Multi-Effect Evaporation Desalination Powered by Vapor Absorption Refrigeration Using Solar Energy

Integration of solar-assisted vapor absorption refrigeration (SVAR) with multi-effect evaporator (MEE) is investigated for supply and optimal energy distribution. A solar collector area of 9000 m² was necessary to make the SVAR provide MEE with sensible heat to operate at prescribed operating conditions. For better management of the available energies, three MEE variants were proposed. All variants can achieve perfect energy utilization with zero residue only if the MEE feed rate is prudently adjusted. The highest attainable recovery ratio and performance ratio are 38 % and 2.0, respectively. Two MEE variants suffer from chilling energy shortage when the last effect temperature (T_bn) is less than 41 °C, whereas another variant undergoes the same issue when T_bn exceeds 41 °C. SVAR can provide sufficient feed preheating and condenser cooling over a range of temperature drop per effect between 1 and 5 and a range of feed rate of 10–50 kg s⁻¹ except at sporadic extreme conditions.