Performance and economic analysis of solar-powered adsorption cooling desalination system with ejector integration utilizing composite adsorbent materials

The hybrid adsorption cooling desalination system presents a dual solution, offering reliable water production and cooling effects, and reducing electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This study introduces a novel utilization of two promising adsorbent materials (Bentonite/CaCl₂ (Bent/CaCl₂) and Max/CaCl₂) in the adsorption cooling desalination system driven by low-temperature heat, such as solar energy (SE) or waste heat (WH). The proposed system expresses the potential of integrating two types of ejectors, a vapor-vapor ejector and a liquid-vapor ejector, to increase its performance and reduce the cost of freshwater production. This study presents comprehensive mathematical models to investigate the energetic performance and the economic feasibility of the proposed hybrid systems, operating under real meteorological conditions for three distinct locations: Arish (Egypt), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Different configurations of the hybrid systems used in cooling and desalination modes (ADCS) were examined, with and without internal evaporator condenser heat recovery and ejectors integration. The numerical results showed that the adsorbent Max/CaCl₂ exhibits the best performance among the tested adsorbents in the cooling and desalination mode. Arish City achieved the highest daily freshwater production and cooling effect with 84.2 m³/ton and 801.3 W/kg in June using Max/CaCl₂, while Dubai exhibited the lowest SCP at 356.5 W/kg in December. Arish exhibited the highest daily freshwater production for evaporator condenser heat recovery mode with ejectors integration, reaching a promising value of 129.9 m³/ton in June. Among the tested adsorbents, the most cost-effective operation was observed in Arish in June, where Max/CaCl₂ achieved the lowest water production cost of $0.385/m³ utilizing a waste heat source. Overall, this study expresses the effectiveness and potential of integrating an adsorption system with ejectors and heat recovery in improving system performance and cost efficiency across different climatic conditions.