Thermal desalination technologies have been developed recently to solve some pressing problems, such as high energy expenditure, increasing fuel costs, and environmental problems related to conventional plants. However, these technologies still need to be enhanced in terms of water production and gain output ratio (GOR). This paper presents innovative and efficient combined thermal desalination plants consisting of absorption (ABDS), adsorption (ADDS), and humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination units to enhance energy utilization, water production, and overall system performance. Four innovative combined desalination plants employing different external heat recovery scenarios are presented and compared. The result from each scenario is evaluated and compared with those of the standalone ABDS and with other studies found in the literature at the same heat source temperatures. The heat source is mainly utilized to drive the ABDS plant. The ADDS and HDH are driven by the heat rejection from the ABDS components with different external heat recovery scenarios. Results illustrated that the maximum freshwater production generated from the proposed scenarios ranges between 1.57 and 2.94 m3.day−1 with a GOR of between 1.38 and 1.75 at 120 °C. Raising heat source temperatures from 55 to 120 °C decreased the improvement in the water productivity from 618.5 to 224 % and decreased the enhancement in the GOR from 222.8 to 99 %. In scenarios where the ADDS and HDH are driven by the heat rejection from the absorption and condensation process of the ABDS, the maximum freshwater production results from the ABDS unit. On the other hand, in scenarios where the ADDS and HDH are driven by the outlet hot water from the ABDS-generator, the maximum freshwater production is obtained from the HDH unit. The finding provided that the proposed innovative scenarios have an effective improvement in overall system performance indicators.
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