Energy and Entropy Analyses of a Pilot-Scale Dual Heating HDH Desalination System

This study focuses on energy and entropy analysis to theoretically investigate the performance of a pilot scale dual heated humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination system. Two cases of HDH systems are considered in the analysis. The first case is a dual heated (DH) cycle consisting of 1.59 kW air heater and 1.42 kW water heater with a heat rate ratio of 0.89 (CAOW-DH-I). Whereas the second case is a dual heated HDH cycle comprising of 1.59 kW air heater and 2.82 kW water heater with a heat rate ratio of 1.77 (CAOW-DH-II). As a first step, mathematical code was developed based on heat and mass transfer and entropy generation within the major components of the system. The code was validated against the experimental data obtained from a pilot scale HDH system and was found to be in a good agreement with the experimental results. Theoretical results revealed that there is an optimal mass flowrate ratio at which GOR is maximized, and entropy generation is minimized. Furthermore, the degree of irreversibility within the humidifier component is low and approaches zero, while the specific entropy generation within other components are relatively high and are of the same order of magnitude. Entropy analysis also showed that the dual heated system with heat rate ratio greater than unity is better than the one with heat rate ratio less than unity.