Pergamon

Energy Vol. 22. No. 1. pp. I-5 1997

Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0360-5442/!97 $17.00 + 0.00

PII: SO360-5442(%)00056-4

THEORETICAL STUDY OF MULTI-STAGE FLASH

DISTILLATION USING SOLAR ENERGY
M. A. FARWATI+
Mechanical

Engineering

Dept., Faculty of Engineering,

University

of Garyounis,

Benghazi,

Libya

(Received 10 January 1994)

Abstract-Solar
energy was utilized as a clean renewable heat source for operation of a multistage flash (MSF) distillation system in Benghazi to produce distilled water. The optimum T,, for
operation of the MSF system with a typical flat-plate collector is 80C; 1 m2 of a flat-plate collector
produces annually 8.2 m3 of distilled water at T,, = 80C. When 1 m2 of a compound parabolic
collector (CFC) is used at T,, = 122C, 13.1 m3 of distilled water are produced. Copyright 0 1996
Elsevier Science Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

The need for purification of saline water is increasing due to an increase of population and limited
availability of potable water. Since energy plays a decisive role in saline water-purification
processes,
it is desirable to utilize solar energy. The conversion of solar radiation into heat energy may be used for
saline distillation. The distillation process can produce potable water with salinity of less than 50 ppm.
In an MSF distillation system, the saline water is heated under pressure to a temperature T,, but
boiling is not allowed to occur. The hot saline water is then flashed through a series of stages, each at
a pressure less than that of the previous stage,** as shown in Fig. 1. The optimum operating temperature
of an MSF with a typical flat-plate collector under Benghazi climatic conditions establishes a lower
limit for the T, of the MSF system, while sludge, scale formation, and treatment establish an upper
limit for T,, equal to 122C.l A typical compound parabolic concentrator (collector) is used for operation
of the MSF system at the upper limit of T,,.
THEORETICAL

PRINCIPLES

The MSF system has three sections (see Fig. 1) for heat input, heat recovery and heat rejection. In
the heat-recovery section, the heat of condensation is transferred to the feed saline water through a
heat exchanger.
Heat recovery

Heat input
PI

>

Pi

Heat rejection
>

PN

I
Heat
exchanger

1
Flash
chamber

Fig. 1. Schematic

diagram

of multi-stage

flash-distillation

To whom all correspondence

should be addressed.
Present address: P.O. Box 10699, Aleppo, Syria.

Sea water

system using solar energy.

M. A. Farwati
Tb,N = 36 *C
Tb,lq = 38 *C
0.12 -

Tb,N = 40 *C
Tb,N = 42 *C

0.08

0.04

I
80

I~

I
100

I
120

T h (*(2)

Fig. 2. Variation of r as a function of Th for different values of Tb,N.

The system is characterized by the performance ratio R and the fraction of saline water r distilled.
R is the number of kg of distillate produced by the latent heat of water, i.e.
e = ( T h - Tb.N)I(Th - T~o),
r

(1)

(2)

= thd/~t f .

The flash range, Th - Tb,N is a measure of the total product output and the heat recovered, while Th - T:o
is a measure of heat input to the system.~'2
The fraction of evaporated saline water condensed in stage i is found from the heat-balance equation
for the flash chamber i as follows:
ri = A T i n t C l / L i

(3)

where A T i , , = Tb,~_~ - Tb.~ varies from 1.4 to 2.8C to cover boiling-point elevation and pressure-drop
effects) The heat capacity Ci and latent heat Li are functions of Tv.~.From mass balances, the mass of
distillate produced in stage i and by the whole system are, respectively,
lhd, i = rit~lb, i_ I ,

(4)

N
I ~ d -~" Z

r~d, i .

(5)

iml

where
rhb,i = rhb,i-l(1 - ri), ~b,o = rhf ,
N = ( T h - Tb,N)/AT~,,t.

