Fouling of polymer membranes used in cross-flow energy exchanger cores by aerosol nanoparticles

Fresh air ventilation is necessary to create a healthy indoor living environment. It involves removing stale, moist indoor air and replacing it with fresh outside air. However, energy required for cooling and dehumidifying fresh air accounts for a significant portion (20–40%) of the total energy use in air conditioning. Thus, ‘recycling’ the energy (i.e. heat and moisture recovery) used to condition the indoor air is necessary. Among various technologies for recovering heat and moisture, membranebased Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) is a promising alternative. Recent work has been conducted on developing high efficiency membranes and novel configurations to improve the performance of these systems. However, there is no report demonstrating long-term performance of these systems under real field working conditions, more specifically, the effect of depositing aerosol nanoparticles on the water vapor transport membranes of interest for HVAC applications. This research will provide experimental data that will be used to properly design and specify energy exchanger systems filtration and cleaning for particular applications. dPoint can gain a competitive advantage by providing clients with more fouling-resistant membrane materials and ERV core design data for fouled conditions

Faculty Supervisor:

Steven Rogak

Student:

Partner:

dPoint Technologies Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: