Solar Energy Vol. 62, No. 1, pp.

1–10, 1998
© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd
PII: S0038-092X(97)00080-7 All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain
0038-092X/98 $19.00+0.00

HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN COMPOSITE DESICCANT PORE

STRUCTURES FOR DEHUMIDIFICATION
PRADIP MAJUMDAR
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, U.S.A.

Received 13 June 1996; revised version accepted 10 July 1997

Communicated by BYARD WOOD

Abstract—A composite desiccant dehumidifier made of mixed inert and desiccant materials is investigated.
A heat and mass transfer model that incorporates the composite nature of the structure is discussed. The
model includes both gas-side and solid-side resistances for heat and mass transport. The solid-side resis-
tance for the mass transport includes gas-phase diffusion and surface diffusion. The effectiveness for
moisture removal and heat transfer during adsorption and desorption processes in such a dehumidifier
during single blow operation is investigated. Results are presented for composite structures made of silica
gel and inert materials of different compositions and thermophysical properties. © 1997 Elsevier
Science Ltd.

1. INTRODUCTION midified leaves as dry and moderately warm

Recent research in the development of a solar
desiccant cooling system is focused on the devel-
opment of advanced desiccant materials that
give improved sorption capacity, favorable equi-
librium isotherms, and better moisture and heat
diffusion rates. Improved performance of these
systems will lower their initial and operating
costs, and make these systems a more attractive
alternative to existing vapor compression sys-
tems. An improved system with Type 1M iso-
therm shape (modified Langmuir Type 1) was
proposed by Collier et al. (1986). Further devel-
opments of such a system were continued by
Belding et al. (1991) and Worek et al. (1991).
Composite material structures that bind silica
gel particles with polymeric inert materials were
proposed by Anderson and Pesaran (1991). The
suitability of different technologies for binding
silica gel particles was investigated. They
demonstrated a 47% increased dehumidification
utilizing one such composite structure.
An open-cycle desiccant cooling system oper-
ating in a recirculating mode is shown in
Fig. 1(a) with the process illustrated on a
psychometric diagram in Fig. 1(b). This system
consists of desiccant dehumidifier, sensible heat
exchangers and evaporative coolers. In a desic-
cant cooling system the latent and sensible
cooling loads are handled separately in a desic-
cant dehumidifier and in a heat exchanger
respectively. In such a system configuration,
process air removed from the conditioned space
(state 1) is first dried by removing moisture in
a desiccant dehumidifier. The air being dehu-
1
(state 2). A sensible heat exchanger is then used
to cool the dehumidified air to state 3, and
finally, the air is evaporatively cooled to the
desired state 4 and returned to the conditioned
space. In the desorption mode, outdoor air
(state 5) is first evaporatively cooled to state 6
and then preheated in the sensible heat
exchanger before it is heated in the solar or gas
heater. The hot air is then passed through the
dehumidifier to regenerate the desiccant.
The desiccant dehumidifier consists of flow
channels of width 2a for adsorbing and desorb-
1
ing air streams. The wall, of thickness a ,
w
separating the flow channels includes a thin
paper-like felt that is made of composite mixture
of a micrometer-sized desiccant and inert par-
ticles. A schematic of a typical flow channel
and the sorbing composite desiccant felt is
shown in Fig. 2. Since the adsorption process
(process 1–2) is exothermic, heat is released as
the desiccant adsorbs water vapor in the dehu-
midifier. The heat of sorption dissipates through
the desiccant felts and raises the temperature of
the felts and the exit temperature of the process-
air stream. Also, as the temperature of the felt
increases, the sorption capacity of the desiccant
decreases. This change causes an increased exit
process-stream humidity ratio. Also, owing to
the higher exit temperature, the sensible heat
exchanger has to remove this excess heat from
the air stream in addition to meeting the sensible
cooling load of the space. These changes result
in a reduced cooling capacity in the adsorption
process and lead to the requirement of an
2 P. Majumdar

(a)

(b)

Fig. 1. (a) The desiccant cooling system configuration. (b) The desiccant cooling system illustrated on a psychometric
diagram.