(6)
(7)

From the heat balance in stage i, ATv = ATe.. where A T v = AT.,i_l - ATv,~and Tb.N= 36-43C) The
variation of the fraction r of saline water distilled as a function of Th for AT~,,t = 2C and different
values of Tb,~ is shown in Fig. 2. It may be seen from Eq. (7) that r is also a function of N. Th is
changed with an increment of AT/n.

Theoretical study of multi-stage flash distillation

8.5

A" 8.0

:?
7.5
7.1]

I
60

I,
70

I
80

I
90

I
100

"rh (*C)
Fig. 3. Variation of SAMd with Th when the MSF is operated by using a fiat-plate collector.

The ratio of salinity (total dissolved solids, ppm) of concentrated saline water leaving the system to
that of the feed saline water is found from the salt mass balance as

xdxz= m/m~

(8)

In the heat-rejection section, the heat is rejected through the concentrated saline water leaving the
system after preheating of the feed water in the heat exchanger shown in Fig. 1. The mass-flow rate
of concentrated water is
(9)

mb = rhf- md= rhf(1 - r ) ,

and the temperature of the feed water at the outlet of the heat exchanger3 is

(1o)

Tf.N = Tt, + (1 - r) E ( Tb.N -- Tt, ).

In the heat-input section, the total rate of heat supplied is

O.L = , ~ c ~ j (

(11)

rh - r~,o) .

The major sources of temperature reduction, Th - Ty.o, or thermal energy degradation are the minimum
temperature difference between feed water and the water vapor required for heat transfer, pressure
losses of water vapor and boiling-point elevation. The rate of delivery of useful heat from the solar

1.0

0.5

t~.

20

i
2

10

12

Month
Fig. 4. Variation of SDMa and f throughout the year for operation at Th = 80C with a 1-m2 fiat-plate collector.

M.A. Farwati

collector is the rate of solar radiation incident on the collector minus the rate of optical and thermal
losses, i.e.

Q,, =A~FR[S- UL(Ti,,- To)] for a fiat-plate collector,

au = AaFR[S - (UL/C)(Tin - Ta)] for a CPC collector,

(12)

where T~ = Th + AT,,,i,, and UL, C, FR, S, and the daily solar useful heat Qu are calculated according
to methods given in Refs. 4--6. The remainder of the heat input QL - 0~ = Oa~ is supplied by an
auxiliary heater when Q,,<Q.L. The solar fraction is defined as the ratio of daily solar useful heat Q,
to daily thermal load QL required for the system, i.e. f = Q,,/QL.
SYSTEMS
The main characteristics of the three typical systems considered in the study are: (i) MSF distillation
system with AT~n, = 2C, Tb,N = 36C,/3 = 1 (i.e. thermal equilibrium is achieved in each stage), E = 0.7
(Refs. 1,3); (ii) for the flat-plate collector, Ac = l m 2, there is a single cover, a selective absorber, UL
= 4.5W/m2-C, FR = 0.9, the collector is fixed at a slope angle equal to the latitude angle; (iii) for the
compound parabolic collector, Ao = l m 2, there is a single cover, a selective absorber, 0c = 16C,
Pcpc = 0.92, UL = 6W/m2-C, FR = 0.87, daily adjustment for maximum absorption of solar radiation at
n o o n : -6
RESULTS
The climatic data available are mainly the monthly average, daily, solar, global radiation incident
on a 1 m 2 horizontal plane, 7 based on measurements during the period from 1981 to 1984 and values
for the monthly average dry-bulb temperature of the outdoor air. The calculations are thus based on
the average day of each m o n t h :
The following operating conditions were assumed: (i) The system is operated during daylight hours.
(ii) The mass-flow rate of feed saline water rhz is selected such that the feed saline water can absorb
the daily useful heat obtained from 1 m 2 of solar collector, where the daily distillate is the maximum
(SDMd)ma~. The solar fraction on that day is unity. Therefore, the monthly average daily distillate

1.0
60-

---

4O

0.5

~'.

20

0 .........~..-....L~
~
2
4

10

12

Month.

Fig. 5. Variation of SDMa and f throughout the year for operation at Th = 122C with a l-m2 aperture of the
cpc.

