Importance

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Abstract

Method and apparatus for heat and mass transfer are described that is applicable to: concentration, crystallization, purification, fractionation, stripping, absorption, and/or heat exchange for liquid media; and temperature and humidity modification for gas media. Using a plurality of moving gas streams, comprised for example of air, at constant and generally atmospheric pressures, a continual change in a vapor-liquid equilibrium of the gas streams is created between proximate but continually changing gas and liquid temperatures within each of a plurality of heat exchange chambers. Chamber wetting, implemented segmentedly, allows mass transfer into and out of the gas streams. A forced temperature differential between chambers, caused by different temperatures of the gas streams entering the chambers or by humidity modification of these gas streams within chambers, causes heat transfer between chambers through thermally conductive partitions. This transfer permits condensation of one side of a partition to enhance evaporation on a second side of a partition. The segmented wetting can further allow wetting substance concentrations caused by evaporation, selective condensation, or absorption to vary between wetted sectors. A migratory movement of liquids connecting these wetted sectors generally provides for development of applicable concentration gradients between the wetted sectors along chamber lengths.

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First Claim