The volumetric mass-transfer coefficient, Kxa, is a
combination of two independent variables, Kx and a.
Although these two variables depend on the same
parameters such as fluid flow rates, transport proper-
ties, and packing geometry, the impact of these param-
eters on these two variables is different. Therefore, it
is desirable to attempt to separate these two variables.
Onda et al. (1967) took into account the liquid surface
tension and surface energy of the packing materials and
derived an equation for the wetted surface area:
aw
at {
) 1 - exp -1.45
σc
σ () 0.75
Ret0.1Fr-0.05We0.2 } (6)
Figure 6. Comparison of mass-transfer coefficients obtained for
for different packings in the regenerator.

0.04 < Ret < 500

1.2 × 10-7 < We < 0.27

2.5 × 10-9 < Fr < 1.8 × 10-2

σc
0.3 < <2
σ
By using eq 6 and by assuming a wetted area equal
to the effective area, Onda et al. correlated a large
amount of liquid-phase mass-transfer data for organic
liquids as well as for water (Sherwood and Holloway,
1940; Vivian and King, 1964; Yoshida and Koyanagi,
1958; Onda et al., 1959; Hikita et al., 1954) to within
(20%. Packings studied included a variety of sizes of
Raschig rings, Berl saddles, pall rings, spheres, and
rods, made of ceramic, glass, poly(vinyl chloride), and
paraffin-coated material.
Due to the success of eq 6, it is being widely used as
a method of predicting the wetted area of packings
(Ponter and Au-Yeung, 1986; Nawrocki et al., 1991).
However, this equation is developed for the wetted
areas, and the effective area in a packed column is not
always the same as the wetted area. The wetted area
comprises the static area, due to static holdup of liquid
in the column, and the dynamic area, due to dynamic
holdup. For absorption without chemical reaction, the
stagnant and semistagnant pockets of fluids, which
contribute to static holdup, tend to become saturated,
rendering the static area ineffective for mass transfer.
Therefore, the effective interfacial area is nearly the
same as the dynamic area. Puranik and Vogelpohl
(1974) carried out a statistical analysis of the available
data of effective interfacial areas for absorption with and
without chemical reaction and found that the static area
equals zero for
We
g 12.5
Fr
Thus, if this criterion is satisfied, then eq 6 can be
used for predicting effective areas, provided other
parameters satisfy the criteria given in eq 7. Therefore,
after determining that the range of parameters used in
the present studies satisfied these criteria, eq 6 was
used to obtain effective areas. Using these areas, mass-
transfer coefficients for the random packing were esti-
mated from the corresponding volumetric mass-transfer
(7)
Figure 7. Comparison of mass-transfer coefficients obtained for
the dehumidifier using different packings.
coefficients. Figures 6 and 7 show the variation of mass-
transfer coefficients obtained with the variation of
solution flow rate for the random packing used, and the
following are the corresponding correlations:
Kx ) 0.5(L*)1.2 for the regenerator (9)
Kx ) 0.4L* for the dehumidifier (10)
where Kx is the overall liquid-phase mass-transfer
coefficient (mol/(m2 s) (mole fraction)) and L* is the
solution flow rate per unit cross-sectional area (kg/(s
m2)).
Structured-Packing Mass-Transfer Coefficients.
The coating material used for the structured packing
was carbon-impregnated cellulose, which is a strong
adsorbent of water. This feature combined with a cross-
fluted surface provides near complete wettability of
(8) these packings. Also, Erickson (1968) found that even
a deliberate distribution of water on only 50% of the
cross-sectional area provides an effective area of more
than 80% of the dry area. As the nozzles employed in
the present studies are arranged to give near complete
coverage of the cross-sectional area of the packing, the
effective area was assumed to be same as the dry area.
