Alternative absorption heat transformer configurations integrated with water desalination system

•Alternative configurations of absorption heat transformer are integrated in desalination system and analyzed in detail.•Crystallization risk is considered.•Regarding the quantity of distilled water rate, an optimization is performed.

Alternative configurations of absorption heat transformer (AHT) systems using LiBr/H2O as the working fluid and integrated with a water purification system are analyzed and optimized thermodynamically. The waste heat from a textile factory is utilized to run the AHT systems and the generated high temperature heat is employed for the purpose of desalination. A computer program is developed in EES (Engineering Equation Solver) to investigate the effects of different parameters on four different configurations of AHT and the desalination system. It is shown that applying different modifications can increase the coefficient of performance (COP) of the AHT and consequently the productivity of the desalination system. The maximum rate of distilled pure water reaches 0.2435 kg/s when waste heat from the condenser is utilized by the evaporator. Finally, the risk of crystallization of LiBr is lowered in the modified configurations.