International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

Conceptual Analysis of Desalination System working on Humidify and Dehumidify technique using Solar Air Heater
Anil Kr Tiwari, Taranjeet Sachdev

system under consideration is proposed desalination System working on humidification and dehumidification using solar flat plate air heater. The effort is being made to investigate theoretically, the effect of different operating conditions, different design parameters and a weather condition on the performance of considered solar assisted water desalination system under an assumed climatic condition of India. In this effort computer simulation program based on the mathematical model is developed by using MATLAB software. The fourth order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the energy balance equations numerically. In proposed arrangement, air is heated through a double-pass solar air heater unlike the heating of water in conventional solar distillation unit. The analysis concludes that the system productivity is increased up to 10% by using a double-pass solar air heater compared to a single pass solar air heater and decreased about 80% without solar air heater under the same operating conditions. Significant development on the productivity of the system is achieved by increasing the inlet air mass flow rate particularly at optimized air mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/hr system gives a 400 % increase in productivity with 200 % increase in air mass flow rate. It is also found that, the system performance is strongly affected by the double-pass solar air heater area and slightly influenced by the bottom heat loss coefficient of the solar air heater and storage tank. Finally, the productivity of the unit that consists of a double-pass solar air heater with two glass covers is not influenced by the wind speed variation. The process has several attractive features, which include operation at low temperature, ability to utilize sustainable energy sources, i.e. solar and geothermal, and requirements of low technology level.

AbstractThe

KeywordsSolar distillation, Desalination, humidification dehumidification, solar air heater and solar flat plate collector. I. INTRODUCTION
ATER is a basic human requirement for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. The continuous rise in the worlds population and the expansion of industrial facilities around the globe has resulted in growing demand for fresh water supply from natural resources. These resources have been steadily declining in quality due to industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. Therefore the need for new Anil Kr Tiwari1 is with the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, INDIA 492010 (corresponding author phone: +91-7716532292 fax:+91-7712253155; e-mail: anil.kr.tiwari@gmail.com). Taranjeet Sachdev2 was with National Institute of Technology, Raipur. He is now with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management & Technology Raipur, INDIA 492010 (e-mail: taranjeet84@gmail.com).

fresh water resources to balance the growing consumption rate has been a serious concern facing for the past 50 years. The fact that 97% of the earths surface is covered with saline water has been a substantial catalyst for developing water desalination technologies [1]. Different solar water desalination processes, such as active and passive basin type solar stills and systems working on humidificationdehumidification principle, have been used to produce fresh water from saline water. Among these processes, solar water desalination systems based on humidificationdehumidification technique is one of the simple and most efficient techniques and performance of these systems have been studied and improved by several researchers. Hisham Ettouney[1] evaluated the characteristics of several layouts of humidification dehumidification desalination layouts. The common feature is humidification tower in air is humidified up to saturation state at desired temperature. The difference is dehumidification process adopted K. Bourouni, M.T. Chaibi, L. Tadrist [2] described the importance of the humidification dehumidification process. The state of the art concerning the HD technique is presented. Several installations functioning worldwide with the HD technique are presented, analyzed and evaluated. Said Al-Hallaja, Parekha Sandeep, M.M. Faridb, J.R Selmana [3] this paper dealt with the economics of various desalination processes.Combining the principle of humidificationdehumidification with solar desalination results in an increase in the overall efficiency of the desalination plant, and therefore appears to be the best method of water desalination with solar energy. A detailed study of possible mechanism of this process is presented in this paper. Simulation verification and design optimization by varying the three major components (humidifier, condenser and collector surface areas) of the unit has been done. The thermal performance was determined over a wide range of operating conditions and the optimum operating conditions were determined by Yousef B. A. A. and Adam N. M [4]. It was found that for drying purpose the designed air flow rate should be in the range of 0.025 to 0.045 Kg/s. Ghazi Al-Enezi , Hisham Ettouney , Nagla Fawzy [5] viewed dehumidification desalination process is as a promising technique for small capacity production plants. This paper evaluates the characteristics of the humidification dehumidification desalination process as a
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International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

