Apparatus for dehumidifying gas and methods of use
AssigneeGas Technology Institute
InventorsPaul Eric Glanville, Yaroslav Chudnovsky, Qinbai Fan, Aleksandr Pavlovich Kozlov, Mark Jacob Khinkis
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Abstract
An apparatus for dehumidifying gas is provided which converts humid gas into dehumidified gas using a hydrophilic membrane that includes a superabsorbent polymer. A sub-dew point cooling tower, sub-dew point evaporative cooler and sub-dew point water harvesting system which utilize the apparatus for dehumidifying gas are also provided.
Claims20
An apparatus for dehumidifying gas, comprising:
- an inlet for receiving humid gas;
- an internal hydrophilic membrane including a superabsorbent polymer;
- a flow path for passing the humid gas across the internal hydrophilic membrane, wherein the membrane absorbs moisture from the humid gas to yield dehumidified gas;
- and
- an outlet for the dehumidified gas;
- wherein the membrane absorbs moisture from a first surface and releases water from a second surface upon achieving a steady state absorption/desorption rate;
- and
- the apparatus further comprises a water basin for temporarily storing water that is released from the second surface and an outlet for water from the basin, and a heat exchanger for cooling the water in the basin, the cooled water in the basin providing a positive vapor pressure gradient resulting in a decrease in vapor pressure between the first surface and the second surface of the membrane.
A sub-dew point cooling tower, comprising an apparatus for dehumidifying gas, the apparatus for dehumidifying gas comprising:
- an inlet for receiving humid gas;
- an internal hydrophilic membrane including a superabsorbent polymer;
- a flow path for passing the humid gas across the internal hydrophilic membrane, wherein the membrane absorbs moisture from the humid gas to yield dehumidified gas;
- and
- an outlet for the dehumidified gas;
- the sub-dew point cooling tower further comprising one or more cooling tower inlets for receiving the dehumidified gas, a heat exchanger separating the dehumidified gas from a counter-flow stream, a flow path for the dehumidified gas through the heat exchanger enabling a cooling of the counter-flow stream using the dehumidified gas, and a cooling tower outlet for exhausting at least the dehumidified gas;
- wherein water is produced from the humid gas and used in the cooling tower as a recirculating coolant.
A sub-dew point evaporative cooler comprising an apparatus for dehumidifying gas, the apparatus for dehumidifying gas comprising:
- an inlet for receiving humid gas;
- an internal hydrophilic membrane including a superabsorbent polymer;
- a dehumidifier flow path for passing the humid gas across the internal hydrophilic membrane, wherein the membrane absorbs moisture from the humid gas to yield dehumidified gas;
- and
- an outlet for the dehumidified gas;
- the sub-dew point evaporative cooler further comprising an evaporative cooler inlet for receiving the dehumidified gas from the dehumidifying apparatus, an evaporative cooler membrane having a dry surface and a wet surface, a first flow path for passing the dehumidified gas across the dry surface of the evaporative cooler membrane to cool the dehumidified gas, and a second flow path for passing a portion of the dehumidified gas across the wet surface of the evaporative cooler membrane to cause evaporative cooling of the evaporative cooler membrane.
A sub-dew point membrane water harvesting system comprising an apparatus for dehumidifying gas, the apparatus for dehumidifying gas comprising:
- an inlet for receiving humid gas;
- an internal hydrophilic membrane including a superabsorbent polymer;
- a dehumidifier flow path for passing the humid gas across the internal hydrophilic membrane, wherein the membrane absorbs moisture from the humid gas to yield dehumidified gas and water;
- a water basin for collecting the water from the internal hydrophilic membrane;
- and
- an outlet for the dehumidified gas;
- the water harvesting system further comprising a water evaporation channel, a water condensing channel, and a water harvesting flow path that carries a portion of the dehumidified gas through the water evaporation channel and the condensing channel to yield potable water, and a water flow path to carry water from the water basin to the water evaporation channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.