Abstract
PRINCIPAL OPTIMIZATION VARIABLES CONSIDERED ARE NUMBER OF STAGES, TERMINAL TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE, PERFORMANCE RATIO AND CONCENTRATION RATIO. INTERRELATIONS BETWEEN OPTIMIZATION VARIABLES ARE FORMULATED BY REFERENCE TO INTERACTION BETWEEN THERMODYNAMICS AND ECONOMICS. A NEW CONCEPT OF MINIMUM-POSSIBLE ENERGY REQUIREMENT IS INTRODUCED, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THE EFFECT OF BRINE CONCENTRATION ON AMOUNT OF ENERGY REQUIRED AND LEADING TO A MORE ACCURATE METHOD OF DETERMINING OPTIMUM CONCENTRATION RATIO. THERMAL DRIVING FORCE FUNCTION, PROVIDING A CONVENIENT INTERRELATION BETWEEN ENERGY AND SURFACE REQUIREMENTS, IS DEFINED. THE THEORY USES RELATIVE VALUES OF ECONOMIC PARAMETERS RATHER THAN ABSOLUTE VALUES AND, WHILE CURRENT THEORIES TAKE ECONOMIC PARAMETERS AS CONSTANTS, THE PROPOSED THEORY IMPOSES NO SUCH RESTRICTION. AS A RESULT OF ITS APPLICATION, PLOTS ARE FURNISHED WHICH CAN READILY BE USED TO DETERMINE OPTIMUM OPERATING CONDITIONS REPRESENTED IN THE CONCENTRATION RATIO, AS WELL AS DESIGN FEATURES SUCH AS NUMBER OF STAGES, HEATING SURFACE AND ENERGY REQUIREMENT AT OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.