Thermodynamic analysis of a novel humidification dehumidification desalination system driven by heat pump

Abstract

In this paper, the humidification dehumidification (HDH) desalination system using a packed bed dehumidifier, with a mechanical vapor compression heat pump integrated, is proposed, and the condenser is coupled to raise the seawater temperature while the evaporator is applied to absorb the energy from the discharged brine as much as possible. For the proposed combined desalination system, the mass and energy balance equations are constituted, and then the corresponding thermodynamic performance at the design conditions, both for the desalination and heat pump unit, is obtained. The simulation results show that the peak values for the water production and gained-output-ratio (GOR) emerge as 76.40kgh -1 and 5.14 at the design conditions. Compared to the general HDH desalination system, the elevation magnitudes reach ΔGOR=1.69 and 2.86 at the same conditions.