Effect of ethylene vinyl acetate content on the performance of VMD using HDPE co-blending membrane

Abstract

Abstract Membranes were fabricated with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) blend through thermally induced phase separation and were then used for vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). The membranes were supported by nonwoven polyester fabric with a special cellular structure. Different membrane samples were obtained by adjusting the polymer concentration, HDPE/EVA weight ratio, and coagulation bath temperature. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, contact angle test, and evaluation of porosity and pore size distribution. A series of VMD tests were conducted using aqueous NaCl solution (0.5 mol·L−1) at a feed temperature of 65 °C and permeate side absolute pressure of 3 kPa. The membranes showed excellent performance in water permeation flux, salt rejection, and long-term stability. The HDPE/EVA co-blending membranes exhibited the largest permeation flux of 23.87 kg·m−2·h−1 and benign salt rejection of ≥ 99.9%.