function of operating conditions. A small capacity conceptual system is planned to evaluate the process characteristics as a function of the flow rate of the water and air streams, the temperature of the water stream and the temperature of the cooling water stream. The conceptual system includes a packed humidification column, a double pipe glass condenser, a constant temperature water circulation tank and a chiller for cooling water. The water production is found to depend strongly on the hot water temperature. Also, the water production is found to increase upon by increasing the air flow rate and the decrease of the cooling water temperature. The measured air and water temperatures, air relative humidity and the flow rates are used to calculate the air side mass transfer coefficient and the overall heat transfer coefficient. Lixi Zhang, Guangping Cheng [6] introduced a solar desalination process using air humidification and dehumidification. In order to increase the output of freshwater, multi-technologies are adopted; the double-pass solar air heater and tubular solar collector are used to heat the air and seawater respectively. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED SYSTEM A. Working Principle The proposed solar water desalination system with the humidification-dehumidification technique consists of a double-pass flat plate solar air heater with two glass covers, humidifying tower, storage tank and dehumidifying exchanger. A schematic view of the system that is based on the idea of the closed water and open air cycles is presented in Fig 1.
Ambient Air In Sun Water spraying Cooling Water out
Dehumidifier

Working principle of the system can be explained by three main steps; firstly, the process air at the ambient conditions is forced to flow through the upper channel of the double pass flat plate solar air heater, where it is preheated. The preheated air is further heated by passing it through the lower channel of the solar air heater. Secondly, the heated air leaving the double-pass flat plate solar air heater enters the humidifier and is humidified by saline water that is coming from the water storage tank. Thirdly, the air carrying water vapor is passed through the dehumidifying coil surface where water vapor condenses and turns into the fresh water. Also, saline water leaving the humidifier is collected back in the storage tank and recirculated to the humidifier or drained out as brine. B. Mathematical Modelling The energy balance equations for each of the system components shown in Fig: 1 following Assumptions are made as per [7] [8] [9]. 1. Heat losses (or gains) from the edges of the solar air heater, water storage tank, humidifier and dehumidifier to the ambient are neglected. 2. In the both channels, radiant energy absorbed by the flowing air is neglected. 3. There is no air leakage from the system, when air passes through the air heater, humidifier and dehumidifier in that sequence. 4. Air temperature varies linearly in the flow directions. 5. Flow that is laminar or turbulent is fully developed. 6. Temperature of the water leaving the humidifier is equal to the wet-bulb temperature of the air leaving the humidifier. 7. The effectiveness of the humidifying tower is assumed to be equal to one which means that the air leaving the humidifier is at saturation condition and therefore, its wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures are identical. 8. The dehumidification process lies on the saturation curve. 9. Exit temperatures of the condensate water and cooling water from the parallel flow dehumidifying exchanger are the same as the dry-bulb temperature of the air leaving the dehumidifier. 10. Temperature gradient inside the water storage tank is neglected. 11. Inlet water temperature to the humidifier is equal to the storage tank water temperature. 12. Cooling water temperature is constant during the day. 13. Solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed, relative humidity of the ambient air are constant at each instant through an hour. The energy balance equations for the air heater are as follows Second glass cover dT mg . c p _ g . g 2 = I . g . Ac + qr ; g1 _ g 2 (1) dt

Humidifier

Air Out

Air Heater Make up Storage Tank

Cooling Water in Brine O t Fresh Water

Fig:1 Schematic arrangement for Solar Water Desalination system with the humidification-dehumidification

In proposed system air is heated by using double-pass flat plate solar air heater whereas water is not heated. In other words, water heater is not used; however, the effect of the water temperature on the system productivity has been examined numerically at different values of water and air mass flow rates.
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qc ; g 2 _ amb qr ; g 2 _ sky + qc ; g1 _ g 2

International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

First glass cover

mg . C p _ g .