Fig. 2. Schematic of the flow channel and the sorbing felt made of composite structure.

increased capacity of the sensible heat exchang-
ers. One would like to achieve processes such
as 1–2∞, 1–2◊ and ideally a process 1–2+ that
gives dehumidification at constant temperature
in the dehumidifier and reduced sensible cooling
in the heat exchanger (see Fig. 1(b)). It seems
that such processes can be approached by using
a composite felt structure made of mixed desic-
cant and inert materials of varying thermophysi-
cal properties.
In the present study, the performance of
adsorption and desorption processes during a
single blow operation in a dehumidifier made
of composite mixture of desiccant particles and
inert particles or fibers is investigated. The
mathematical model used to simulate the tran-
 Heat and mass transfer
sient coupled heat and mass transfer processes
in a porous composite structure is presented.
The model includes both gas-side and solid-side
resistances for heat and mass transport. The
solid-side resistance for mass transfer includes
gas-phase diffusion and surface diffusion in
intra-particle pores. The investigation will be
based on using composite structures made of
silica gel particles and inert materials of different
compositions and thermophysical properties,
and assuming a negligible effect of the inert
material on the moisture sorptive properties of
the silica gel.
2. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
The sorbing felt composed of a composite
mixture of desiccant and inert material is shown
in Fig. 2. The felt is assumed to be a particulate
composite structure and is made of a mixture
of silica gel and inert particles. This composite
felt structure could be prepared by mixing com-
mercially available silica gel particles with com-
patible inert material particles that have high
thermal capacitance. In the case of a particle,
we have solid matter with a porosity e defined
p diffusion or surface diffusion or, sometimes,
as the volume fraction of dry gel occupied by
air. As water slowly gets adsorbed in the mate-
rial, a portion of the volume formerly occupied
by air is filled with water. If we designate a
volume fraction of water as w and assume
wp
that pore size or the desiccant volume does not
vary with sorption of moisture, then we have
w <e . Similarly, for the case of desiccant felt
wp p
made of desiccant and inert particles, and
having a felt porosity e , the volume fraction of
f
water vapor in the desiccant felt w will be less
wf
than or equal to the felt porosity, e . With these
f For a water vapor–air mixture, the ordinary
assumptions the density, specific heat and con-
ductivity of the composite structures can be
expressed as follows:
density of the felt
r =(1−e )[(1−w )r +w r ]+e r (1)
f f I p I i f aw
specific heat of the felt
(1−e )r C +e r C
C= f p ps f aw aw (2)
f r
f z
where
r =(1−w )r +w r (3)
aw wf a wf w
C =(1−w )C +w C (4)
aw wf a wf w
C =(1−w )C +w C . (5)
ps I d I i
3
2.1. Effective thermal conductivity
In order to model the dissipation of heat in
the wet composite desiccant felt, it is necessary
to predict the effective thermal conductivity of
the composite media. The effective thermal con-
ductivity is primarily dependent on the thermal
conductivities of the composite phases, on that
of a liquid phase of water, of the vapor phase,
and the structure of the porous felt and par-
ticles. Sarwar and Majumdar (1995) developed
a model to predict the effective thermal conduc-
tivity of sorbing desiccant felt with inert materi-
als. The effective thermal conductivity of the
desiccant felt is calculated in two steps. First,
the thermal conductivity of the particle is com-
puted for the given particle porosity, pore diam-
eter, and thermal conductivities. The thermal
conductivity of the felt is then computed based
on the computed desiccant particle conductivity,
the inert material conductivity, the fraction of
inert material, the porosity of the felt, and the
particle size.
2.2. Moisture transport in microporous felt
Water vapor can diffuse through a porous
medium by either ordinary diffusion, Knudsen
combinations of them, depending on the pore
size and pressure. If the pores are much larger
than the mean free path of the vapor, then the
molecules collide with each other more fre-
quently than with the pore walls, and ordinary
molecular diffusion is assumed to be the con-
trolling factor. The ordinary diffusion coefficient
is calculated based on the kinetic theory of
gases and expressed as
=1ul, m2 s−1.
AO 3 :
D (6)
diffusion coefficient is given by
T1.685
D =1.735×10−9 , m2 s−1 (7)
AO P
where T is the temperature in kelvin and P is
the pressure in atmospheres.
The mass diffusion flux with ordinary diffu-
sion can be expressed by
∂Y*
m =−D . (8)
AO ∂z
A
Knudsen diffusion is encountered in smaller
pores and low pressure. When water vapor is
diffusing through a medium of smaller-size
pores, and/or the vapor density is very low,
molecules collide more frequently with the walls
4 P. Majumdar

