Mathematical Modeling of Multi-Effect Desalination System with Direct Solar Radiation

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran.

Abstract

Multi-effect distillation (MED) is one of the most widely used technologies for freshwater production in regions facing shortages of potable, agricultural, or industrial water, owing to its operation based on successive evaporation–condensation processes. This study investigates the effects of direct solar radiation and feed water temperature on the performance ratio of an MED desalination system. The novelty of this work lies in the direct and explicit coupling of solar radiation with the internal energy balances of the MED effects, allowing for a more realistic and fully coupled simulation of solar-assisted desalination performance. To this end, a precise numerical–algebraic hybrid approach capable of providing a fully parametric solution is employed. The mathematical model is developed based on the governing momentum, mass, and energy balance equations. The model predictions show good agreement with published data [8], with a maximum deviation of 0.1% observed at N=4 The results indicate that the performance ratio increases with the number of desalination effects under all investigated conditions. Under no-solar conditions, the highest performance ratio is obtained for a 12-effect system at 80 °C, reaching a value of 12.05, whereas the inclusion of solar radiation increases the performance ratio up to 14.56. Moreover, increasing solar radiation from 0 to 1100 W/m² enhances the performance ratio, with maximum increases of 22.1%, 20.1%, and 19.5% for systems with 4, 6, and 8 effects, respectively. A sensitivity assessment further confirms that the performance ratio is more responsive to variations in solar radiation than to changes in feed water temperature.

Keywords

References

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Chemical Process Design
Volume 5, Issue 2
December 2026
Pages 118-134

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