A NEW SEAWATER DESALINATION SYSTEM COMBINED WITH DOUBLE-EFFECT ABSORPTION HEAT PUMP

A new seawater desalination system, which integrates a low temperature multi-effect desalination system (LT-MED) and a double-effect parallel LiBr-water absorption heat pump(AHP), is proposed. The conceptive design of the system is introduced and the system performance is investigated in this paper. Based on the EUD analysis, the cascade utilization of thermal energy in the new system is disclosed. The high-temperature thermal energy input the system is used to upgrade the energy level of the low-temperature vapor generated form the last effect of LT-MED by the heat pump in the new system. The energy consumption of unit fresh water production is decreased by 35.6% compared with the traditional system with a thermal vapor compression (LT-MED-TVC). The results obtained here provide a new approach to decrease the energy consumption of sea water desalination.