Solar desalination using humidification—dehumidification technology

A numerical study has been carried out to investigate the performance of a simple solar desalination system using humidification—dehumidification processes. The desalination system consists of a solar air heater, humidifier, dehumidifier and a circulating air-driving component. The study covers the influence of different environmental, design, and operational parameters on the desalination system productivity. Environmental parameters include solar intensity, ambient temperature and wind speed. Design parameters include the solar heater base insulation, the humidifier and the dehumidifier effectiveness. Operational parameters include air circulation flow rate, feed water rate and temperature. The results indicated that the solar air heater (energy source) efficiency significantly influences system productivity. Increasing the solar intensity and ambient temperature and decreased wind velocity increases system productivity. Increasing the air flow rate up to 0.6 kg/s increases the productivity, after which it has no significant effect. The feed water flow rate has an insignificant influence on system productivity. The surprising result is that the dehumidifier effectiveness has an insignificant influence on system productivity, which has a very important implication for the system's economy. The physical explanation of this finding is given.     

液化石油气低温储库循环水冷热能综合利用

为充分利用液化石油气低温储库的冷热能,设置冷水罐、热水罐,将丙烷加热器出来的冷水进入冷水罐,作为丙烷冷凝器的冷却水,丙烷冷凝器出来的热水进入热水罐,作为丙烷加热器的热水来源。通过液化石油气低温储库中的循环水冷热能综合利用,降低了运行费用,达到了节能降耗的目的。     

EXTERNAL RECYCLE ON UPWARD-TYPE DOUBLE-PASS SOLAR AIR HEATERS

The external recycle effect on collector efficiency in an upward-type double-pass flat-plate solar air heater is investigated theoretically. Application of recycle to a solar air heater has two conflicting effects: the desirable effect of increasing the heat transfer coefficient and the undesirable effect of decreasing the heat transfer driving force (temperature difference). The theoretical predictions show that more than 150% improvement in collector efficiency is obtainable if external recycling is carried out in a way that the advantage effect compensates for the disadvantage effect. The collector performance improvement increases with increasing recycling ratio, especially when operating at a lower airflow rate with higher inlet air temperature. The collector efficiency obtained with a double-pass device with recycling improves the efficiency obtained with a single-pass device of the same size with recycling.     

An experimental study on the performance of a condensing tumbler dryer with an air-to-air heat exchanger

The performance of energy consumption in the closed-loop tumbler dryer with a condenser for clothes drying is evaluated as a function of the heater capacity, the drying air flow rate inside the dryer, and the cooling air flow rate. The clothes dryer in laundries used in this study consists of a tumbling drum, condenser for condensing the humid and hot air flowing out the rotating drums, and electric heater for heating the circulating drying air. Tests were performed at the heating capacity of 1.9 kW to 2.7 kW, the drying air flow rate of 60 m³/h to 140 m³/h, and the cooling air flow rate of 100 m³/h to 240 m³/h. The total energy consumption, the drying time, and the condensate water rate were also investigated. Parametric results showed that a larger heater power resulted in shorter drying time. With increasing heater power, the air temperature and the condensate rate increased due to the higher humidity ratio in the air. The drying air flow rate and the cooling air flow rate did not have a significant effect on drying performance.     

Experimental study of a multiple-effect humidification solar desalination technique

The object of this research is to experimentally investigate the principal operating parameters of a new desalination process working with an air multiple-effect humidification-dehumidification method. A test set-up was designed and constructed to carry out and optimize this technique. The main parts of the present set-up consist of a heat equipment device (heat exchanger), a spray humidifier and a dehumidifier system. This equipment was used to simulate the seawater desalination process experimentally with an eight-stage air solar collector heating-humidifying system. The outlet temperature of the air solar collector was correlated for use in the desalination process as a solar heating device. The operating conditions studied were: ratio of water to dry air mass flow rate through the system, humidifier inlet absolute humidity, dry air mass flow rate through the system and solar irradiation or humidifier inlet air temperature. The experimental results obtained were used to put stress and correlate the influence of the different operating conditions on the behavior of the eight-stage air heating-humidifying desalination process. The ratio of water to dry air mass flow rates was optimized, precisely 45%. The value of dry air mass flow rate through the system can be also varied with solar radiation in order to have a maximum of humidity content at the end of the system and though working in an adiabatic humidification process.     

