Numerical balancing in a humidification dehumidification desalination system
Name
765988556-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
5.81 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
77f6047fc5428daf86f9a7faae6e5345
Author(s)
Miller, Jacob A., S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Advisor(s)
John H. Lienhard, V.
Date Issued
2011
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis details research on the thermal and concentration balancing of a humidification dehumidification desalination system. The system operates similarly to the natural rain cycle. Seawater is heated, sprayed into an airstream to increase the air's humidity, then pure water is condensed out of the same stream in a separate unit. These systems are typically inefficient due to entropy generation caused by mismatch between the temperature and humidity profiles in both the humidifier and dehumidifier components. Numerical models are developed for several different systems, and it is shown that for a given system with fixed inputs, entropy generation is minimized by way of balancing; i.e., the extraction and reinjection of the water or air streams within the humidifier and dehumidifier to equalize the capacity rates of the streams. Several modifications to existing baseline cycles are made to reach cases of minimum entropy generation. In these cases, the performance of the system is dramatically improved and the amount of energy needed to drive the system is reduced. For both on and off-design models, the addition of multiple extractions markedly improves the performance as compared to a baseline case with no extractions.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-118).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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