Energy, exergy, economic, exergo and enviro-economic analysis of solar powered humidification dehumidification desalination system: An experimental investigation

Abstract

A solar-powered humidification dehumidification (SPHDH) desalination system presents an economically viable thermal desalination approach for satisfying the requirement of freshwater. The traditional solar air heater and saline water as the cooling fluid in the condenser, impose restrictions on the SPHDH system’s performance and lifespan. The present study involves a solar air heater, humidifier (packed bed type), and heat exchanger coupled with a direct evaporative cooler to develop a SPHDH desalination system. The collector employed in this study consists of double-end open evacuated tubes, while the cooling medium utilized is ambient air. Moreover, in the context of a humidifier, two distinct packing materials, specifically cellulose and aspen pads are employed in order to examine the impact of the packing material on the system. The performance evaluation is conducted through the energy, exergy, GOR, effectiveness, economic, exergo, and enviro-economic assessments. The findings indicate that the cellulose pad exhibits superior performance when compared to the aspen pad. This is due to lower air flow resistance and a greater contact surface area. The system’s highest mean energy and exergy efficiency is obtained with cellulose pads, i.e., 31.2 % and 5.10 %, respectively. Moreover, the cellulose pads have shown to achieve a maximum production of 3.12 kg/m2/day at a cost of 0.038 $/kg. The exergo-economic values based on energy and exergy are 14.76 kWh/$ and 2.56 kWh/$, respectively.