Fresh water availability is essential for the economic growth and development, especially in small and semi-isolated communities. In some of these communities fresh water may be scarce, yet brackish water from wells or seawater is often abundantly available. This motivates a need for cost-effective desalination at small scale capacity driven by renewable energy sources. This paper presents an integrated optimization model of a solar powered humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination system. The system under investigation is a water-heated system. The design variables include the sizing of solar collectors, storage tank, humidifier and dehumidifier, as well as air circulation flow rate and operating temperature. The objective of the optimization is to minimize the unit cost of the produced fresh water. Thermodynamic performance prediction is done by solving energy and mass balance equations for each of the system components, with consideration to hourly-varying solar irradiance that corresponds to a typical one year cycle. System cost is predicted via first-order estimators. A genetic algorithm is used to obtain the designs optimized for local climate and market. A case study discusses a desalination plant on the Red Sea near the city of Hurgada.
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ASME 2012 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
August 12–15, 2012
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Design Engineering Division
- Computers and Information in Engineering Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4502-8
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Integrated Optimization of a Solar-Powered Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination System for Small Communities Available to Purchase
Mohamed El-Morsi,
Mohamed El-Morsi
American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Karim Hamza,
Karim Hamza
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
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Ashraf O. Nassef,
Ashraf O. Nassef
The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Sayed Metwalli,
Sayed Metwalli
Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
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Kazuhiro Saitou
Kazuhiro Saitou
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
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Mohamed El-Morsi
American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Karim Hamza
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Ashraf O. Nassef
The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Sayed Metwalli
Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Kazuhiro Saitou
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Paper No:
DETC2012-70783, pp. 283-290; 8 pages
Published Online:
September 9, 2013
Citation
El-Morsi, M, Hamza, K, Nassef, AO, Metwalli, S, & Saitou, K. "Integrated Optimization of a Solar-Powered Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination System for Small Communities." Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 3: 38th Design Automation Conference, Parts A and B. Chicago, Illinois, USA. August 12–15, 2012. pp. 283-290. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2012-70783
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