Session: 02-02 Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer in Building Applications

Paper Number: 112405

112405 - Using Fertilizer-Based Liquid Desiccants to Efficiently Dehumidify Indoor Plant Environments and Recycle Water 

Increasing food production to sustainably feed a growing population requires innovation to improve the efficiency of energy, water, and fertilizer use in agriculture. In this study, we introduce the novel concept of using concentrated fertilizer as a liquid desiccant to efficiently dehumidify indoor plant environments and recycle water vapor for irrigation. This approach closes the water cycle, and eliminates the need for energy-intensive regeneration that is characteristic of most liquid desiccant systems. The first-ever experimental demonstration of the concept is provided from laboratory testing with a membrane-based dehumidification process using polydimethylsiloxane hollow fibers. Dehumidification is observed for a variety of common fertilizers and across a range of typical indoor plant conditions. Next, a theoretical modeling and parametric analysis is used to examine the impact of key operating conditions on the specific energy of dehumidification of the system. Specific energy is defined here as the ratio of mass vapor removal relative to the liquid desiccant cooling load. Results indicate that specific energy as low as 0.15 kWh/kg is possible under optimized conditions, comparing very favorably with existing dehumidification technologies as well as with recent standards for greenhouse energy efficiency. Future work is proposed to achieve the potential of energy savings and environmentally-friendly plant cultivation with fertilizer-based dehumidification.

Presenting Author: Jonathan Maisonneuve Oakland University

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Jonathan Maisonneuve is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University (Rochester, MI) and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University (Montreal, QC). His work focuses on membrane process development at the energy, water, and environment nexus.