Humidification-dehumidification (HDH)‎ spray column direct contact condenser : part I : countercurrent flow

Abstract EN

Humidification-Dehumidification (HDH) is a low grade energy desalination technology.

Hot humid air and cooling spray water in counter current flow with direct contact is theoretically analyzed in the present work.

Direct contact spray condenser is studied to obtain the effect of various parameters on its performance.

A computer program describing the theoretical model is designed to solve one-dimensional differential equations by using Rung-Kutta method.

The results show that the column length has a great effect on the performance of the spray condenser.

At a column height of 2, 5, 10, and 20 m the humidity of the outlet air decreases by 72, 89, 97, and 99% respectively.

The humid air temperature has a great influence on the productivity; meanwhile the temperature difference between the humid air and sprayed water has less effect.

A case study of a contiguous co-generation electricity and water in Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) shows that the optimal productivity by HDH is feasible and can reach more than 15 m3/day.m2, enabling a total productivity that varied from 120,000 to 300,000 m3/day.

The design curves describing the process are obtained together in addition to a formula for the optimal productivity in terms of humid air and sprayed water fluxes at different humid air temperatures is derived.