dTg1 dt

Qr ; g 2 _ sky = Ac .hr ; g 2 _ sky .(Tg 2 Tsky )

= I . g . Ac . g qr ; g1 _ g 2 qc ; g1 _ a1 + qr ; p _ g1 qc ; g1 _ g 2
(2) where, Tsky = Tamb 6

(15)

(16)

First air pass

dT ma . c p _ a . a1 = qc ; p _ a1 + qc ; g 1 _ a1 dt M a .C p _ a (Ta1 _ e Ta _ i )

(3)

and the radiation heat transfer coefficient from the second glass cover to sky is; 2 2 (17) hr ; g 2 _ sky = g 2 . . Tg 2 + Tsky (Tg 2 + Tsky )
Qc ; g 1 _ g 2 = Ac .hc ; g 1 _ g 2 .(Tg 1 Tg 2 )

(18)

Absorber plate

mp .c p _ p .

dTp dt

= I . g . Ac . g qc; p _ a 2
2

(4)

The natural convection heat transfer coefficient between the first and the second glass covers is given as follow;

qc; p _ a1 qr ; p _ g1 + qr ; p _ b
Second air pass

h c;g1_g2 = Nu g1_g2

ka x

(19)

ma . c p _ a .
Base plate

dTa 2 = qc ; p _ a 2 + qc ;b _ a 2 dt M a .C p _ a (Ta 2 _ e Ta1 _ e )

(5)

The following correlation proposed by the Hollands may be used to calculate the Nusselt number ; 1708 ]+ x [ 1Nu g1_g2 = 1 + 1.44 x [1Ra x Cos (20) Ra x CosB 5830 The positive exponent means that the value of this term is equal to zero if the term is negative. Where g . . (Tg1 Tg 2 ). x 3 (21) Ra = . Thermal properties of the moist air suggested by Tiwari [10] as functions of air temperature are evaluated by the following equations; (22) K = 0.0244 + 0.6773 x 10-4 x T = 7.7255 x 10-10 + T1.83 v = 0.1284x10-4 + 0.00105x10-4 x T (23) (24) (25)

dT mb . C p _ b . b = qr ; p _ b qc;b _ a 2 + ql ; b _ amb dt
Water storage tank dT mw1. c p _ w . w1 = M w 2 (t ).C p _ w .Tw 2 (t ) + dt M mw (t ).C p _ w .Tmw

(Sin1.8 x B)1.6 x 1708 ] + { Ra x CosB 3 1 }

(6)

(7)

M w1 (t ).C p _ w .Tw1 (t ) ql ; b _ amb

Humidifier M a . ha 3 (t ) ha 2 _ e (t ) = M w1 (t ).C p _ w .Tw1 (t ) +

M w 2 (t ).C p _ w .Tw 2 (t )

(8)

Dehumidifier

M a .(ha 3 (t ) ha 4 (t )) = M w3 .C p _ w .(Tw 4 Tw3 ) + M c (t ).C p _ w .Tw5 (t )

(9)

Qc ; g 1 _ a1 = Ac .hc ; g 1 _ a1 .(Tg 1 Ta1 )

The heat transfer terms in the equations above are given as below; Q r;g1_g2 = A c .h r;g1_g2 . Tg1 Tg2 (10) Where, (11) Ac = w.L The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the two glass covers can be found by

The forced convective heat transfer coefficient inside the upper channel of the double pass flat plate solar air heater can be found by

h c;g1_a1 = Nu g1_a1
Where Dh =

ka Dh

(26)

hr ; g1 _ g 2 =

(.T 2 g1 +T 2 g 2 ).(Tg1 + Tg 2 )
1

g1

(12)

g2

4 . A sec 2 .w + 2.D

(27)

Qc ; g 2 _ amb = Ac .hc ; g 2 _ amb

.(T

g2

Tamb

For laminar flow, the Nusselt number may be calculated from (13) the below equation ;
Nu g1 _ a1 = 4.9 + .0606.(Re a1 . Pr .Dh / L ) (28) 0.7 1 + 0.0909.(Re a1 . Pr .Dh / L ) . Pr 0.17
1.2

