Theoretical and experimental investigation of humidification–dehumidification desalination unit Original Research Article

A theoretical and experimental investigation of humidification–dehumidification desalination system is presented. The system is based on an open cycle for water and a closed cycle for the air stream. The air is circulated either by natural or forced circulation. The system modeling is based on various heat and mass balance equations and their numerical solution. The effect of operating parameters on the system characteristics has been investigated. An experimental test set-up has been fabricated and assembled. The set-up has been equipped with appropriate measuring and controlling devices. Detailed experiments have been carried out at various operating conditions and using several packing materials. The heat and mass transfer coefficients have been obtained experimentally and fitted in forms of empirical correlations.