Solar powered hybrid desalination system using a novel evaporative humidification tower: Experimental investigation

Experimental investigation of a hybrid-solar desalination system consisting of a humidification–dehumidification unit and a solar distiller unit. At El Mahalah city- Egypt in climatic conditions, experimental work was performed under real thermal conditions in September 2021. A new design of helical humidifier and multi-section solar distiller has been tested. There is good agreement between the predicted and measured changes in water production and performance parameters. According to testing and operating parameters, the system's highest productivity was 6.7 kg/m2 per day at a production cost of 10.4 $/m3. System performance was tested and represented by system efficiency, humidifier efficiency, and gain output ratio (GOR). The system efficiency, humidifier efficiency, maximum gain output ratio, and exergy efficiency reached 95%, 98%, 1.65, and 7.2%, respectively. The proposed hybrid desalination system gives an adequate operational compatibility between the HDH method and solar energy. [Display omitted] •An experimental study for a solar hybrid desalination system has been conducted.•The highest productivity of the proposed system was 6.7 kg/m2 per day.•The overall system efficiency reached 95% with an average water cost of 10.4 $/m3.•Exergy efficiency and maximum GOR reached 7.2% and 1.61, respectively.•A novel humidifier design was demonstrated with an efficiency reached 98%.