Heat and mass transfer devices with wettable layers for forming falling films

A heat and mass transfer panel comprising:

• a support structure;
• at least one wettable layer in contact with the support structure, the layer comprising one or more draw-and-drip features;
• a plurality of gas contact zones adjacent to the layers;
• a fluid distribution system comprising a plurality of headers adjacent to the support structures at an inlet end of the layer;
• and
• a fluid collection system comprising a plurality of footers adjacent to the support structures at an outlet end of the layer, each footer comprising a stepped feature to form a reservoir defined by the footer and the layer at the outlet end;
• wherein the at least one layer is effective to form a falling film of the liquid desiccant upon receipt of a gravity feed of the liquid desiccant.

A method of making a heat and mass transfer panel, the method comprising:

• obtaining a wettable layer;
• optionally providing one or more features on a surface of the layer to provide a multi-scale;
• contacting the wettable layer with a support structure to form a heat and mass transfer component;
• providing a fluid distribution system proximate to an inlet end of the component to form a heat and mass transfer panel.