Abstarct: In recent years, in addition to the decline of water resources, the enforcement of stringent regulations regarding the discharge of industrial effluents harmful to the environment has increased the emphasis on processes with higher water recovery. Consequently, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) processes have emerged, in which all solids are separated from water and the system outputs consist of freshwater and low-moisture salt. ZLD technology is recognized as a key approach in sustainable water resource management, as it reduces the environmental impacts of wastewater discharge while enabling the simultaneous recovery of water and valuable resources. In this study, a vacuum forced circulation crystallizer (VFCC) is investigated within a thermal ZLD desalination process. The aim is to thermodynamically and experimentally examine the effects of feed flow rate and heat exchanger energy consumption on freshwater production rate, recovery ratio, slurry output, and solid salt generation. First, steady state thermodynamic modeling of the process was carried out. To validate the model, a laboratory-scale VFCC unit was designed and constructed, with results demonstrating strong agreement between model predictions and experimental data. Subsequently, a comprehensive economic analysis was conducted to evaluate both capital (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) expenditures under various conditions and capacities. The findings showed that increasing system capacity from 5 to 100 m³/day significantly reduced the specific cost from $12.46/m³ to $0.96/m³, while the freshwater production cost decreased from $14/m³ to $1.08/m³. Furthermore, raising the feed inlet temperature by 10°C lowered costs by up to $0.14/m³, emphasizing the importance of operational optimization. The cost structure analysis revealed that thermal energy accounted for 62.9% and electricity for 36.3% of the total operating cost, while the sensitivity analysis highlighted the significant influence of energy price fluctuations on the economic performance of the system. Overall, the results of this research provide a validated thermo-economic frxamework that facilitates the wider development and industrial application of ZLD technologies with lower costs and higher energy efficiency.