The perfect combination of renewable energy and desalination technologies is the key to meeting water demands in a cost-effective,efficient and environmentally friendly way.The desalination technique by humidification...The perfect combination of renewable energy and desalination technologies is the key to meeting water demands in a cost-effective,efficient and environmentally friendly way.The desalination technique by humidificationdehumidification is non-conventional approach suitable for areas with low infrastructure(such as rural and decentralized regions)since it does not require permanent maintenance.In this study,this technology is implemented by using solar energy as a source of thermal power.A seawater desalination unit is considered,which consists of a chamber with two evaporators(humidifiers),a wetted porous material made of a corrugated cellulose cardboard and a condenser(dehumidifier).The evaporation system is tested with dry bulb temperature and relative air humidity data.The results of numerical simulations indicate that higher inlet air velocities(from 0.75 to 3 m/s)lead to a decrease in theΔT,ΔRH,and effectiveness.With the air remaining within the evaporator for 30 cm,the temperature differential increases to 5.7°C,accompanied by a 39%rise in relative humidity contrast.These changes result in a significant enhancement in humidification efficiency,achieving a remarkable efficiency level of 78%.However,a wettability value of 630 m^(2)/m^(3)leads to a smaller reduction of these parameters.Increasing the pad thickness,particularly to 0.3 m,improves performance by boostingΔT,ΔRH,and effectiveness,especially for pads with a wettability of 630 m^(2)/m^(3),for which superior performances are predicted by the numerical tests.展开更多
文摘The perfect combination of renewable energy and desalination technologies is the key to meeting water demands in a cost-effective,efficient and environmentally friendly way.The desalination technique by humidificationdehumidification is non-conventional approach suitable for areas with low infrastructure(such as rural and decentralized regions)since it does not require permanent maintenance.In this study,this technology is implemented by using solar energy as a source of thermal power.A seawater desalination unit is considered,which consists of a chamber with two evaporators(humidifiers),a wetted porous material made of a corrugated cellulose cardboard and a condenser(dehumidifier).The evaporation system is tested with dry bulb temperature and relative air humidity data.The results of numerical simulations indicate that higher inlet air velocities(from 0.75 to 3 m/s)lead to a decrease in theΔT,ΔRH,and effectiveness.With the air remaining within the evaporator for 30 cm,the temperature differential increases to 5.7°C,accompanied by a 39%rise in relative humidity contrast.These changes result in a significant enhancement in humidification efficiency,achieving a remarkable efficiency level of 78%.However,a wettability value of 630 m^(2)/m^(3)leads to a smaller reduction of these parameters.Increasing the pad thickness,particularly to 0.3 m,improves performance by boostingΔT,ΔRH,and effectiveness,especially for pads with a wettability of 630 m^(2)/m^(3),for which superior performances are predicted by the numerical tests.