Energy performance and economic assessments of a solar air collector and compression heat pump-integrated solar humidifier desalination system

Abstract

This article presents the energy performance and economic assessments of a solar air collector (SAC) and compression heat pump (CHP)-integrated solar humidifier desalination system. The influences of solar heat flux, ambient wind speed and ambient temperature on the energy performance of the system are investigated. The quality of distilled water obtained from the system was assessed. The results showed that the proposed configuration has the maximum distillate output of 22.3 l per day in 14 hours of observations during the summer months. Moreover, the system delivers 100 l of hot water at 46 ± 2°C. The effectiveness of a solar humidifier was raised from 0.16 to 0.97. The coefficient of performance of the CHP was fluctuating between 2.40 and 2.77. The gain output ratio (GOR) was raised from 0.9 to 3.35 during the summer months. The proposed system has a payback duration (PBD) of 27.62 months for 14 hours of operation per day during 252 days in a year. The environmental impact assessments revealed that the system will release 32.35 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during 15 years life span. The quality of water obtained from the system was found to be good and suitable for drinking enriched with minerals.