MULTIPLE EFFECT DESALINATION SYSTEM WITH VARIOUS ENERGY RECOVERY METHODS

This study investigates the performance of three configurations within multi-effect distillation (MED) systems for water desalination. Through an analysis of performance metrics including performance ratios (PR), specific cooling water (SCW), and specific area, the effectiveness of different system designs is evaluated. Notably, Configuration 3, which incorporates two preheaters—one recovering heat from brine and the other from distillate—consistently outperforms the others in term of the performance ratio with almost 15% increase in the PR when compared to the reference configuration at a steam temperature of 80°C. In contrast, Configuration 2 features only one preheater recovering heat from brine showed a 9.44% increase in the PR at the same steam temperature. The utilization of preheaters leads to elevated feed temperatures, reducing the need for external steam and improving overall system efficiency. Furthermore, an examination of different feed distribution schemes within Configuration 3 highlights that Configuration 3B, which ensures equal feed entering each effect, demonstrates performance improvement in terms of PR. These findings underscore the significance of using heat recovery and optimizing feed distribution for achieving higher system performance.