than with each other and the resistance to
diffusion along the pore is primarily due to
molecular collisions with the walls. Assuming
the diffusional path is equivalent to a long
circular tube of radius a, and the two ends are
maintained at different pressures, a Fick’s law
type expression can be obtained for this type of
flow if a Knudsen diffusion coefficient is defined
based on kinetic theory as
However, it requires considerable computa-
tional effort and is only valid for limited pore
sizes at low concentrations. Lu et al. (1991)
obtained apparent solid-side diffusivity by
matching the analytical solution to the experi-
mental data and showed the dependence of
surface diffusivity on the particle size and mois-
ture content. Sladek et al. (1974) proposed a
simpler correlation for silica gel as

A B
T 1/2 D =D exp[−0.974×10−3(H /T+273.2)]
D =97a , m2 s−1. (9) s o ads
AK M (14)
1
The mass diffusion flux with Knudsen diffusion where
can be expressed as
D =1.6×10−10 m2 s−1. (15)
∂Y* o
m =−D . (10) A comparison of Knudsen and surface diffu-
z AK ∂z
A sion rates in pores shows that surface diffusion
In some intermediate range of pore sizes, dominates in pore sizes of 11 Å, whereas both
both ordinary and Knudsen diffusion contribute are important for gel with a pore size of 68 Å.
to the transfer of vapor in the media. In this If surface diffusion of the adsorbed layer is
range, the combined ordinary and Knudsen important, along with molecular and Knudsen
diffusion can be represented by assuming paral- diffusion, then the total diffusion flux can be
lel resistances and expressed as written as

A B
1 −1 ∂Y* ∂(r Y* )
A B
1 1 −1 1
p m
D = + (11) m =− + −D
A D D z D D ∂z s ∂z
AO AK AO AK A A
and the mass diffusion flux can be written as (16)
∂Y* and using eqn (11)
m =−D . (12)
z A ∂z ∂Y* ∂(r Y* )
A m =−D −D p m . (17)
Surface diffusion is the transport of adsorbed z A ∂z s ∂z
A A
molecules on the pore surface. A number of
models representing the possible mechanisms 2.3. Effective diffusion coefficient
for movement of adsorbed molecules on sur- Equations for diffusion coefficients are valid
faces are available. These are the hydrodynamic only for long, uniform radius capillaries, and
model, the mechanistic hopping model and should be modified for application to really
Fick’s law model. In the Fick’s law model, the porous media. In the case of diffusion through
surface flux is assumed to be proportional to a porous mass, the diffusion is reduced because
the concentration gradient and expressed as the free or open cross-section is a fraction of
the total. Also, the diffusion coefficient is
∂(r Y* )
m =−D p m (13) reduced owing to the presence of a tortuous
z s ∂z path and change in the cross-sectional area of
A
where D is the surface diffusion coefficient. pore channels. Using various available models,
s such as the cylindrical pore model, parallel pore
The surface diffusion coefficient was esti-
mated experimentally by various investigators model and random pore model, it can be shown
(Sladek et al., 1974; Kruckles, 1976; Lu et al., that an effective ordinary or Knudsen diffusion
1991). Kruckles (1976) considered the sub- coefficient can be expressed as
monolayer concentration range and proposed e
that the mechanism of surface diffusion was D = m D (18)
A,e t A
that of the activated hopping of molecules in a
random walk process. His proposed formula where e is the felt porosity that accounts for
m
was based on a combined mathematical model the reduction of free area for diffusion due to
and experimental data. This formula showed the presence of a solid phase and t is the
a dependence on initial moisture content. tortuosity factor that accounts for the increase
 Heat and mass transfer 5

in diffusional length due to the tortuous path for moisture

of the real pores.

