Journal Article

Initial research on the vacuum chamber control system in the mini multi effect distillation system with variations in feed water valve opening and vacuum pressures

Sofia, Evi, Suryaman, Nia Nuraeni, Ash-Siddiq, Raden Herdian Bayu, Martoni, Komarudin, Udin, Sonawan, Hery

2026

Overview

This study aims to develop the most optimal vacuum control system in a vacuum chamber in a thermal desalination process based on the principle of multi-effect distillation (MED). In this initial study, the method used is an experimental method by varying the feed water flow rate. To facilitate adjustment, a vacuum pump will be installed in each chamber and before entering each chamber, a connecting tank will also be installed to prevent steam from being directly sucked by the vacuum pump which will be controlled by a solenoid valve. The controller component uses a Wisner REX-CH102 and the DAQ system uses a Wellpro WP3084. A control mechanism will be built in each chamber to regulate pressure using data acquisition (DAQ). Test results show that the control system responds to pressure fluctuations caused by feed water injection dynamically, with a relatively small measurement deviation (<1.0%). The resulting vacuum pressure pattern resembles a sawtooth curve, which reflects the opening and closing cycles of the solenoid valve to stabilize the pressure. Following the successful development of the vacuum pressure control system, further research can proceed by integrating boiler steam flow to assess overall MED-based seawater distillation performance.

• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Subject: Control systems / Data acquisition / Distillation / Seawater / Solenoid valves / Steam flow / Vacuum chambers / Vacuum pumps / Water flow / Water injection