Desalination based on humidification-dehumidification by air bubbles passing through brackish water

Experimental work investigates the principal operating parameters of a proposed desalination process working with an air humidification-dehumidification method. The main objective of this work was to determine the humid air behavior through single stage of desalination system. The experimental work studied the influence of the operating conditions such as the water temperature, the brackish water level and the airflow rate on the desalination performance. The experimental results show that the productivity of the system increases with the increase of the brackish water temperature and the decrease of the airflow rate. The productivity of the system is moderately affected by the brackish water temperature, airflow rate and slightly affected by the brackish water level. The humidification effectiveness and the efficiency of the desalination system are higher for m(a) = 14 kg/h at different brackish water temperatures and levels. Within the studied ranges, the maximum productivity of the system reached to 8.22 kg(w)/h at 86 degrees C for brackish water and m(a) = 14 kg/h. A good agreement was achieved with productivity calculations. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.