Multi-effect distillation (MED) systems are considered to be the most energy-efficient thermal desalination methods. This paper introduces the development of a novel thermal desalination system for performance superior to MED systems for the same operating temperature limits. Such an unprecedented achievement was attained by upgrading the heat source using the chemical potential of adsorption phenomena. The proposed Adsorption Heat Transformer (AHT) cycle hybridized with Multi-effect distillation system (AHT-MED) exhibits higher performance ratio and water production rate than a conventional MED system for the same heating source and sink. The heat generated by the heat of adsorption with the temperature higher than the heat source is supplied to the first effect of the MED system, thus, extending the temperature difference between the Top Brine Temperature (TBT) and Bottom Brine Temperature (BBT). The higher temperature difference offers more number of effects, with the equivalent temperature difference between the effects (ΔT_e) as the design parameter. Using the low-temperature heat source (as low as 58 °C), the system can employ an increased number of effects (as high as 11) due to the supply of heat at an increased temperature of around 80 °C. The proposed system achieves a higher performance ratio (approximately 5.4) and water production rate (2 kg/s) compared to the standalone MED system (PR: 4.2, WPR: 1 kg/s) with the number of effects of the hybrid system as 10 at constant interstage temperature difference between the standalone and hybrid systems. This novel AHT-MED system opens up new possibilities for low-temperature heat source-driven thermal desalination with significantly improved performance.

多效蒸馏 (MED) 系统被认为是最节能的热脱盐方法。本文介绍了一种新型热脱盐系统的开发，在相同的操作温度限制下，其性能优于 MED 系统。这种前所未有的成就是通过利用吸附现象的化学势升级热源而获得的。与多效蒸馏系统 (AHT-MED) 混合使用的吸附热转换器 (AHT) 循环与相同加热源和散热器的传统 MED 系统相比，具有更高的性能比和产水率。温度高于热源的吸附热产生的热量供给MED系统的第一效，因此，扩大顶部盐水温度 (TBT) 和底部盐水温度 (BBT) 之间的温差。较高的温差提供更多的效果，效果之间的等效温差 (ΔT_e ) 作为设计参数。使用低温热源（低至 58 °C），由于在 80 °C 左右的升高温度下供应热量，系统可以使用更多的效果（高达 11）。与独立 MED 系统（PR：4.2，WPR：1 kg/s）相比，所提出的系统实现了更高的性能比（约 5.4）和产水率（2 kg/s），混合系统的效果数量为10 在独立和混合系统之间的恒定级间温差下。这种新颖的 AHT-MED 系统为低温热源驱动的热脱盐开辟了新的可能性，并显着提高了性能。