Dehumidification of Moist Air with Simultaneous Removal of Selected Indoor Pollutants by Triethylene Glycol Solutions in a Packed-Bed Absorber

Abstract A packed bed absorber-stripper system was used to remove selected indoor pollutants during the dehumidification of air by triethylene glycol solutions. Triethylene glycol concentrations of 90% and 95% by weight in water were used. Both random and structured packings were employed to provide the contact surface between the liquid and gas phases. A six-inch I. D. absorption column was operated between 50% and 80% of flooding conditions. The heights of a transfer unit for mass transfer for randomly packed 5/8-inch polypropylene Flexi rings and 1/2-inch ceramic Intalox saddles varied from 0.12 m to 0.17 m when dehumidifying air only. However, the height of a transfer unit was in the range of 0.31 m to 0.40 m for the cross corrugated cellulose and PVC structured packings. Heat and mass transfer coefficients were also calculated from the experimental data and were correlated with various process variables. The values predicted by these correlations were within ±10% of the experimental data. Pollutants ...