Novel and efficient integration of a humidification-dehumidification desalination system with an absorption refrigeration system

This paper introduces and evaluates an innovative humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination system integrated with a double-effect absorption refrigeration system to produce an abundant amount of freshwater and to provide a cooling effect for air conditioning purposes. The seawater stream of HDH system is used to cool condenser and absorber of the absorption refrigeration system while attaining a sufficient heat to drive the HDH system. The influence of operating conditions on the integrated system performance is investigated. The performance indices are selected to be: gained output ratio (GOR), coefficient of performance (COP), energy performance, freshwater production, and freshwater cost. The system can produce freshwater of 1145 L/h and a cooling capacity of 62.45 TR. The optimal performance indices are found to be 4.54 for GOR, 1.29 for COP, and 5.83 for energy performance. Furthermore, without accounting for the cooling effect, the freshwater cost is estimated to be 2.89 $/m³. In addition to the air conditioning capability, the integrated system performance shows an enhancement of 2.20 times for GOR, 2.21 times for freshwater production, and 8.24 times for water cost reduction over the traditional HDH system.