Integrated oxy-combustion power generation with carbon capture and humidification–dehumidification desalination cycle

The amount of resources devoted to saltwater desalination is substantial and will only rise as the scarcity of water escalates globally. Desalination techniques for seawater, particularly thermal desalination techniques, require a lot of energy and utilize conventional energy sources. The goal of this article is to examine the integration of thermal desalination techniques with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) power generation. This study utilizes an oxy-combustion-based zero-emission power plant and investigates the performance of a humidification–dehumidification (HDH) cycle integrated with the main cycle. The system constitutes two main cycles, namely (i) oxy-combustion power generation cycle (OPGC) and (ii) humidification–dehumidification (HDH) cycle. The performance of several bottoming cycles coupled with a closed-air-open-water water-heated (CAOW-WH) HDH system is studied to evaluate the thermodynamic feasibility of the system. The effect of top and bottom temperatures of the HDH system and mass flow rates are optimized for gain output ratio (GOR) and recovery rate (RR). A sensitivity analysis of the integrated system was also conducted, and the effect of oxy-combustion operating parameters on the net cycle efficiency was examined. This analysis offers crucial design considerations for such integrated systems to generate power with zero emissions and produces sweet water without additional energy costs.