The convective heat transfer coefficient for the air flowing over the upper glass cover is given by the following empirical equation; (14) hc; g 2 _ amb = 2.8+ 3.Vwind

For turbulent flow, the following correlation may be used to determine the Nusselt number;

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International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

Nu g1 _ a1 =

( fa1 / 8) x (Re a1 1000) x Pr 0.5 1 +12.7 x ( fa1 / 8) x (Pr 0.67 1)

(29)

Where, Rea1 is the reynolds number and f a1 is the friction factor, and they are given as follows;

Re a1 =

Va1. Dh

a1

(30) (31) (32)

f a1 = (0.79 x ln Re a1 1.64)-2
Qr ; p _ g 1 = Ac .hr ; p _ g 1 .(T p Tg 1 )

The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the copper absorber plate and first glass cover is calculated from Eq. 12 by replacing T g2 with T p and g 2 with p .
Qc ; p _ a1 = Ac .hc ; p _ a1 .(T p Ta1 )

productivity of proposed desalination system. In this program, energy balance equations are solved simultaneously by using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. The time interval is chosen to be one second and the initial values of T g2 , T g1 , T a1 , T a2 , T w1 have been assumed to be nearly equal to the ambient temperature and T b , T p are assumed to be 5 and 10 OC above the ambient temperature, respectively. This is due to the fact that in the early morning hours, the solar energy hitting the copper absorber plate is absorbed as a sensible heat and radiant energy emitted from it is also absorbed as sensible heat by the copper basin plate. The basic design and operation parameters used for the simulation is being shown in Table:I
TABLE: I THE BASIC DESIGN AND OPERATION PARAMETERS USED FOR THE
SIMULATION

(33)

h c,p _a1 = h c,g1_ a1 (34) Applying the assumption (4), T a1_e is defined as follows; T a1_ e = 2 .T a1 _ T a_ i (35) (36)

Qc ; p _ a 2 = Ac .hc ; p _ a 2 .(T p Ta 2 )

S. N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

[7][8][9][11][12][13] Parameter Value

Assumed (1854'N 7249'E)

Location of collector Length of collector Width of collector Air Channel depth Plate-to-cover spacing Absorber Plate emissivity Glass emissivity Absorber Plate absorptivity Glass absorptivity Transmissivity of glass Collector tilt Air mass flow rate Water mass flow entering the humidifier Water mass flow rate entering the dehumidifier Water temperature entering the dehumidifier Water temperature in the storage tank Mass of glass cover Mass of absorber plate Mass of water in the storage tank Over all heat transfer coefficient Area of the storage tank Glass Heat capacity Water Heat capacity Air Heat capacity Absorber plate heat capacity

The convection heat transfer coefficients (h c,p_a2 = h c,b_a2 ) inside the lower channel of the double-pass flat plate solar air heater are evaluated from the above equations which are used to calculate the convective heat transfer coefficients for the upper channel. Thermal properties of the air flowing inside the lower channel of that should be taken at the mean temperature of the second air pass. Qr ; p _ b = Ac .hr ; p _ b . T p Tb (37)

By

replacing

g1 with p and g 2

T g1

with Tp, T g2 with Tb, with b , the radiation heat transfer

coefficient between the copper absorber plate and the copper basin plate can be determined from Eq.12. Qc ;b _ a 2 = Ac .hc ;b _ a 2 . Tb Ta 2 (38)

2m 1m 50 mm 25 mm 0.95 0.9 0.95 0.05 0.95 1854'N 0.027kg/s 0.028 kg/sec 0.028 kg/sec 30 C 30 C 3.75 kg 4 .5 kg 500 kg 0.75 W/m2K 1 m2 800 J/kg C 4178 J/kg C
1006 J/kg C

Applying the assumption (4), T a2_e is defined as below; (39) T a2_ e = 2 .T a2 - T a1_ e ) (40) Q = A .U .(T T

