Performance assessment of solar PV and thermal-driven humidification dehumidification systems: A CFD modelling approach

Abstract

Demand for clean water rises continuously with the increase in population. One of the promising techniques for sustainable water production is achieved through humidification and dehumidification (HDH) technique. The present study focuses on the fluid dynamic design processes and the system performance using solar energy as primary source in HDH process. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are validated against the standard experimental results of solar photovoltaic panel (PVP) HDH system, published in the literature. The performance of the PVP HDH system is analyzed for improvement with the partitions and fin surfaces in the humidifier and dehumidifier chambers respectively. From this study, it is found that performance in yield of a basic PVP system increases by 16 % after the improvement in PVP system with partitions and fins in humidifier and dehumidifier respectively. For the efficient performance and cheaper production cost, the parabolic trough collector (PTC) HDH system is also investigated at horizontal and sloping conditions. Theoretical heat transfer calculations and experimental measurements from literature are included for the validation of PTC humidifier and dehumidifier investigations by CFD approach. Analytical calculations are performed in the combined PTC-solar still configuration also. The improved PTC system with slope shows 18 % higher yield as compared to the improved PVP system. GOR and SDWP are investigated between the PTC and PVP HDH systems and the cost analysis is included to find the payback time period in the basic and improved HDH systems.