The exergy losses and thermodynamic efficiency of MSF plant with brine recirculation are discussed by means of temperature difference functions proposed by the author. In a MSF plant
the irreversible losses are found mainly in irreversible heat-transfer and flash evaporation processes. However
the basic variables are the temperature drop from stage to stage
and the temperature differences between flashed vapor and cooling water. In this paper
the flash temperature difference function
the heat transfer TD function
and the total TD function are suggested. The proposed TD functions of MSF plant provide a convenient tool toanalyse the irreversible behavior and evaluate the thermodynamic efficiency of this system
because without such improvement the calculation of the thermodynamic efficiency of a MSF plant according to the classical formula will be not only inconvenient but also insignificant. As a result of present analysis
the reasonable parameters based on the energy consumption are easily chosen. The above-mentioned principles are confirmed by typical commercial plants and a pilot plant in Tianjin.