A Novel Continuous Drop-Wise Condensation Technology for Improved Heat and Mass Transfer Efficiencies

Abstract

Drop-wise condensation (DWC) has been the focus of scientific research in vapor condensation technologies since the 20th century. Improvement of condensation rate in DWC is limited by the maximum droplet a condensation surface could sustain. Furthermore, the presence of non-condensable gases (NCG) reduces the condensation rate significantly. Here, we present continuous drop-wise condensation (CDC) to overcome the need of hydrophobic surfaces while yet maintaining micron-sized droplets. By shifting focus from surface treatment to the force required to sweep off a droplet, we were able to utilize stagnation pressure of jet impingement to tune the shed droplet size. The results show that droplet size being shed can be tuned effectively by tuning the jet parameters. our experimental observations showed that the effect of NCG is greatly alleviated by utilizing our technique. An improvement by at least six folds in mass transfer compactness factor compared to state-of-the-art dehumidification technology was possible.