Solar desalination with a humidification-dehumidification cycle: performance of the unit

The closed air cycle humidification-dehumidification process was used for water desalination using solar energy. The circulated air by natural or forced convection was heated and humidified by the hot water obtained either from a flat plate solar collector or from an electrical heater. The latent heat of condensation was recovered in the condenser to preheat the saline feed water. Two units of different sizes were constructed from different materials. The productivity of these units was found to be much higher than those of the single-basin stills. Moreover, these units were capable of producing a large quantity of saline warm water for domestic uses other than drinking. No significant improvement in the performance of the desalination units was achieved using forced air circulation at high temperatures. While at lower temperatures, a larger effect was noticed. This can be related to the low heat and mass transfer coefficients at low temperatures and to the non-linear increase in the water vapor pressure with temperature.     

Humidification-dehumidification desalination system driven by geothermal energy

The work presented in this paper focuses on desalinating sea water system using a humidification-dehumidification process as it is supplied with water heated by geothermal energy as clean and renewable natural resources of energy. Computer simulation of the behavior under various working conditions of the desalination system was carried out to predict the variations of key output. Such variables include the ratio of sea water mass flow rate related to air mass flow rate, cooling water temperature difference across the condenser, geothermal source inlet temperatures to the heat exchanger and the amount of produced distilled water. To validate the computer program, a comparison between the experimental and theoretical results was conducted, and a good agreement had been obtained. The result showed that, the optimum value of the ratio between sea water mass flow rate to air mass flow rate was found to be in the range of 1.5 to 2.5. Improvement in the fresh water productivity at the optimum ratio of sea water mass flow rate to the air flow rate was observed by increasing both the geothermal source inlet temperature and the cooling water temperature difference across the condenser.     

太阳能热水器塑料储热水箱成型技术

分析了太阳能热水器储热水箱的特点,介绍了储热水箱内胆常用塑料的特性及改性方法,对全塑内胆和钢塑内胆的加工工艺和设备进行了总结,提出了太阳能热水器塑料储热水箱的发展方向。     

进水流量对新型储热水箱分层特性影响的实验研究

储热水箱被广泛使用在太阳能集热系统以及家用电加热热水器中,是决定集热系统和热水器性能的关键因素之一,储热水箱分层效果越好,越能提高集热系统效率及热水器的热水出水量。本文设计了一种新型均流器,安装在圆柱形储热水箱底部,并搭建了一套储热水箱分层特性测试实验台。在初始水温50℃、进水温度20℃的工况下,分析对比了3组不同流量(0.69L/min、2.14L/min、6.17L/min)时储热水箱的分层特性,结果显示,大流量比小流量温度曲线的斜率更大,温度下降速度更快。同时,基于热力学定律,分别计算了3组流量水箱的取出效率、用能效率、出于能量品质的考虑而采用的(火用)效率,在流量为0.69L/min、2.14L/min、6.17L/min时的取出效率分别为91.8%、95.7%、94.3%,用能效率分别为96.6%、98.6%、97.5%、(火用)效率分别为78.5%、83.1%、77.0%。     

Experimental study of the performance of a cooling tower used in a solar distiller

In this work, we investigated experimentally the thermal performance of a forced cooling tower used in a solar desalination system based on humidification-dehumidification of air. The cooling tower is a counter flow wet one filled with film packing materials.The measured variables were obtained for wide ranges of mass flow rates of air and water as well as for several inlet water temperatures; the tower characteristic and efficiency were then evaluated and expressed in terms of water to air mass flow rate ratio.     

Mathematical modeling of an inclined solar water distillation system

An inclined solar water distillation (ISWD) system, which generates distilled water (i.e., condensate) and hot water at the same time, was modeled and simulated. In the parametric studies, the effects of feed water mass flow rate and solar intensity on the system parameters were investigated. Finally, the system was simulated using actual deviations of solar intensity and environment temperature during a typical summer day in North Cyprus. The system can generate 3.5–5.4 kg (per m² absorber plate area) distilled water during a day (i.e., 7 am till 7 pm). The temperature of the produced hot water reached as high as 60°C, and the average water temperature was about 40°C, which is good enough for domestic use, depending on the type of feed water. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

