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Theoretical investigation on humidification–dehumidification desalination employing flat-plate solar water collector

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Abstract

A solar-powered humidification–dehumidification desalination (HDD) system is a promising technique for small-scale freshwater production. This paper presents the theoretical investigation of a flat-plate solar water collector (FPSWC)-integrated HDD system located in Kozhikode, India. A zero-dimensional thermo-optical sub-model is employed to simulate the performance of FPSWC after due validation with outdoor experimental data and literature results. This sub-model is subsequently coupled with the main HDD model, which estimates heat and mass transfer, thereby simulating the performance of the FPSWC-HDD system. The influence of various parameters such as feed water-to-air mass flow rate ratio (MR), component effectiveness, collector feed water inlet temperature, and inlet air relative humidity on performance parameters including freshwater yield, gain output ratio (GOR), and recovery ratio (RR) is investigated. Results showed that freshwater yield is optimum at MR of 2, and the maximum freshwater yield can reach about 6.822 kg day−1 in March at MR of 2. The effectiveness of the dehumidifier has a more significant effect on freshwater yield, GOR, and RR than that of the humidifier. Collector feed water inlet temperature and inlet air relative humidity also influence the system performance. The estimated cost of freshwater production is about 0.075 $ L−1.

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Abbreviations

\({A}_{\mathrm{c}}\) :

Collector area (m2)

\({B}_{\mathrm{t}}\) :

Thickness of back insulation (m)

1/\({C}_{\mathrm{b}}\) :

Adhesive resistance (m2 K W−1)

\({c}_{\mathrm{p}}\) :

Specific heat of water (J kg−1 K−1)

D :

Absorber tube outside diameter (m)

\({D}_{\mathrm{i}}\) :

Absorber tube inside diameter (m)

\({E}_{\mathrm{t}}\) :

Edge thickness (m)

F :

Standard fin efficiency factor

\({F}_{\mathrm{R}}\) :

Collector heat removal factor

\({F}^{\mathrm{^{\prime}}}\) :

Collector efficiency factor

\(G\) :

Global solar radiation flux on a horizontal surface (W m−2)

\({G}_{\mathrm{b}}\) :

Direct solar radiation flux (W m−2)

\({G}_{\mathrm{d}}\) :

Diffused solar radiation flux (W m−2)

\({G}_{\mathrm{T}}\) :

Global solar radiation on a tilted surface (W m−2)

h :

Specific enthalpy (kJ kg−1)

\(\Delta \dot{\mathrm{H}}\) :

Change in the enthalpy rate (kW)

\({h}_{\mathrm{fg}}\) :

Latent heat of evaporation (kJ kg−1)

\({h}_{\mathrm{w}}\) :

Wind heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

\({h}_{\mathrm{wt}}\) :

Convective heat transfer coefficient of water (W m−2 K−1)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

\({K}_{\mathrm{\tau \alpha }}\) :

Incident angle modifier

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg s−1)

n :

Number of years

N :

Number of glass cover

Nu:

Nusselt number

P :

Perimeter (m)

Pr:

Prandtl number

\({P}_{\mathrm{atm}}\) :

Atmospheric pressure (kPa)

\({P}_{\mathrm{sat}}\) :

Saturation pressure of water vapor (kPa)

\({\dot{Q}}_{\mathrm{U}}\) :

Useful energy gain (W)

R :

Transposition factor

r :

Rate of interest

Re:

Reynolds number

Rh:

Relative humidity

T :

Temperature (\(\mathrm{^\circ{\rm C} }\))

\({T}_{\mathrm{m}}\) :

Mean temperature of feed water (\(\mathrm{^\circ{\rm C} }\))

\({T}_{\mathrm{pm}}\) :

Absorber plate mean temperature (\(\mathrm{^\circ{\rm C} }\))

\({T}_{\mathrm{r}}\) :

Reduced temperature difference (m2 K W−1)

U :

Loss coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

U L :

Overall heat loss coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

\({V}_{\mathrm{w}}\) :

Wind speed (m s−1)

W :

Tube spacing (m)

\({\in }_{\mathrm{g}}\) :

Emissivity of glass

\({\in }_{\mathrm{p}}\) :

Emissivity of absorber plate

\({\delta }_{\mathrm{ab}}\) :

Absorber plate thickness (m)

\(\rho\) :

Foreground albedo

\(\theta\) :

Incident angle of solar rays (\(^\circ\))

\(\delta\) :

Declination angle (\(^\circ\))

\(\sigma\)::

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (W m−2 K−4)

\(\tau \alpha\)::

Transmittance absorptance product

Φ:

Latitude (\(^\circ\))

\(\gamma\) :

Surface azimuth angle (\(^\circ\))

\({\omega }_{\mathrm{h}}\) :

Hour angle (\(^\circ\))

\({\theta }_{\mathrm{z}}\) :

Solar zenith angle (\(^\circ\))

\(\varepsilon_{\mathrm{H}}\) :

Effectiveness of humidifier

\(\varepsilon_{\mathrm{D}}\) :

Effectiveness of dehumidifier

\(\eta\) :

Energy efficiency

\(\beta\) :

Collector tilt angle (\(^\circ\))

\(\omega\) :

Humidity ratio (\({\mathrm{kg}}_{\mathrm{v}} {{\mathrm{kg}}_{\mathrm{a}}}^{-1}\))

a:

Air

ab:

Absorber plate

amb:

Ambient

b:

Bottom

br:

Brine

cw:

Cooling water

d:

Diffuse

e:

Edge

fw:

Freshwater

ins:

Insulation

r:

Reflection

t:

Top

w:

Feed water

1,2,3,….:

State points

AC:

Annual cost

AOC:

Annual operating cost

ASV:

Annual salvage value

AATC:

Actual annual total cost

AFWP:

Annual freshwater production

CRF:

Capital recovery factor

FWC:

Freshwater cost

FPC:

Flat-plate collector

FPSWC:

Flat-plate solar water collector

GOR:

Gain output ratio

HDD:

Humidification–dehumidification desalination

IC:

Investment cost

MC:

Maintenance cost

MR:

Mass flow rate ratio

RR:

Recovery ratio

SV:

Salvage value

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Faculty Research Grant of National Institute of Technology Calicut (MED/FRG/SI/2020-21/01), which is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, 673601, India

    Javed Sikandar Shaikh & Saleel Ismail

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  1. Javed Sikandar Shaikh
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Shaikh, J.S., Ismail, S. Theoretical investigation on humidification–dehumidification desalination employing flat-plate solar water collector. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 11835–11853 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12478-6

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