Modelling of a solar energy driven water desalination system using TRNSYS

The overall broad purpose of this paper is to develop and evaluate a small scale solar humidification dehumidification water desalination system using a graphical tool TRNSYS and assess its thermal behavior. Considering the intense need for the development of alternate technologies for energy deficient and impoverished countries of the world like Pakistan, this model is in particular anticipated for underprivileged communities where pure and uncontaminated drinking water as well as modern technologies are not accessible. The system consists of isolated components for heating, evaporation and condensation, in order to lower the thermal losses. The weather file used was in standard TMY 2 format for Asian data. A flat plate solar collector, humidifier and dehumidifier are to be integrated in an open air open water configuration. The simulations for a water heated cycle revealed that the output water temperature be reliant strongly on the incident solar radiations and inlet water temperature. Collector area and inlet water flow rate also had a considerable impact on productivity. A significant increase in efficiency was observed by using a water storage tank and pre heating the feed water favorably influenced the output.