太阳能热水器内部流动性能正交模拟

研究全玻璃真空管式太阳能热水装置内部的流动性能,分别针对有无反光板和具有不同长径比、倾斜角度以及集热管插管深的直流全玻璃真空管式太阳能热水器进行仿真模拟,以不同进口温度、质量流量以及输入热流模拟热水器的各种试验工况。采用正交试验效应计算方法,定量分析对集热管内循环流速、停滞区比值、漩涡数等流场指标起主要影响作用的因素。结果表明:对集热管内循环流速影响最大的是集热管下表面热流(约占绝对效应总和的26%)以及水箱入口温度(24%)。对集热管内停滞区比值影响最大的是集热管下表面热流,占25%,其次为集热管偏离垂直方向的角度,占15%。水箱入口初温和集热管长径比是对集热管内漩涡数影响最大的2个因素,分别占绝对总效应的36%和29%。因此等权重衡量各因素对集热器3个流场指标的影响差异,未来热水器结构改进的方向渐次为:增加反光板,减小长径比,降低入口温度,增加入口质量流速,增大倾斜角度,增加选择性吸收涂层吸收比,进而增加上表面热流,最后减小集热管插入深度。     

Applicability of flashing desalination technique for small scale needs using a novel integrated system coupled with nanofluid-based solar collector

The present study introduces an attempt for the application of flash desalination technique for small scale needs. An integrated system uses a flashing desalination technique coupled with nano-fluid-based solar collector as a heat source has been made to investigate both the effect of different operating modes and that of the variation of functioning parameters and weather conditions on the fresh water production. The flashing unit is performed by similar construction design technique of commercial multi-stage flashing (MSF) plant. The thermal properties of working fluid in the solar collector have been improved by using different concentrated nano-particles. Cu nano-particle is used in the modeling to determine the proper nano-fluid volume fraction that gives higher fresh water productivity. An economic analysis was conducted, since it affects the final cost of produced water, to determine the cost of fresh water production. Although a system may be technically very efficient, it may not be economical. The effect of different feed water and inlet cooling water temperatures on the system performance was studied. The mathematical model is developed to calculate the productivity of the system under different operating conditions. The proposed system gives a reasonable production of fresh water up to 7.7 l/m²/day under the operation conditions. Based on the cost of energy in Egypt, the estimated cost of the generated potable water was 11.68 US$/m³. The efficiency of the system is measured by the gained output ratio (GOR) with day time. The gained output ratio (GOR) of the system reaches 1.058. The current study showed that the solar water heater collecting area is considered a significant factor for reducing the water production cost. Also, the produced water costs decrease with increasing the collecting area of the solar water heater. The volume fractions of nano-particle in solar collector working fluid have a significant impact on increasing the fresh water production and decreasing cost.     

低熔点熔盐蓄热罐内温度分布与散热损失实验

为了研究熔盐蓄热罐内的温度分布变化与散热规律,采用课题组搭建的槽式聚光熔盐集热、传热与蓄热实验台中的熔盐罐作为实验装置,通过加热、内循环及冷却等实验,得到了罐体在各运行状态下的温度分布数据,并分析拟合得到了自然冷却降温阶段熔盐罐散热功率随时间和温度的变化曲线。实验结果表明：加热时,加热器下部熔融盐出现明显的温度分层现象。混合均匀后的冷却降温过程,熔融盐基本不出现温度分层现象。     

Theoretical and experimental investigation of humidification-dehumidification desalination unit

A theoretical and experimental investigation of humidification-dehumidification desalination system is presented. The system is based on an open cycle for water and a closed cycle for the air stream. The air is circulated either by natural or forced circulation. The system modeling is based on various heat and mass balance equations and their numerical solution. The effect of operating parameters on the system characteristics has been investigated. An experimental test set-up has been fabricated and assembled. The set-up has been equipped with appropriate measuring and controlling devices. Detailed experiments have been carried out at various operating conditions and using several packing materials. The heat and mass transfer coefficients have been obtained experimentally and fitted in forms of empirical correlations.The results of the investigation have shown that the system productivity increases with the increase in the mass flow rate of water through the unit. Water temperature at condenser exit increases linearly with water temperature at humidifier inlet and it decreases as water flow rate increases. The higher water temperature at humidifier inlet or water flow rate, the higher is the air temperature and humidity ratio at condenser inlet and exit. A maximum productivity of 5.8 liter/h has been obtained using wooden slates packing and with forced air circulation. No significant improvement in the performance of the desalination unit has been achieved by forced circulation of air at high water temperatures. The average relative deviation of theoretical predictions from measurements is (− 0.9%) in the air temperature at condenser inlet, (3.8%) in the humidity ratio at condenser exit and (− 1%) in the water temperature at condenser exit.     