M w 2 (t )= M w1 M a .[W 3(t )W 1(t )]

l;b_amb

loss

amb

(41)

Applying the assumptions (6,7), the following equality can be written as; (42) T w2 (t) = T a3 (t) (43) M c (t )= M a .[W 3(t )W 4(t )] Applying the assumptions (8,9), the following equalities can be obtained; (44) T q4 (t) = T w4 (t) = T w5 (t) (45) M mw (t )= M a .[W 3(t )W 1(t )]

Ql ; w1 _ amb = As .U loss .(Tw1 Tamb )

III. SOLVING THE ENERGY BALANCE EQUATION

(46)

A program based on the energy balance equations above has been developed using MATLAB software to investigate the effect of design and operating parameters that affect the
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385 J/kg C

International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

Humidifier outlet tempereture ('C)

Further these assumed initial temperatures are used to determine the heat transfer coefficients that depend on the temperatures. Using assumed initial temperatures and calculated heat transfer coefficients, the system of the first order ordinary differential equations above are solved numerically to obtain new temperatures that will become initial conditions and the process above will be repeated to solve the equations for the next time step. As a result, after knowing the inlet water and air temperatures to the humidifier at each of the time intervals, the temperature of the air leaving the humidifier can be calculated from Eq. 8 and temperature of the air leaving the dehumidifier can be evaluated from Eq. 9. In the dehumidifier, the quantity of the condensate water each of the time intervals is calculated from Eq. 43 by knowing the inlet and outlet air temperatures. IV. RESULTS OBTAINED AND DISCUSSIONS The productivity of proposed desalination system depends upon the Humidifier and dehumidifier outlet temperatures. The effects of various operating and design variables on outlet temperatures of humidifier and dehumidifier have been discussed below. A- Effect of Mass flow rate of air on outlet temperature of humidifier
90 80 70

after this mass flow rate. About 80% temperature drop occurs up to air mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/sec B- Effect of Initial temperature of water in storage tank on outlet temperature of humidifier It is clear from the Fig:4 that if initial temperature of water in storage tank increases the outlet temperature of humidifier increases significantly & temperature gain remains continuous with increase in initial temperature of water of storage tank. The similar trend can be observed in Fig 5 that with increase in initial temperature of water in storage tank the outlet temperature of dehumidifier increases significantly and this temperature gain remains continuous.
63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

Initial temperature of water in storage tank ('C)

Fig: 4 Variation in Humidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Initial Temperature of Water in Storage Tank
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Humidifier outlet Temperature ('C)

Dehumidifier outlet temperature('C)

0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06

55 54 53 52 51 50 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Mass flow rate of air (kg/sec)

Fig: 2 Variation in Humidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Mass flow rate of air

Initial temeprature of water in storage tank ('C)

Dehumidifier outlet temperature ('C)

It is very clear from Fig: 2 that there is sharp decrease in outlet temperature of humidifier with increase in mass flow rate of air up to 0.03 kg/sec. Later on if mass flow rate increases beyond 0.03 kg/sec the outlet temperature of humidifier decreases but with much slower rate. About 80% temperature drop occurs up to air mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/sec.
90
Dehumidifier outlet Temperature ('c)

Fig: 5 Variation in Dehumidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Initial Temperature of Water in Storage Tank

C- Effect of cooling water mass flow rate of dehumidifier on outlet temperature of humidifier and dehumidifier
61 58 55 52 49 46 43 40 0 0.015 0.03 0.045 0.06

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06

Cooling water mass flow rate (kg/hr)

Fig: 6 Variation in dehumidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to cooling water mass flow rate.