This assumption was also found to yield satisfactory
results for studies conducted by Griffiths (1993) for
lithium chloride solution and by Dowdy and Karabash

(1987) for evaporative cooling. Using this assumption,
the mass-transfer coefficients were calculated from the
volumetric coefficients for structured packing, obtained
earlier. The variation of these coefficients with solution
flow rate is shown graphically in Figures 6 and 7, and
the following are the corresponding correlations:
for the regenerator
Kx ) 0.01(L*)1.1 for structured packing (30 cm)
(11)
Kx ) 0.015L* for structured packing (55 cm) (12)
for the dehumidifier
Kx ) 0.02(L*)0.9 for structured packing (30 cm)
(13)
Kx ) 0.015L* for structured packing (55 cm) (14)
where Kx is the overall liquid-phase mass-transfer
coefficient and L* is the solution flow rate per unit cross
sectional area.
Comparison of Mass-Transfer Coefficients
Data obtained from the mass-transfer-rate studies for
both contactors were analyzed for the presence of pinch
or crossover points, and it was determined that no such
points were reached during these studies. Since the
solution concentration across each contactor remained
almost constant and since there were no pinch or
crossover points reached in any contactor, the average
overall mass-transfer coefficient obtained can be con-
sidered to be the local mass-transfer coefficient. Also,
since the mass-transfer studies for both contactors were
carried out at the same solution concentration, a
comparison of the mass-transfer coefficients obtained
for the regenerator and the dehumidifier is justified.
Therefore, it is conceivable that the transport properties
of the liquid phase may have played a significant role
in determining the trends of the mass-transfer coef-
ficients.
The transfer of the water molecules from the bulk
solution to the air involves transport from the turbulent
bulk to the laminar boundary layer and transport across
the laminar boundary layer. Due to the slow rate of
transport, the mass-transfer resistance resides prima-
rily in the laminar liquid boundary layer at the gas-
solution interface. This mass-transfer resistance is
directly proportional to the thickness of the boundary
layer (Treybal, 1981). Therefore, the thickness of the
boundary layer determines the relative influence of each
region on the net rate of mass transfer and the local
mass-transfer coefficient.
The thickness of the laminar boundary layer depends
on various parameters such as the transport properties
of the solution, the distance traveled by the solution film
on the packing surface (X), and the velocity with which
the solution approaches the packing surface (ν∞). This
dependence can be represented by the equation (Bird
et al., 1960)
x ( )
µ X DF 1/3
δm ) C1 (15)
F ν∞ µ
Different types of packing and contactors change the
parameters involved on the right-hand side of eq 15,
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996 4189
which in turn change the thickness of the boundary
layer and the local mass-transfer coefficient.
The solution sprayed over the randomly packed bed
flows over a large number of small packing units
(Tripack spheres), which are divided into small separate
surfaces. The solution sprayed over structured packing
enters the flutes or the corrugations of the structured
packing and flows almost undisturbed over the fluted
surface until it comes out of the layer of structured
packing. Therefore, the distance traveled by the solu-
tion on a structured packing surface is larger than that
on a random packing surface. Thus, from eq 15, the
boundary layer thickness for the structured packing is
greater than that for the random packing. It is thus
reasonable that the random-packing mass-transfer coef-
ficient is significantly higher than that for the struc-
tured packing in both contactors, as observed in this
research.
When two layers of structured packing are stacked,
due to crosswise arrangement, the solution undergoes
some mixing and the films flowing down the flutes of
the structured packing are disturbed near the junction
of the two layers. This causes a reduction in the average
distance traveled on the packing surface by the solution
films, which in turn tends to reduce the thickness of
the boundary layer. However, when solution flows from
one layer of packing to another, it undergoes a pressure
drop. This causes a reduction in the approach velocity
(ν∞) of the solution for the second layer of packing, which
tends to increase the boundary layer thickness. There-
fore, these processes which are in opposite directions
determine the change of boundary layer thickness with
the addition of another layer of packing.
Figure 7 shows that, considering experimental error,
the mass-transfer coefficients for single and double
layers of packing are almost the same. This indicates
that there is no major change in the boundary layer
thickness with the addition of another layer of struc-
tured packing in the dehumidifier. However, in the
regenerator, the mass-transfer coefficients for the double
layer of structured packing are 50% higher than those
obtained for the single layer of structured packing. Also,
the ratio of the mass-transfer coefficients obtained for
the random packing to those obtained for the double
layer of structured packing is near 40 in the regenerator
and near 30 in the dehumidifier. This implies that the
change of boundary layer thickness with change of
packing depends on the type of contactor.
