Simulation and optimisation of opened sewage concentration air cycle combined with the heat pump under actual weather conditions

Abstract

Opened air cycle is a promising sewage concentration technology using heated air as the medium to absorb water from the sewage. Unlike closed cycles, the air flow is directly ejected out of the system after humidification in opened cycles. Operating conditions and the circle’s efficiency are highly affected by the weather, such as the time-varying ambient temperature and relative humidity. Since the evaporating temperature relies on the ambient temperature, to restrain its dependence, the evaporator was proposed combined with the ejected air flow in this paper. Such a design could improve the efficiency of the heat pump by increasing its evaporating temperature. Simulation of the newly proposed open sewage concentration cycle was performed to investigate its thermal process and economic efficiency under actual weather conditions. Thermodynamic models of the compressor, heat exchangers and the sewage concentration chamber were established. Climatic conditions at Xi’an, China were referenced as actual weather conditions. Optimisation of the working parameters was performed to achieve higher economic index. The results demonstrated that the average monthly power consumption of the optimized cycle was 0.3508 kWh/kg. Compared with the published data of the closed cycle, the total cost of new opened cycle was nearly one-third lower.