Experimental and computational fluid dynamics modeling of a novel tray humidifier column in humidification dehumidification desalination; evaluation of hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics

In this article, a novel tray humidifier column for humidification dehumidification desalination was proposed. The performance of the humidifier column has been investigated with experimental and computational fluid dynamics simulations. The hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics of this tray humidifier has been studied. A stainless steel sieve tray with a rectangular cross section with a dimension of 20 x 50 cm was used in the experimental study. In computational fluid dynamics modeling, a transient three-dimensional model has been developed based on the volume of fluid framework by using standard k-epsilon model. The effect of air and seawater flow rate and inlet seawater temperature on the exit air temperature has been investigated. The results show that the humidifier effectiveness of the tray humidifier column varies between 0.67 and 0.87 depending on operating conditions. Then, tray column can be used in humidification dehumidification desalination systems with advantages such as compact equipment, low-pressure drop, and handling solids or other sources of fouling.