If the ratios of the boundary layer thicknesses ob-
tained for different packings in each contactor are
considered, then the transport property terms will
cancel because all packings are operated at the same
average temperature in each contactor. Thus, the
values of the ratios will be primarily determined by the
distances traveled by the solution on the packing
surfaces and the approach velocities of the solution. The
changes in these two quantities can be linked to the
changes in surface tension and pressure drop with
temperature.
The regenerator solution temperature (41 °C) is
higher than the dehumidifier solution temperature (25
°C). This higher temperature reduces the viscosity and
surface tension of the solution in the regenerator. The
reduction in viscosity causes a reduction in the pressure
drop, which in turn increases the approach velocity for
the next unit of packing. The reduction in the surface
tension helps the solution film detach from the packing
surface, thus reducing the distance traveled by the film
(X in eq 15) on a single packing surface. Thus, both
processes tend to reduce the boundary layer thickness
4190 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996

with an increase in temperature. It is thus reasonable

that the mass-transfer coefficients undergo greater
changes in the regenerator than in the dehumidifier.
The mass-transfer coefficients obtained for a single
layer of structured packing in the regenerator are lower
than those obtained in the dehumidifier. After entering
the flutes of the structured packing, solution flows
almost undisturbed over the packing surface. There-
fore, the distance traveled by the solution on the surface
of the single layer of structured packing is the same in
both contactors. Also, since the mass-transfer coef-
ficients are compared at the same flow rate, the solution
approach velocities are the same in both contactors for
this case. The density change is also negligible for the
change of temperature considered here. Therefore,
according to eq 15, this change of mass-transfer coef-
ficients can be attributed to the change of viscosity and
the change of diffusivity with temperature. Since the
change of absolute temperature between the dehumidi- Figure 8. Variation of Sherwood number with Reynolds number
for different packings in the dehumidifier.
fier and the regenerator is small (≈5%), the diffusivity
can be considered to be inversely proportional to the
viscosity (Cussler, 1984). As the temperature increases, The characteristic length of packing (Dp), required for
the viscosity of the solution decreases. Therefore, it calculation of the Sherwood number and Reynolds
follows from eq 15 that the boundary layer thicknesses number, was defined as the diameter of a sphere
are higher for a single layer of structured packing in possessing the same surface area as a unit of packing
the regenerator than those in the dehumidifier. Also, (Shulman et al., 1955). The characteristic length for one
this increased boundary layer thickness in the regen- sphere (one unit) of the random packing was found to
erator will reduce the mixing effects at the entrance and be 0.027 m. The diameter of the polypropylene sphere
exit of the packing. Thus, the mass-transfer coefficients determined from the terminal velocity of the sphere in
obtained for the single layer of structured packing in water was found to be 0.028 m. The actual diameter of
the regenerator are lower than those obtained in the the polypropylene sphere was 0.025 m. These values,
dehumidifier. determined using different methods, confirmed that the
characteristic dimension of the random packing was the
diameter of the polypropylene tripack sphere. There-
Representation of Mass-Transfer Coefficients in
fore, the diameter obtained from the conventional
Dimensionless Form
definition used by Shulman et al. was used to obtain
The results of mass-transfer experiments are usually the dimensionless numbers.
correlated using three dimensionless groups: Sherwood One flute of the corrugated surface was considered
number , Reynolds number, and Schmidt number to be one unit of the structured packing. The dimen-
sions of the fluted surface were determined, and the
Sh ) CReaScb (16) surface area of the flute was equated to the surface area
of a regular sphere. The characteristic length thus
In the present studies, the dependence of the mass-
obtained was found to be 0.087 m.
transfer coefficient on the solution flow rate was studied,
Although the bulk solution is turbulent, the boundary
while maintaining all other parameters constant. Thus,
layer near the gas-liquid interface is in laminar motion.
