Performance and Economic Analysis of Bubble Column Humidification and Thermoelectric Cooler Dehumidification Water Desalination System

Abstract

Abstract Although water is one of the key elements on the globe and accessible in a large amount, nearly one-half of the people of the globe are suffering from a shortage of freshwater that is increasing at a frightening rate, most exclusively in growing nations where commercial water shortages prevail. So, in the regions with ample saline water and solar radiation where freshwater is usually limited, the humidification-dehumidification (H-DH) desalination systems have demonstrated inspiring outcomes. The experimental, theoretical, and economical analysis of the bubble column (BC) humidifier, thermoelectric cooler (TEC) based dehumidifier H-DH system has been presented in this work. The effect of various operational parameters on H-DH systems like Ta, Tw, H, do, and ya has been studied. The daily experimental and theoretical productivity obtained during the analysis of the H-DH system was in the span of 7–13 L/day and 9.1–12.4 L/day, respectively, for dissimilar functional variables while the greatest experimental and theoretical productivity was reported 12.97 L/day and 12.4 L/day, respectively, for do = 2 mm, ya = 0.016 kg/s, Tw = 60 °C, Ta = 27 °C, and H = 7 cm. Also, the experimental results present a fine confirmation with the results of the proposed mathematical model. From the economic analysis, it is found that the yearly price per liter and the payback period of the H-DH system are Rs. 5.1/L and 2.4 years, respectively, which is a very promising value.