Abstract
Freeze crystallization presents an innovative thermal desalination technology whereby water is separated from salts in brine solution through freezing, commonly known as freeze desalination (FD). This work presents a comprehensive Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigation aimed at optimizing the design of a Continuous Suspension Freeze Crystallizer (CSFC) for seawater brine treatment. The approach involves a dual-level methodology, comprising non-isothermal geometrical optimization and ice crystallization evaluation. Geometrical optimization explores parameters such as crystallizer height, channel diameter, and the number of inlets/outlets across different residence times. Results demonstrate that increasing crystallizer height, diameter, residence time, and the number of inlets/outlets positively impact heat transfer, leading to a notable enhancement in the outlet-to-inlet temperature difference. This adjustment creates conducive conditions to attain less temperature polarization within the crystallizer. Nonetheless, implementation of solidification modeling revealed heterogeneous ice crystallization at the CSFC walls, especially at higher residence times. The results underscore the potential need for external agitation or ultrasonic power to address temperature polarization near the wall.