the Schmidt number was kept constant. Therefore,
Also, due to high thermal conductivity of the solution,
according to eq 16, log-log plots of Sherwood number
the temperature gradient across this layer is small, and
vs Reynolds number should be straight lines.
due to a small concentration difference, the density
Film theory suggests that mass-transfer coefficients
difference across this layer is small. Therefore, the
are directly proportional to diffusivity, indicating that
water transport across this boundary layer is primarily
the exponent for the Schmidt number in eq 16 is zero.
due to molecular diffusion (Treybal, 1981; Cussler, 1984;
However, film theory assumes the presence of a stag-
Bird et al., 1960). Thus, the Sherwood number can be
nant film at the interface and is applicable in only a
defined as
few cases, such as for the presence of high mass-transfer
flux and mass transfer associated with chemical reac-
tion. Since in the present studies the gas-liquid KxDp
Sh ) (17)
interface is not stagnant, film theory is not considered cD
to be applicable.
Penetration theory (Higbie, 1935) and surface-re- The log-log plots of Sherwood number vs Reynolds
newal theory (Danckwerts, 1951, 1955) assume a non- number for different packings in the dehumidifier are
zero velocity at the gas-liquid interface for predicting shown in Figure 8.
the dependence of the mass-transfer coefficient (kl) on To obtain Sherwood numbers for the regenerator, it
diffusivity (DAB). Both theories predict that kl is pro- is necessary to have the value of diffusivity of water in
portional to DAB0.5, indicating that the exponent of the lithium bromide solution at the regenerator solution
Schmidt number is 0.5 in eq 16. This prediction is temperature (41 °C). The diffusivity data obtained
verified through the correlations proposed by Sherwood earlier were at 25 °C (Potnis et al., 1995). The value of
and Holloway (1940) and Shulman et al. (1955) for diffusivity at 41 °C was thus obtained from these values
random packings and by Lamourelle and Sandall (1972) following the procedure discussed in the following
for a wetted wall column. Therefore, the exponent of paragraphs.
Schmidt number was assumed to be 0.5 for the present Since the solution used in the present studies is a
studies. concentrated solution, commonly used equations for

dilute solutions cannot be used for these calculations.
Using the Stokes-Einstein equation for concentrated
solution (Batchelor, 1972,1976; Reed and Anderson,
1980),
D1 T1
(18)
D 2 T2
)
Using this equation, the diffusivity of water in the
regenerator was found to be 0.97 × 10-9 m2/s.
However, this equation sometimes predicts smaller
variations of diffusivity with changes of concentrations
for small solutes than those experimentally observed
(Cussler, 1984). Rosevaere et al. (1941) studied a
nonideal mixture of chloroform-ethyl ether and ob-
tained the product D0µ as
Dµ
D 0µ ) (19)
d log γ
1+
d log c
They plotted these values as a function of concentra-
tion and found that the product D0µ has a very small
linear dependence on concentration. Therefore,
D0µ ≈ constant (20)
Applying limd log Cf0, d log γf0 to eq 19 and using the
relation between the activity coefficient and the dif-
ferential heat of dilution (Smith and Van Ness, 1975),
the diffusivity in the regenerator was found to be 0.83
× 10-9 m2/s. However, this prediction, again, is not
completely reliable, as D0µ shows some dependence on
concentration. Therefore, the average of the values
predicted by both equations (0.9 × 10-9 m2/s) was used
for the diffusivity value at the average regenerator
temperature. Using this value of diffusivity, Sherwood
numbers for the regenerator were calculated. The log-
log plots of these Sherwood numbers vs Reynolds
numbers are shown in Figure 9. As discussed earlier
the exponent for the Schmidt number is assumed to be
0.5 to obtain correlations to predict the Sherwood
numbers. The equations thus obtained for a liquid
desiccant system using structured and random packings
in the regenerator and the dehumidifier are
regenerator
Sh ) 0.46Re1.2Sc0.5 for random packing (21)
Sh ) 0.01ReSc0.5 for structured packing (30 cm)
(22)
Sh ) 0.02ReSc0.5 for structured packing (55 cm)
(23)
dehumidifier
Sh ) 0.8ReSc0.5 for random packing (24)
Sh ) 0.04Re0.9Sc0.5 for structured packing (30 cm)
(25)
Sh ) 0.03ReSc0.5 for structured packing (55 cm)
(26)
The exponents for the Reynolds number obtained in
these correlations vary from 0.9 to 1.2. These exponents
result from the exponents obtained for the solution flow
rates (L) from the plots of mass-transfer coefficients vs
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996 4191
Figure 9. Variation of Sherwood number with Reynolds number
for different packings in the regenerator.