K
Similarly, the surface diffusion coefficient ∂Y*
=0 (24)
given by eqn (14) is valid for smooth surfaces, ∂z
and should be modified to account for the rough z=0

K A K B
walls of the porous media. Since the surface ∂Y* Y*
diffusion is a surface phenomenon, the reduc- =l Y− (25)
∂z 12 r
tion of the area normal to the direction of flux z=1 A z=1
due to the presence of the solid phase does not for temperature
affect the effective surface diffusivity. The effec-

K
tive surface diffusion coefficient is expressed as ∂T* ∂T
=l al (26)
D ∂z 15 ∂t
D = s (19) z=0
s,e t

K
s ∂T*
where t is the tortuosity factor for surface =l (T −T* ), (27)
s ∂z 16 1 z=1
diffusion. z=1
where
2.4. Mathematical model of sorption processes
The diffusion of mass and the conduction of eD a2
l = f , l = 1 , l =l l
heat that occurs in desiccant felt can be 1 (1−w )D 2 a2 4 1 2
described in terms of conservation equations, g A,e w
transfer rate equations, boundary conditions, (28)
and equilibrium relations for the desiccant felt.
The model is based on the following assump- c r k r
l = 1 a, l = w s ,
tions: (i) the axial conduction and diffusion in 5 c 6 (1−w )r QD
the channels are small compared with the con- 2 g p AO
vective flow of heat and mass, and are negligible; CAP
l = −1 (29)
(ii) the heat and mass transfer from the air in 7 (1−w )r Qc
g p 1
the process and cooling channels to the surface
of the desiccant felt can be approximated by 1 Cr
l =l l l , l = , CAP= f f
constant transfer coefficients; (iii) the axial con- 9 2 6 10 10 l l 1−w
duction and diffusion within the desiccant felts 7 8 f
are negligible; (iv) the rate of diffusion in pores (30)
of the particles is fast compared with that in
2h K a a a
the intra-particle channels. The set of governing l = 1 , l = YC w , l = al w
equations and boundary conditions describing 11 K (∂H /∂T ) 12 eD 14 a2
YC 1 1 f 1
this model will now be given.
(31)
2.5. Governing equations
r D ∂Y* ∂Y*
For the desiccant felt l = a AO , c = m , c = m (32)
13 r c k 1 ∂T* 2 ∂Y*
∂Y* ∂2Y* ∂T* s 2 e
=l −l (20) h a
∂t 4 ∂z2 5 ∂t
l =c l l , l = 1 w , D=D +D c .
15 al 13 14 16 k A,e s,e 2
∂T* ∂2T* ∂Y* e
=l +l . (21) (33)
∂t 9 ∂z2 10 ∂t

For the process channel The initial conditions are

A K B
∂Y Y* Y*(x, 0)=Y* (34)
=2 −Y (22) I
∂x r
A z=1 T*(x, 0)=T* . (35)
∂T I
1 =l (T*| −T ) (23)
∂x 11 z=1 1 The inlet conditions are

The boundary conditions are as follows: T (0, t)=T , Y(0, t)=Y (36)
1 o o
6 P. Majumdar

Table 1. Dimension and properties of desiccant felt structure

Dimension and property Value

Particle size (mm) 5

Density (kg m−3) 1201
Particle porosity 0.45
Felt porosity 0.576
Pore diameter (mm) 1.4
Tortuosity factor for combined ordinary and Knudsen diffusion 3.3
Tortuosity factor for surface diffusion 3.3
Thermal conductivity of solid silica gel ( W m−1 K−1) 0.22
Specific heat of dessicant (J kg−1 K−1) 0.9212
Process-channel spacing (m) 0.00316
Desiccant-felt thickness (m) 0.00152
Aluminum-sheet thickness (m) 0.00127
Non-dimensional process channel length 3.5
Non-dimensional adsorption time 4.0
Non-dimensional desorption time 16.0
Temperature of the adsorbing air at the inlet (°C ) 28.0
Moisture concentration of air at the inlet (kg H O/kg dry air) 0.011
2
Temperature of desorbing air at the inlet (°C ) 65
Moisture concentration of desorbing air at the inlet (kg H O/kg dry air) 0.0148
2
Heat of adsorption (J kg−1) 2650×103

Fig. 3. Cooling capacity with varying fraction of inert mate- Fig. 4. Instantaneous exit states of the adsorbing air stream
rial and different thermal capacitance ratio. for w =0.2 and varying thermal capacitance ratio.
I

We use the non-dimensional variables

x K with the equilibrium sorption isotherms of the
x= A YC (37)
2r a u desiccant felt. Majumdar and Worek (1989)
a 1 1 obtained equilibrium sorption isotherms for
z r D t silica gel felt by fitting experimental data given
z= A , t= a AO A (38)
a r C a2 by Dini and Worek (1986). The form of the
w s 2 1
equation is given as
2.6. Desiccant equilibrium properties
Y* =D +D T*2+D RH2+D RH3
The system of equations governing the m 1 2 3 4
dynamics of sorption has to be solved along +D T*3RH2+D T*3RH3
5 6
 Heat and mass transfer 7

