Liquid desiccant air conditioning system with directed fluid flow

Abstract

The disclosure relates to mass transfer assemblies for heating ventilation and cooling systems. In some examples, a mass transfer apparatus includes a stack of plates, where the stack defines channel pairs, and each channel pair has one conditioning channel and one exhaust channel. An upstream edge of the conditioning channels and a downstream edge of the exhaust channels define an upstream portion of the stack and extend laterally. In addition, the mass transfer apparatus is adapted to feed a fluid feed stream to the conditioning channels, and feed a first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream to the exhaust channels. For each channel pair, an open portion of the upstream edge of the conditioning channel is open for receiving the fluid feed stream, and an open portion of the downstream edge of the exhaust channel is open for exhausting the conditioned fluid feed stream.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mass transfer apparatus, comprising:
 a stack comprising a plurality of plates;   the stack defining a plurality of channel pairs, each having one conditioning channel and one exhaust channel;   wherein the mass transfer apparatus is adapted to feed a fluid feed stream to the conditioning channels, and feed a first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream to the exhaust channels;   wherein an upstream edge of the conditioning channels and a downstream edge of the exhaust channels define an upstream portion of the stack and extend laterally;   wherein, for each channel pair, an open portion of the upstream edge of the conditioning channel is open for receiving the fluid feed stream, and an open portion of the downstream edge of the exhaust channel is open for exhausting the conditioned fluid feed stream, and   wherein, for each channel pair, there is no lateral overlap between the open portion of the upstream edge of the conditioning channel and the open portion of the downstream edge of the adjacent exhaust channel.   
     
     
         2 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a downstream edge of the conditioning channels and an upstream edge of the exhaust channels define a downstream edge of the stack and extend laterally. 
     
     
         3 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein, for each channel pair, an open portion of the downstream edge of the conditioning channels and an open portion of an upstream edge of the exhaust channels overlap. 
     
     
         4 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising a conditioned air flow chamber, which is adapted to receive air from the open portion of the downstream edge of the conditioning channels and feed the first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream to the open portion of an upstream edge of the exhaust channels. 
     
     
         5 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a second portion of the conditioned fluid feed exits the mass transfer apparatus via a supply air outlet. 
     
     
         6 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising, for each channel pair, a conditioning channel blocking element and an exhaust channel blocking element; wherein, for each channel pair, there is lateral overlap between the conditioning channel blocking element and the exhaust channel blocking element. 
     
     
         7 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an air plenum, wherein the air plenum comprises a feed chamber and an exhaust chamber, and wherein the feed chamber is adapted to feed the open portion of the upstream edge of each conditioning channel, and the exhaust chamber is adapted to receive fluid from the open portion of the downstream edge of each exhaust channel. 
     
     
         8 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the feed chamber and the exhaust chamber are separated by a dividing member, wherein the dividing member is adapted to align with the laterally overlapping portions of conditioning channel blocking elements and exhaust channel blocking elements. 
     
     
         9 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the feed chamber is in fluid communication with a blower, and the exhaust chamber is in fluid communication with a vacuum. 
     
     
         10 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each plate comprises a first longitudinally extending edge and a second longitudinally extending edge, opposite the first longitudinally extending edge; and wherein the first longitudinally extending edge and the second longitudinally extending edge are blocked from fluid flow. 
     
     
         11 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the upstream edge of the conditioning channels and the downstream edge of the exhaust channels form a wedge. 
     
     
         12 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein upstream edge of the conditioning channels forms an angle greater than ninety degrees with respect to a first longitudinally extending edge, and the downstream edge of the exhaust channels form an angle greater than ninety degrees with respect to a first longitudinally extending edge, to form the wedge. 
     
     
         13 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the upstream edge of the conditioning channels and the downstream edge of the exhaust channels are parallel. 
     
     
         14 . A mass transfer apparatus, comprising:
 a first plate and a second plate;   a first exhaust channel defined by a first surface of the first plate;   a conditioning channel defined by a second surface of the first plate and a first surface of the second plate;   a second exhaust channel defined by a second surface of the second plate;   a conditioning channel blocking element adapted to divert a first fluid to an open portion of the conditioning channel; and   a first exhaust channel blocking element adapted to divert a second fluid to an open portion of the first exhaust channel.   
     
     
         15 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 14 , comprising a second exhaust channel blocking element adapted to divert the second fluid to an open portion of the second exhaust channel. 
     
     
         16 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the conditioning channel blocking element is adapted to block the first fluid from flowing through a closed portion of the conditioning channel. 
     
     
         17 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the first exhaust channel blocking is adapted to block the second fluid from flowing through a closed portion of the first exhaust channel. 
     
     
         18 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 14 , comprising at least one spacer adapted to provide a distance between the second surface of the first plate and the first surface of the second plate. 
     
     
         19 . The mass transfer apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the open portion of the conditioning channel is offset from the open portion of the first exhaust channel and from the open portion of the second exhaust channel. 
     
     
         20 . A method to distribute fluids within a mass transfer apparatus, comprising:
 feeding a fluid feed stream to an upstream edge of a plurality of conditioning channels to output, from a downstream edge of the plurality of conditioning channels, a conditioned fluid stream;   feeding a first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream to an upstream edge of a plurality of exhaust channels; and   outputting the first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream from a downstream edge of the plurality of exhaust channels, wherein the fluid feed stream flows from the upstream edge of the plurality of conditioning channels to the downstream edge of the conditioning channels in a first direction, the first portion of the conditioned fluid feed stream flows from the upstream edge of the plurality of exhaust channels to the downstream edge of the plurality of exhaust channels in a second direction, the first direction is opposite the second direction, and the fluid feed stream entering the upstream edge of the plurality of conditioning channels is countercurrent to the first portion of the conditioned fluid stream exiting the downstream edge of the plurality of exhaust channels at a first end of the mass transfer apparatus.