solution flow rates. Mangers and Ponter (1980) have
found that the exponent for the solution flow rate is 1.44
for highly viscous solutions using random packings, a
case similar to that studied in the present research.
Although this exponent is for kLa data, the packings
were completely wet. Thus, the exponent for the solu-
tion flow rate should be the same for variation of the
mass-transfer coefficient alone. Also, Cornell et al.
(1960) have found that the exponent for the solution flow
rate is 1 for a large amount of mass-transfer data
including Sherwood-Holloway data for random pack-
ings. Again, this exponent is for kLa data. However,
using the corresponding correlation for the effective
area, the exponent for solution flow rate is found to be
0.93 for variation of the mass-transfer coefficient alone.
Thus, the exponents obtained in the present studies are
slightly higher than this exponent. However, the liquid
diffusivity values involved in Cornell et al. studies are
significantly higher than those involved in the present
studies. Although the liquid viscosity values are smaller,
considering the inverse proportionality of the diffusivity
and the viscosity, the boundary layer thicknesses are
higher for the Cornell et al. studies than those for the
present studies. Thus, for the Cornell et al. work, the
influence of the laminar layer should be greater and this
is consistent with a smaller exponent for the solution
flow rate relative to the present studies. Therefore, the
exponents for the Reynolds numbers obtained in the
present studies appear to be consistent with the data
obtained by other researchers.
Comparison with Another Dimensionless
Correlation
The experimentally obtained mass-transfer coeffi-
cients were compared with those predicted by a correla-
tion proposed by Onda et al. (1968) (Figures 10 and 11).
k1( )Fl
µg
1/3
( )( )
) 0.0051
L*
awµ
2/3
µ
FlD
-1/2
(atDp)0.4 (27)
The mass-transfer coefficients predicted by this cor-
relation for the random packings were found to be
within (20% of those obtained at lower flow rates in
the present studies. However, the difference was found
to increase with an increase in flow rate. Again, this
behavior can be explained through the types of packings
and fluids studied. Due to a variety of fluids and
4192 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 35, No. 11, 1996
Figure 10. Comparison of the random-packing mass-transfer
coefficients in the regenerator with those obtained using Onda’s
correlation.
Figure 11. Comparison of the random-packing mass-transfer
coefficients obtained in the dehumidifier with those predicted by
Onda’s correlation.
packings studied, a large range of at/a ratio is covered
by this correlation. However, the diffusivities encoun-
tered in the present studies are lower than those studied
by Onda et al., and the values for the at/a ratio obtained
for the present studies appear to be on the lower side
of the range covered by Onda et al. Thus, the average
boundary layer thickness is likely higher for the studies
by Onda et al. Therefore, the mass-transfer coefficients
obtained by Onda et al. are more influenced by the
laminar region. This results in the dependence of kl on
(L*)2/3, which is typical of the transition region. There-
fore, although this correlation predicts the mass-transfer
coefficients at lower flow rates to within (20%, as the
effect of turbulence increases with the increase in flow
rate, the difference between the predicted coefficients
and those obtained in the present studies increases.
Conclusions
Mass-transfer-rate studies were conducted and di-
mensionless mass-transfer coefficients were obtained for
a packed-bed liquid-desiccant system. The slopes of the
log-log plots of mass-transfer rate vs solution flow rate
were found to be close to 0.8, which indicated that the
conditions for the liquid phase were near turbulent for
the contact operations in the regenerator and the
dehumidifier. The small intercepts obtained for the
Wilson plots indicate that the gas-phase mass-transfer
resistance was negligible compared to the liquid-phase
mass-transfer resistance for these contact operations.
