Performance evaluation of a novel integrated adsorption desalination system with direct contact membrane distillation plant

Since adsorption desalination (AD) technology has low performance, a hybrid adsorption desalination system with a direct contact membrane distillation plant (AD-DCMD) is proposed for enhanced water production and reduced water cost. In addition to the desalination process, the cooling effect is also produced as a by-product of air conditioning. Two AD-DCMD configurations are investigated, in which the heat released from the AD condenser (configuration 1) and the adsorption process (configuration 2) are utilized to drive the DCMD system. The main performance parameters, such as gain output ratio (GOR), specific daily water production (SDWP), freshwater cost, and coefficient of performance (COP), are investigated. The influential operating parameters are tuned to obtain optimal performance. Results show that GOR values reach 1.48 and 1.6 for configurations 1 and 2, respectively, which is more than the AD system by >117 %. For configuration 2, the SDWP reaches 53 m³/ton per day, higher than the AD system by 136.7 %, at an operating temperature of 90°C. COP was found to be 0.76 and 0.70 for configurations 1 and 2, respectively. Moreover, the freshwater cost of configurations 1 and 2 is 1.72 and 0.92 $/m³, with a reduction of 18.03 and 56.05 %, respectively, compared to the AD system.