Mass flow rate of air (kg/sec)

Fig: 3 Variation in Dehumidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Mass flow rate of air

The same trend can be observed in Fig: 3 that there is sharp decrease in outlet temperature of dehumidifier with increasing mass flow rate of air up to 0.03 kg/sec the decrease drop down
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It can be well understood that the outlet temperature of humidifier remains almost unchanged with increase in mass flow rate of cooling water that is actually circulating through dehumidifier. It is because the outlet air from humidifier has not encountered any contact with cooling water so far. It can be seen explicitly from Fig 6 that with increase in

International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

mass flow rate of cooling water there is a significant drop in outlet temperature of dehumidifier. Higher the drop the higher will be yield from the system. D-Effect of Air heater area on outlet temperature of humidifier and dehumidifier The effect of air heater area receiving solar insolation on the temperature of out coming air from humidifier and dehumidifier is shown in Fig: 7 and 8 respectively. It is very clear that by doubling the air heater area outlet temperature from humidifier and dehumidifier can be increased by 72%. This increase ultimately affects the yield positively that will be more clear in coming graphs.
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By increasing the solar air heater area, the temperature of the air leaving the solar air heater is increased significantly and this makes it possible to get more fresh water from the system. The obtained results show that the productivity of the proposed system increases up to 10% by using a double-pass flat plate solar air heater as compared to single-pass flat plate solar air heater. In absence of any air heater the productivity, decreases by 80% and 70 % if compared to double pass air heater and single pass air heater respectively under the same operating conditions. The above result shows the superiority of double pass solar air heater over single pass solar air heater particularly for proposed desalination system. F- Effect of Mass flow rate of air on productivity It can be seen from Fig 10 that the productivity of the system increases by increasing the air mass flow rate to an optimum value and decreases after that value. This mass flow rate of air (0.03 kg/hr) is optimum value after this any increase in it does not contribute to productivity.
6

Humidifier outlet Temperature ('C)

60 45 30 15 0

Air heater area (m2)

Productivity (kg/hr)

0.5

1.5

2.5

5 4 3 2 1 0 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06

Fig: 7 Variation in Humidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Air heater area.
60

Dehumidifier outlet temperature ('C)

50 40 30 20 10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Mass flow rate of air (kg/sec)

Fig: 10 Effect of mass flow rate of air on the productivity.

Air heater area (m2)

Fig: 8 Variation in Dehumidifier Outlet Temperature with respect to Air heater area.

E-Effect of Double pass and single pass solar air heater on productivity The effect of solar air heater configuration i.e whether single pass or double pass on system productivity can be observed in Fig 9. It reveals that the productivity of the system is strongly affected by the solar air heater configuration.
6 5

It is clear that up to optimum mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/hr system gives a 400 % increase in productivity with 200 % increase in air mass flow rate. After that even with 70% increase in mass flow rate over the optimized value 40% decrease productivity can be observed in Fig 10. The reasons behind that the wet-bulb temperature of the air at the outlet of the solar air heater decreases when the air mass flow rate is increased. Because of this the rate of vaporization in the humidifier decreases, means, moisture content of the air leaving the humidifier is reduced. V. CONCLUSIONS A mathematical study has been performed to investigate the effect of the various parameters, operating and design, on the solar water desalination system using humidificationdehumidification technique. (1) The results indicate that that the productivity of the proposed system increases up to 10% by using a double-pass flat plate solar air heater as compared to single-pass flat plate solar air heater. In absence of any air heater the productivity, decreases by 80% and 70 % if compared to double pass air heater and single pass air heater respectively under the same operating conditions. Thus superiority of double pass solar air

Productivity (kg/hr)

4 3 2 1 0 Double pass Single Pass Without air heater

Fig: 9 Effect of solar air heater configuration on its productivity.