Mass-transfer rates obtained in the regenerator for the
randomly packed bed were found to be approximately
300% and 130% greater and those obtained in the
dehumidifier were found to be approximately 60% and
45% greater than those for the structured packed beds
with heights 30 and 55 cm, respectively.
The mass-transfer coefficients obtained for the ran-
dom packing varied from 0.48 to 2 mol/(s m2), while
those for the double layer of structured packing varied
from 0.018 to 0.035 mol/(s m2). The significant differ-
ence in these values can be explained by the difference
in the geometry between the two packings. In addition,
the structured-packing mass-transfer area is signifi-
cantly larger than that of the random packing. Thus,
the random-packing mass-transfer rates are only about
50% higher (not 30 times higher) than the structured-
packing mass-transfer rates in the dehumidifier.
These mass-transfer coefficients and the experimen-
tally determined diffusivity values were then utilized
to obtain dimensionless correlations between Sherwood
number (Sh), Reynolds number (Re), and Schmidt
number (Sc). Since the mass-transfer contributions of
the regions other than the packed beds were separated,
the dimensionless equations developed in these studies
should be useful for design of such liquid-desiccant
contactors with different geometries and liquid-distribu-
tion devices, employing similar packings and desiccants.
Acknowledgment
We appreciate the support for this work provided by
the Active Heating and Cooling Division, Office of Solar
Heat Technologies, U.S. Department of Energy.
Nomenclature
a ) effective area of the packing (m2/m3)
at ) total surface area of the packing (m2/m3)
aw ) wetted surface area of the packing (m2/m3)
c ) molar density (mol/m3)
C1 ) constant determined by the velocity profile in the
laminar boundary layer
D ) diffusivity of water in the lithium bromide solution
(m2/s)
D1 ) diffusivity value at the dehumidifier temperature (m2/
s)
D2 ) diffusivity value at the regenerator temperature (m2/
s)
D0 ) transport coefficient (m2/s)
Dp ) characteristic length of packing (m)
Fr ) (L2at)/(Fl2g) Froude number
g ) gravitational constant (m/s2)
G ) gas flow rate per unit cross sectional area (kg/(s m2))
kl ) liquid-phase mass-transfer coefficient (mol/(m2 s)
(concentration difference))
kx ) local liquid-phase mass-transfer coefficient (mol/(m2
s) (mole fraction))
Kx ) local overall liquid mass-transfer coefficient (mol/(m2
s) (mole fraction)
L ) solution flow rate (mol/s)
L* ) solution flow rate per unit cross-sectional area (kg/(s
m2)))
Nw ) local rate of mass transfer (mol/s)
Ret ) L/(atµl) ) Reynolds number based on total dry
packing area

S ) cross-sectional area of the packing (m2)
Sc ) Schmidt number ) µ/DF
Sh ) Sherwood number ) KxDp/cD
T ) absolute temperature (K)
T1 ) average temperature for the dehumidifier (K)
T2 ) average temperature for the regenerator (K)
v∞ ) approach velocity of the solution (m/s)
We ) L2/(Flσat) ) Weber number
x ) mole fraction of water in solution
X ) distance traveled by the solution on a packing surface
(m)
xi ) mole fraction of water at the interface
x* ) mole fraction of water in equilibrium with bulk
concentration in air
Zp ) packing height (m)
Zs ) Zt - Zp (m)
Zt ) distance between the spray nozzles and the pan used
to collect the solution (m)
Greek Symbols
δm ) boundary layer thickness for mass transfer (m)
φ1 ) volume fraction of the solute
γ ) activity coefficient
µ ) viscosity of the solution (Pa s)
µ1 ) viscosity of the liquid (Pa s)
F1 ) density of the solution (kg/m3)
σ ) surface tension of the liquid (103N/m)
σc ) critical surface tension of the packing material (103N/
m)
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Received for review April 15, 1996
Revised manuscript received July 8, 1996
Accepted July 9, 1996X
IE960212Y
X Abstract published in Advance ACS Abstracts, September
15, 1996.