Energy and exergy analyses of a novel multi-effect distillation system with thermal vapor compression for seawater desalination

Menasri, Rabah; Triki, Zakaria; Bouaziz, Mohamed Najib; Hamrouni, Béchir

doi:10.5004/dwt.2022.27992

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To improve the energetic performance of the conventional MED, process intensification has played a crucial role by using auxiliary units − along with heat integration. , Among various auxiliary systems, the use of a steam jet ejector and vapor compressor in the form of thermal vapour compression (TVC) − and mechanical vapor compression (MVC), , respectively, are widely reported. Although MED-MVC holds the potential to attain higher heat recovery over MED-TVC, the former approach has not yet received reasonable research attention mainly because of the operational complexity and cost of MVC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

Mukherjee,

Mondal,

Jana

2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work proposes a carbon-neutral desalination process. For this, at first a rigorous theoretical framework for multieffect desalination coupled with a thermal vapor compressor (MED-TVC) is developed to validate with the data set of a plant operated in Libya and to show the outperformance over an existing model. A mechanical vapor compressor (MVC) is proposed to integrate with MED, and the hot brine and distillate withdrawn from that MED are employed for feed preheating. A multiobjective genetic algorithm -based optimizer is formulated with three conflicting objectives, namely, productivity, CO 2 emission, and production cost that includes carbon tax. The proposed MED-MVC outperforms MED-TVC in terms of all of those performance metrics. Subsequently, we move to transform this MED-MVC process to a carbon-neutral unit by introducing solar energy to generate makeup steam and electricity. This innovative sustainable zeroemission desalination process secures higher productivity at a lower cost than the existing MED-TVC plant scenario.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

Mukherjee,

Mondal,

Jana

2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although these integrated MED configurations have shown improved performance in terms of productivity, the addition of external units invariably results in extra capital cost, thus increasing the overall cost of the resulting schemes. However, integration of MED with thermal vapor compressor (TVC) − and mechanical vapor compressor (MVC) , are well accepted and widely reported. Although both the capital and operating costs of TVC are lower than those of MVC, the latter scheme is more efficient and flexible to the changed operating conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar-Driven Thermal and Mechanical Vapor Compressor Integrated Desalination System: Zero Emission, High Yield, and Cost Reduction

Mukherjee,

Jana

2024

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water scarcity has become one of the top risks, along with global warming, primarily caused by increasing energy usage. The problem of desalinating water that is a highly energy intensive process gets intensified due to its complex water-energy nexus. Our key objective is to break this nexus by introducing a hybrid solar-thermal multieffect desalination system. More specifically, to unlock the thermodynamic limitation and acquire the benefits of both the thermal (TVC) and mechanical vapor compressor (MVC), an attempt is made to hybridize them for integration with the multieffect distillation (MED) that consequently enhances the yield of water. Ensuring globally optimal performance of this hybrid MED-TVC-MVC configuration, it is proposed to further integrate with a solar cell with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality at the cost of increased capital investment. Imposing a carbon tax is inevitable, and with adding this, we finally explore the techno-economic feasibility of the sustainable solar MED-TVC-MVC. This novel desalination system secures zero carbon emission with reduced freshwater production cost (FWPC) and enhanced recovery ratio with respect to the real-time MED-TVC plant.

show abstract

“…A number of studies have been conducted to analyze the energetic performance of MED-TVC systems using the exergy approach [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], in which exergy analysis revealed that the thermo-compressor and effects are the major sources of exergy destruction in a MED-TVC system. Hamed et al [10] applied an exergy analysis to evaluate and compare the performance of a TVC system with those of the conventional MEB and MVC desalination systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors indicated that careful attention should be paid to evaporators, since they are the main sources of exergy destruction. Menasri et al [17] presented a MED-TVC system model based on energy and exergy analyses. The results revealed that the main sources of exergy destruction in the MED-TVC system are the ejector and the evaporators, while a parametric study revealed that operating with a lower brine temperature and lower motive steam flow rate is recommended to improve the overall efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Desalination Performance with a Thermal Vapor Compression System

Fergani

Triki

Menasri

et al. 2023

Water

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multi-effect distillation with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC) is a highly energy-efficient desalination technology that can provide a reliable and sustainable source of high-quality water, particularly in areas with limited energy infrastructure and water resources. In this study, a numerical model based on exergoeconomic approach is developed to analyze the economic performance of a MED-TVC system for seawater desalination. A parallel/cross feed configuration is considered because of its high energy efficiency. In addition, a parametric study is performed to evaluate the effects of some operational parameters on the total water price, such as the top brine temperature, seawater temperature, motive steam flow rate, and number of effects. The obtained results indicate that the total water price is in the range of 1.73 USD/m3 for a distilled water production of 55.20 kg/s. Furthermore, the exergy destructions in the effects account for 45.8% of the total exergy destruction. The MED effects are also identified to be the most relevant component from an exergoeconomic viewpoint. Careful attention should be paid to these components. Of the total cost associated with the effects, 75.1% is due to its high thermodynamic inefficiency. Finally, the parametric study indicates that adjusting the top brine temperature, the cooling seawater temperature, the motive steam flow rate, and the number of effects has a significant impact on the TWP, which varies between 1.42 USD/m3 and 2.85 USD/m3.

show abstract

Energy and exergy analyses of a novel multi-effect distillation system with thermal vapor compression for seawater desalination

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

Solar-Driven Thermal and Mechanical Vapor Compressor Integrated Desalination System: Zero Emission, High Yield, and Cost Reduction

Analysis of Desalination Performance with a Thermal Vapor Compression System

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About