Patent ID: 8887523

Claim:
A heat and mass exchanger for an open-cycle liquid desiccant air conditioning/dehumidification system having an absorber/dehumidification section with an absorber and a desorber/regeneration section with a desorber, the exchanger comprising: an absorber solution section having an inlet for receiving weak liquid solution from the absorber/dehumidification section and an absorber solution section outlet disposed at or proximate the bottom of said absorber solution section from which strong liquid solution exits to the absorber/dehumidification section; a desorber solution section having an inlet for receiving regenerated liquid solution from the desorber/regeneration section and a desorber solution section outlet from which liquid solution to be regenerated exits to the desorber/regeneration section; a partition separating the absorber solution section and the desorber solution section, wherein said absorber solution section is disposed under at least a portion of said desorber solution section; and at least two section-connecting ports connecting between the absorber solution section and the desorber solution section, including a first section-connecting port disposed at or proximate the top of said partition and a second section-connecting port at or proximate the bottom of said partition, wherein during operation, the absorber solution section is full of relatively weak liquid solution which flows from the absorber solution section into the desorber solution section via the first section-connecting port; a relatively strong liquid solution flows from the desorber solution section into the absorber solution section via the second section-connecting port; a strong liquid solution exits the outlet of the absorber solution section; a liquid solution exits the desorber section via desorber solution section outlet; as well as there being heat transfer between the absorber solution section and the desorber solution section.