Desalination process using humidification–dehumidification technique: A detailed review

Abstract

Summary The lack of fresh water resources is one of the important reasons obstructing progress all over the world. To overcome this crucial situation, the water desalination system (WDS) is progressed, enhanced, and modified. The desalination plant is mostly powered by nonrenewable energy resources, mainly by fossil fuels that make it an expensive and high‐energy‐consuming technology. Therefore, it is indispensable to depend on renewable energy supplies to drive desalination systems. Recently, the total thermal energy desired to operate the humidification–dehumidification desalination systems can be gained from renewable/sustainable energy resources such as geothermal energy and solar energy. Among the different desalination techniques, the HDH is considered one of the most effective desalination techniques to manage the critical issue of shortage of drinking water. The current paper presents a comprehensive review of diverse types of HDH desalination systems as well as their fundamental components. The present work revealed that the seawater HDH system is a promising technology to produce fresh water, particularly for decentralized demand. The packed bed humidifier is the most utilized type in the HDH water desalination system than other types of humidifiers. Furthermore, the direct dehumidifier enhances the performance of HDH desalination system compared to the indirect one. The present study concludes that the hybrid energy systems have the highest gain output ratio, while the thermal energy systems have the lowest gain output ratio. Water heating with solar energy has a significant enhancement in system productivity compared with solar air heating. The HDH WDS incorporated with heat pump achieves appropriate system productivity and gain output ratio with the lowest cost per liter.

Experimental investigation on a standalone battery‐less single‐phase photovoltaic desalination system

“…2 The humidificationdehumidification (HDH) technique has been introduced as an effective solution for drinking water shortage challenges in the future. 3 According to this research, the HDH desalination process using hybrid power sources has the highest treatment rate. Using a heat pump joint with the HDH process gives the highest gain at the lowest price.…”

“…Using a heat pump joint with the HDH process gives the highest gain at the lowest price. 3 The bubble column humidifier has been implemented in the HDH process as another way to improve the treatment gain. 4 Another reason that has led to the use of photovoltaic systems as a source of energy in desalination systems is their low power dissipation and low maintenance cost.…”

“…Qiuming Ma et al reviewed all the proposed technologies for solar‐based membrane distillation systems and predicted the future of this aspect 2 . The humidification‐dehumidification (HDH) technique has been introduced as an effective solution for drinking water shortage challenges in the future 3 . According to this research, the HDH desalination process using hybrid power sources has the highest treatment rate.…”

“…According to this research, the HDH desalination process using hybrid power sources has the highest treatment rate. Using a heat pump joint with the HDH process gives the highest gain at the lowest price 3 . The bubble column humidifier has been implemented in the HDH process as another way to improve the treatment gain 4 …”

Thermodynamic analysis of thermal desalination system with humidification–dehumidification cycle

“…Мембранні технології набули такого поширення через свої незаперечні переваги: можливість організації безперервного опріснення; висока швидкість опріснення; високі показники відновлення води, видалення солей, низьке споживання енергії; мінімальні вимоги до попереднього очищення води, тривалий строк експлуатації [6]. Разом із цим, мембранам притаманні й суттєві недоліки, зокрема: пестициди, гербіциди та хлор молекулярно менші за воду і можуть проходити через мембрану; ймовірне видалення природних мінералів із води; значні витрати води, яка проходить через систему; погіршення якості води з часом експлуатації; потреба в енергії високої якості (електрична енергія, високотемпературне тепло), що не дає змоги напряму комбінувати мембрани із сонячною або іншою альтернативною енергією [7].…”