Performance assessment of hybrid adsorption/humidification-dehumidification desalination cycle powered by dish/stirling concentrated solar power system for sustainable freshwater production maximization

To achieve sustainable development, it is crucial to prioritize green polygeneration systems capable of generating diverse energy outputs, including electricity, heat, and distilled water, with enhanced efficiencies, reduced costs, and environmentally friendly advantages. Therefore, this study explores an innovative integration for a solar-powered desalination system to present an eco-friendly desalination system that agrees with sustainability goals of eco-friendly clean water and net-zero energy. The proposed system utilizes the waste heat from the solar dish Stirling power engine to drive the adsorption desalination system that is combined with two ejectors, humidification-dehumidification desalination. The humidification-dehumidification utilizes the waste energy from the silica gel-based adsorption desalination system process to enhance the freshwater productivity of the designed integrated system. Comprehensive modeling for the hybrid system components has been formulated using MATLAB to assess the electrical performance and freshwater production of the proposed system. The study also expresses the effect of evaporative-condenser heat recovery in enhancing the freshwater productivity of the hybrid system. Moreover, the effects of cycle time, and evaporator pressure on the performances of the system with and without heat recovery. The findings indicate that the proposed system has the capability to generate an electrical power output of approximately 23.42 kW, achieving a solar-to-electricity efficiency of 23.40 %. Moreover, the proposed system also produces a water production of 47.42 L/hr with a gained output ratio of 2.74. At the same time, the cost estimate revealed that the price of generated freshwater by the planned desalination facility utilizing the heat recovery loop was approximately 0.54 $/m³.