Theoretical study of multi-stageflash distillation

obtained from the MSF by solar energy is S D M d = f x M y x r, where M:=QL/Cpj(Th-T:o), and

SDMd = Qur/CRj(Th - T:o). In this case, f = SDMd/(SDMd),,~.
The annual amount of water distilled by solar energy SAMd is the sum of the monthly average dally
distillate SDMd and is also a function of Th. The optimum value of Th for system operation with a
solar fiat-plate collector corresponds to that giving the maximum annual SAMd. Figure 3 shows that
the optimum Th is 80C and the maximum SAMd is 8.2 m 3.
For the MSF operated at Th = 80C when using a 1-m2 fiat-plate collector, the SDMd and f change
as shown in Fig. 4. The maximum SDMa is 43.7 liters and occurs in August.
For the MSF operating at Th = 122C when using a 1-m2 aperture compound parabolic collector, the
changes of SDMd and f are shown in Fig. 5. The maximum SDMd is now 64.9 liters.
REFERENCES
Porteous, A., Saline Water Distillation Process, Longman, London, 1975.
Spiegler, K. S., Salt-Water Purification, Plenum Press, New York, 1977.
Wolf, H., Heat Transfer, Harper and Row, New York, 1983.
Duffle, J. A. and Beckman, W. A., Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, Wiley, New York, 1980.
Rabl, A., Solar Energy, 1976, 18, 497.
6. Solar Energy Technology Handbook. Eds. W. C. Dickinson and P. N. Cheremisinoff, Marcel Dekker, New
York, 1980.
7. Solar Radiation Department, Center for Solar Energy Studies, 1981-1984 Average Solar Radiation Measurements, Tripoli, 1985.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

NOMENCLATURE
Aa = Aperture area of the CPC, m2
A(. = Flat-plate collector area, m2
C = Concentration ratio of solar
radiation
Ci = Specific heat of saline water in the
ith stage, J/kg-C
Cp,:= Specific heat of the feed water at
constant pressure, J/kg-C
E = Effectiveness of the heat exchanger
f = Solar fraction
FR = Heat-removal factor
L~ = Latent heat of water in the ith
stage, J/kg
M:= Mass of feed water entering the
MSF system per day, kg/day
tnb = Mass-flow rate of concentrated
water leaving the MSF system,
kg/s
rhb.o = Mass-flow rate of saline water
entering the first stage, kg/s
r~d = Mass-flow rate of distillate leaving
the MSF system, kg/s
~h:= Mass-flow rate of feed water
entering the MSF system, kg/s
N = Number of stage of the MSF
system
Qc = Daily thermal load for the MSF
system, J
QL = Rate of thermal load for the MSF
system, W
Qu = Daily useful heat from the solar
collector, J
Q, = Rate of supply of useful heat from
the solar collector, W
R = Performance ratio of the MSF
system

r = Fraction of saline water distilled by

the MSF system
ri = Fraction of saline water distilled in
the ith stage
S = Absorbed solar radiation, W/m 2
SAMd = Annual amount of distilled water
by solar energy, m3
SDMd = Monthly average daily distilled
water by solar energy, liter
Ta = Ambient temperature, C
Tb,i = Temperature of the saline water in
the ith stage, C
Tb,N = Temperature of concentrated water
at the final stage, C
T:N = Temperature of feed water entering
the final stage, C
T:o = Temperature of feed water leaving
the first stage, C
T~, = Collector inlet temperature, C
Th = Temperature of heated feed water
entering the first stage, C
T,r = Temperature of feed water leaving
the treatment unit, C
Tv.i ~ Temperature of water vapor in the
ith stage, C
uL= Overall heat-loss coefficient, W/m 2C
Salinity of concentrated water
leaving the MSF system, ppm
x : Salinity of feed water entering the
MSF system, ppm
/3-- Fraction of equilibrium
ATe., = Interstage temperature difference,
C
0~= Acceptance angle, degree
Pcpc= Reflectance of the CPC