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International Conference on Mechanical and Robotics Engineering (ICMRE'2012) May 26-27, 2012 Phuket

heater over single pass solar air heater particularly for proposed desalination system can be observed. (2) The Productivity of proposed system increases with increasing air mass flow rate up to an optimum value and then decreases. Up to optimum mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/s system gives a 400 % increase in productivity with 200 % increase in air mass flow rate. After that even with 70% increase in mass flow rate over the optimized value 40% decrease productivity can be observed in Fig 10. (3) The results indicate that the system productivity is slightly influenced by the wind speed variations. (7) The results indicate that the system productivity is slightly influenced by the bottom heat loss coefficients of the solar air heater and water storage tank. (8) The process has several attractive features, which include operation at low temperature, ability to utilize sustainable energy sources, i.e. solar and geothermal, and requirements of low technology level. VI. NOMENCLATURE
A c Area of the solar air heater, m2 A sec Cross-section area, m2 B Slope of the solar air heater C p Heat capacities, J/kg _C D Channel thickness, m D h Hydraulic diameter, m f Friction factor g Gravitational constant h Enthalpy of air, J/kg h c Convection heat transfer coefficient, W/ m2K h r Radiation heat transfer coefficient, W/ m2K I Solar intensity, W/m2 K Thermal conductivity, W/mK L Length of the solar air heater, m M Mass flow rate, kg/s m Mass, kg M w1 Inlet water mass flow rate to the humidifier, kg/s Nu Nusselt number Pr Prandtl number q c Heat transfer rate by convection, W q r Heat transfer rate by radiation, W Ra Raleigh number Re Reynolds number T Temperature, _C t Time, s U loss Overall heat loss coefficient, W/ m2K V Velocity, m/s W Moisture content of air, kg water /kg air w Width of the solar air heater, m x Distance between two glass covers Subscripts amb Ambient, a Air, a_i Air inlet to the solar heater a1 First air pass, a1_e Air outlet from upper channel of the solar air heater, a2 Second air pass, a2_e Air leaving the solar heater, a3 Air inlet to the dehumidifier a4 Air outlet from the dehumidifier, b Basin plate c Condensate water, g Glass, g1 First glass cover g2 Second glass cover, l Loss to ambient, mw Make-up water,

p Absorber plate, w Water w 1 Water in the storage tank, w 2 Water outlet from the humidifier, w 3 Cooling water inlet to the dehumidifier T Temperature, _ C, t Time, s Uloss Overall heat loss coefficient, W/ m2K V Velocity, m/s, W Moisture content of air, kgwater /kgair w Width of the solar air heater, m x Distance between two glass covers

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[1] [2] Hisham Ettouney, Design and Analysis of Humidification Dehumidification . Desalination 183 (2005) 341352. Bourouni K., Chaibi M.T., Tadrist L. Water desalination by humidification and dehumidification of air: state of the art Desalination 137 (2001) 167176 Al-Hallaja Said, Parekha Sandeep, Faridb M.M., Selmana J.R Solar desalination with humidificationdehumidification cycle: Review of economics Desalination 195 (2006) 169186 Yousef B. A. A. and Adam N. M. Thermal Performance and Economic Effectiveness for Solar Air Heaters: Analysis and Expert System Developments Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 5, May 2006 Ghazi Al-Enezi, Ettouney Hisham, Fawzy Nagla Low temperature humidification dehumidification desalination process Energy

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[5]

Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 470484 [6] Lixi Zhang, Guangping Cheng A New Process of Solar Desalination Based on Humidification-Dehumidification Cycle Proceedings Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II IMECS 2009, March 18 - 20, 2009, Hong Kong. Hisham T. El-Dessouky Hisham M. Ettouney Fundamentals of salt water Desalination ELSEVIER 2002 Duffie A. John, Beckman A. William Solar Engineering of Thermal Process Third Edition , John wiley and sons Inc. Arora C.P. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning second edition Tata McGraw-hill Publishing Company Limited Tiwari G.N. , Tiwari A.K. Solar Distillation Practice for Water Desalintion Systems Qiblawey Hazim Mohameed, Banat Fawzi Solar thermal desalination technologies Desalination 220 (2008) 633644 Climatetemp.info.com Rana Sabouni, Afra Al-Tayyarri, Huda Obaid, Lila Murad, Shymaa AlMolla, Muftah H. El-Naas, and Abdulkarim Mohamed Design and Simulation of a Humidification-Dehumidification process for Seawater Desalination .The Seventh Annual U.A.E. University Research Conference.

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