Parametric analysis to improve the performance of a solar desalination unit with humidification and dehumidification

A solar desalination unit with humidification and dehumidification, characterized by reusing some of somewhat concentrated saline water after evaporation, recovering condensation heat, and forced air flow, was expected to produce more fresh water. A mathematical model of the unit is presented. The model was experimentally validated for numerical simulation. Parametric analysis was conducted in order to optimize the unit performance. The effect of some of the operating conditions such as flow rates, temperatures of feed water, air and cooling water, etc., was studied in detail. The daily solar productivity corresponding to unit square meter of collector area is about 6 kg/m²/d with 20 MJ solar energy input a day under given conditions. The unit has proven to be an efficient device to utilize solar energy for obtaining fresh water from saline water.     

Year-round comparative study of three types of solar desalination units

Simulations of three different types of solar stills were performed to compare their productivity using typical meteorological year data of a remote location (Marmul) in Oman. These are the regenerative, conventional, and still with double-glass-cover cooling. Several system parameters were also investigated with respect to their effect on the productivity, namely, water with and without dye in the lower basin, basin heat loss coefficient, mass of water in the basins, and mass flow rate into the double-glass cover. The regenerative still had more than 70% higher productivity in comparison with the conventional still. If the stills are appropriately insulated, the conventional still had higher productivity than the double-glass-cover cooling. Increasing the water in the lower basin moderately reduced the productivity of the three stills. Increasing the water film thickness on top of the lower glass had no effect on the productivity of the still with double-glass-cover cooling, but slightly lowered the productivity of the regenerative still.     

Multistage continuous cultivation of blue-green alga spirulina maxima in the flat tank photobioreactors with recycle

Spirulina maxima was continuously cultivated in four 64-liter flat tank photobioreactors in cascade, under continuous 30 klx fluorescent light and nonaseptic condition, in an industrial grade synthetic medium which bubbled with atmospheric air. The increase in the number of stages resulted in the higher biomass concentration and allowed operation with a dilution rate D higher than the alga specific growth rate μ. However, multistage operation does not permit a significant increase in productivity. The recycling of the all culture medium with biomass increased the net productivity of the first two stages of the multistage system. The flat tank design offered great advantages over other geometrical configurations by occupying less space for indoor cultivation, minimizing the water loss by evaporation, and permitting a greater flexibility in construction, installation, and operation. This system was operating continuously for two years in our laboratory for indoor mass production of S. maxima biomass. The flat tank configuration gave the highest areal productivity Pa = 60.5 g/m²·d and highest volumetric productivity Pv = 1.17 g/L·d when operated as a single stage continuous cultivation with high solid recycle. These values are the highest ever reported for any indoor or outdoor mass production system for S. maxima.     

Thesis Summary: Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Solar-Biomass Hybrid Air Heating System for Drying Applications

The overall objective of this research was to design, develop, and investigate the performance of a renewable energy-based (solar-biomass) hybrid air heating system. The system consists of an unglazed transpired solar collector (UTC), a rock bed thermal storage, and a biomass gasifier stove with heat exchanger, to supply hot air at a required temperature and flow rate for a daily load fraction exceeding 90%. From a review of literature, an air heating system aimed at reducing the weather dependency and improving the temperature and flow rate stability without a conventional back-up heater was designed. Among the various types of solar collectors, thermal storage, biomass stoves, and heat exchangers that are generally used, specific designs were chosen and analyzed. Based on the analyses, individual components of the air heating system were designed and developed. The components were coupled, and detailed experimentation was carried out on the integrated system.     

ANALOGY BETWEEN HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN THREE SPOUTED BED ZONES DURING THE DRYING OF LIQUID MATERIALS

This work, presents an experimental study of simultaneous heat and mass transfer in spouted bed zones during the drying of liquid materials. Distilled water was used as the liquid material and glass beads as inert material. The effect of the inlet gas temperature (100 to 140 °C), the feed air flow rate relative to air flow at minimum spouting (1.1 to 1.3), and liquid feed flow rate to the bed were investigated. The similarity between heat and mass transfer was analyzed using the Lewis and Chitton-Colburn analogies. Results showed that the ratio between the heat and mass transfer Chilton-Colbum factors lay between 1,31 and 1.74.