Fig. 5. Adsorbing air exit temperature. Fig. 6. Average felt temperature during the adsorption
process.

where
D =0.0329, D =−0.4113×10−5,
1 2
D =0.0105×10−3,
3
D =0.6586×10−6,
4
D =0.7894×10−10,
5
D =0.6747×10−12
6
The composite structure under consideration
is assumed to have a negligible effect on the
sorption characteristics of silica gel.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The heat-and mass-transfer equations, given

by eqns (20)–(37), along with the effective heat
conductivity model, have been solved by using
the finite-difference scheme. The numerical solu-
tion is used to study the adsorption process in
desiccant dehumidifier flow channels. Table 1
gives the physical property data of the silica gel
felt used in the simulation. The same table gives
physical dimensions and properties of the desic-
cant dehumidifier channel.
The cooling capacity, defined as the difference
in enthalpy of the adsorbing air stream at the
inlet and the exit states of the dehumidifier, is
estimated for varying fractions of inert material
w , and for different thermal capacitance ratio
I
Y , and results are presented in Fig. 3. Results
c
Fig. 7. Adsorbing air humidity at exit.
show that for lower values of a capacitance
ratio, such as 4 or below, the cooling capacity
decreases with an increase in a fraction of inert
material. However, with higher values of a
capacitance ratio, such as 8 and above, the
cooling capacity increases to maximum peak
value at around w =0.2 and then decreases with
I
further increases in the fraction. It can also be
noticed that at higher values of capacitance
8 P. Majumdar

Fig. 8. Instantaneous exit states of the desorbing air stream for Y =2.0 and varying fraction of inert material.
c

ratios the peaks shift towards the left with a
lower fraction of inert material. A 19.5%
increase in cooling capacity is achieved with a
fraction of inert material w =0.2 and thermal
I
capacitance ratio Y =24.0. Instantaneous exit
c
states of the adsorbing air stream are shown on
a temperature/humidity space domain in Fig. 4
for the case with w =0.2 and varying thermal
I
capacitance ratios. It can be observed that the
adsorbing air stream exits at a lower temper-
ature and with slightly higher moisture content.
This caused a dehumidification process with less
sensible heating and resulted in a higher cooling
capacity. This is evident by observing that the
locations of exit states move towards the left at
a lower enthalpy in the psychometric chart, as
shown in this figure, and approach ideal thermo-
dynamic processes such as 1–2∞ and 1–2◊, as
previously indicated and shown in Fig. 1(b).
Lower exit temperature of the adsorbing air
stream, as shown in Fig. 5, will also lead to a
reduced requirement for sensible cooling in the
heat exchanger to meet the space load.
Figure 6 shows the variation of the average
temperature of the felt during adsorption for
w =0.2 and varying thermal capacitance ratios.
I
Note that the adsorption process takes place
with a much lower temperature rise in the felt
with an increase in thermal capacitance ratios.
For the case with Y =24.0, the average temper-
c
ature of the felt was increased only by 4–5°C
compared with 10°C for the case with Y =0.2.
c

Fig. 9. Desorbing air exit temperature.

