Abstract
A humidification–dehumidification desalination system powered by low-grade waste heat energy (45 °C–70 °C) was experimentally investigated. The seawater directly utilized as coolant (25 °C) for the dehumidifier was preheated by latent heat recovery from the water vapor produced by the humidifier. The effect of key performance-contributing factors such as the mass flow rate and temperature of the air and feed at the inlets of the humidifier and dehumidifier were evaluated and optimized. For a constant volume, the effect of the humidifier's surface area was evaluated comparatively considering different novel packing materials such as tri-pack rings, pall rings (diameter = 16 mm and 25 mm), saddle rings, and snowflake rings. It was determined that compared to other factors, air-related and water-related parameters influenced the humidifier and dehumidifier performance respectively. Maximum freshwater productivity of 1398 mL/h was achieved with 16 mm pall ring humidifier, owing to its improved wet area (188,000 m2/m3) under optimal conditions of air flow rate, feed flow rate, humidifier air inlet temperature, humidifier, and dehumidifier water inlet temperatures of 3.5 kg/min, 0.9 L/min, 70 °C, 55 °C, and 25 °C, respectively, with a dual-fluid preheating mechanism. Detailed chemical analysis revealed that the generated freshwater is potable.
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