OPTIMIZING HUMIDIFICATION-DEHUMIDIFICATION (HDH) DESALINATION SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: A COMPREHENSIVE SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS

Abstract

The Humidification-Dehumidification (HDH) desalination system represents a promising solution to address global water scarcity. This research focuses on optimizing the HDH desalination process to enhance efficiency and freshwater production. By leveraging dynamic simulation models in MATLAB Simulink, the study explores the impact of various operational parameters such as mass flow rates, baseline temperatures, and power inputs on system performance. The HDH system's components, including the heater, humidifier, dehumidifier, and blower, are meticulously modelled to simulate real-world conditions. The simulation results reveal significant improvements in the temperature and enthalpy profiles of both seawater and air, leading to increased freshwater yield. Key performance metrics such as the Gain Output Ratio (GOR) and system effectiveness (ε) are calculated to assess the optimized system's efficiency. The findings underscore the importance of parameter optimization in maximizing HDH system efficiency, providing valuable insights for future desalination system designs and operations. This study contributes to the ongoing efforts to develop sustainable and energy-efficient desalination technologies, highlighting the potential of HDH systems in addressing the growing demand for freshwater resources.