 Heat and mass transfer
Fig. 10. Desorbing air humidity ratio at exit.
A lower average temperature of the felt during
adsorption maintains a lower exit temperature
of the air stream and a higher moisture removal
rate, as shown in Figs 5 and 7, respectively.
The effect of the fraction of inert material on
the adsorption process is shown in Figs 8–10.
Figure 8 shows instantaneous exit states of the
desorbing air on a temperature/humidity ratio
space domain for the case with Y =2.0 and
c
varying fraction of inert material. Results show
that the rate of desorption increases with an
increase in the fraction of inert material up to
a value w =0.4. Further increase in the fraction
I desiccant substrates for desiccant dehumidifiers.
of inert material causes a deterioration of the
desorption rate, which causes a higher exit
temperature and a lower exit humidity ratio, as
shown in Figs 9 and 10, respectively.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The performance of adsorption and desorp-
tion processes during a single blow operation
in a dehumidifier made of a composite mixture
of silica gel particles and inert particles is
investigated.
It is observed that with higher values of
capacitance ratio, such as 8 and above, the
cooling capacity increases to a maximum peak
value at around a fraction of inert material of
w =0.2. A 19.5% increase in cooling capacity is
I Sladek, K. J., Gilliland, E. R. and Buddour, R. F. (1974)
achieved with a thermal capacitance ratio
Y =24.0. Under these conditions, the adsorb-
c
ing air stream exits at a lower temperature and
with a slightly higher moisture content. This
caused a dehumidification process with less sen-
sible heating and resulted in a higher cooling
9
capacity. It is also observed that the rate of
desorption increases with an increase in the
fraction of inert material up to a value of
w =0.4. Further increase in the fraction of inert
I
material causes a deterioration of the desorption
rate, which causes a higher exit temperature
and a lower exit humidity ratio.
REFERENCES
Anderson D. R. and Pesaran A. A. (1991) Innovative solid
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia, pp. 578–586.
Belding W. A., Worek W. M., Novosel D. and Holeman
(1991) Desiccant development for gas-fired desiccant
cooling systems. ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia,
pp. 587–594.
Collier R. K., Cale T. S. and Lavan Z. (1986) Advanced
desiccant materials assessment. Gas Research Institute
Report GRI-86/0182.
Dini S. and Worek W. M., Heat Recovery Sys 6, (1986) 151.
Kruckles W. W. (1976) On gradient dependent diffusivity.
Chemical Engineering Science 18, 1565–1576.
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nation of sorption rate and apparent solid-state diffusiv-
ity of pure H O in silica gel using constant volume/
2
variable pressure apparatus. J. Solar Energy 113,
257–263.
Majumdar P. and Worek W. M. (1989) Combined heat and
mass transfer in a porous adsorbent. Energy 14, 161–175.
Sarwar M. K. and Majumdar P. (1995) Thermal conductiv-
ity of wet composite porous media. Heat Recovery Sys-
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physically and chemically adsorbed specie. Industrial
Chemical Fundamental, 13(2).
Worek W. M., Zheng W., Belding W. A., Novosel D. and
Holeman W. D. (1991) Simulation of advanced gas-
fired desiccant cooling systems. ASHRAE Transactions
97, 609–614.
10 P. Majumdar

APPENDIX A Y initial moisture concentration of air in the pore

I
channel (kg H O/kg dry air)
2
Nomenclature Y* moisture sorbed in the solid phase (kg H O/
m 2
kg of desiccant)
a pore radius (m) Y moisture concentration of process air at the inlet
o
a half of the aluminum sheet thickness (m) (kg H O/kg dry air)
al 2
a thickness of felt (m) Y* moisture concentration of air in the pore channels of
w felt (kg H O/kg dry air)
a half of the process channel width (m) 2
1 x,x non-dimensional space variable in the direction of
a half of the cooling channel width (m) F
2 the process-air flow and non-dimensional channel
C specific heat of moist air (J kg−1 s−1)
aw length respectively
C specific heat of desiccant (J kg−1 s−1)
d x space variable in the direction of the process-air flow
C specific heat of felt (J kg−1 s−1) A
f z non-dimensional spaces variable in the direction of
C specific heat of inert material (J kg−1 s−1)
i the thickness of the felt
C specific heat of solid (J kg−1 s−1)
s z space variable in the direction of the thickness of the
k thermal conductivity of the vapor phase in a pore A
A felt
( W m−1 K−1)
k effective thermal conductivity ( W m−1 K−1)
e
k thermal conductivity of the solid phase
s Greek letters
( W m−1 K−1)
k thermal conductivity of the liquid phase of water
w
( W m−1 K−1) e porosity
K mass-transfer coefficient in the process channel times e felt porosity
YC f
the density of air e particle porosity
p
T initial temperature of felt (°C ) w volume fraction
I
T process air temperature at inlet (°C ) w volume fraction of inert material
o I
T process air temperature (°C ) Y ratio of thermal capacitance of inert to that of desic-
1 c
T* temperature of felt (°C ) cant
t non-dimensional time r density of powdered material (kg m−3)
t time variable r felt density (kg m−3)
A f
Y moisture concentration of process air (kg H O/ r particle density (kg m−3)
2 p
kg dry air) t tortuosity factor for ordinary and Knudsen diffusion