Thermodynamic analysis of a novel desalination system assisted with ground source heat exchanger

Abstract

A solar energy assisted humidification-dehumidification desalination system with a ground source heat exchanger is designed and investigated in this study. The difference of the designed system from the other desalination systems in the literature is that both the seawater and the ground-cooled water can be used in order to obtain fresh water in the dehumidifier. A model has been created to determine the performance of the system and to evaluate it according to different parameters. Open/closed modes of operations of the system have been investigated and the performance of the desalination system have been analysed for the climatic conditions of the cities located in Turkey's southern coastline. The results have revealed that the use of the ground source heat exchanger increased the system performance. For different system configurations, Gained Output Ratio (GOR) and the amount of water obtained have been found to vary between 0.519 and 0.674 and 8.59-10.18 kg/h, respectively. The m(pd,y) obtained by the system for the situation in which the cooler fluid is used (SSW & SW) for Antalya, Adana and Hatay are 11574, 11,063 and 9702 kg/year, respectively.