In this investigation, a desiccant dehumidifier is tested for different ranges of liquid to air flow rate ratios to expand the validity range of the results. Theoretical and experimental studies of the simultaneous heat and mass transfer to evaluate the moisture removal rate are conducted. The model predictions are compared with experimental results with very good agreement. Through the experimental study, the important design variables that affect the moisture removal rate are defined and compared with previous studies. The correlation found in the literature is assessed, and the errors are reported. The parameters that are varied during the experiments included the air and liquid flow rates, the air humidity ratio, the desiccant equilibrium humidity and the packing height. It is found that the liquid flow rate has no significant effect on the moisture removal rate when the liquid to air flow ratio has exceeded the value of 2. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.