Patent ID: 8685142

Claim:
A dehumidification system for removing water vapor from an airstream, comprising: a first and second channel separated by a membrane, wherein the membrane is configured to facilitate removal of water vapor from an airstream flowing through the first channel by facilitating passage of H 2 O from the water vapor to the second channel through permeable volumes of the membrane while substantially blocking all other components of the airstream from passing through the membrane; a first evaporative cooling unit configured to cool the airstream downstream of the membrane; a second evaporative cooling unit configured to cool the airstream upstream of the membrane; a pressure increasing device configured to create a lower partial pressure of water vapor within the second channel than in the first channel, such that the H 2 O moves through the membrane to the second channel, wherein the pressure increasing device is also configured to increase the pressure of water vapor at an outlet of the pressure increasing device to a partial pressure of water vapor in a range suitable for subsequent condensing into liquid water, and a controller comprising a microprocessor configured to control operations of the dehumidification system.