Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1751455 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2010 15 Pages PDF
Abstract

World-wide water scarcity, especially in the developing world, indicates a pressing need to develop inexpensive, decentralized small-scale desalination technologies which use renewable resources of energy. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in one of the most promising of these technologies, solar-driven humidification–dehumidification (HDH) desalination. Previous studies have investigated many different variations on the HDH cycle. In this paper, performance parameters which enable comparison of the various versions of the HDH cycle have been defined and evaluated. To better compare these cycles, each has been represented in psychometric coordinates. The principal components of the HDH system are also reviewed and compared, including the humidifier, solar heaters, and dehumidifiers. Particular attention is given to solar air heaters, for which design data is limited; and direct air heating is compared to direct water heating in the cycle assessments. Alternative processes based on the HDH concept are also reviewed and compared. Further, novel proposals for improvement of the HDH cycle are outlined. It is concluded that HDH technology has great promise for decentralized small-scale water production applications, although additional research and development is needed for improving system efficiency and reducing capital cost.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Energy Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
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