Abstract
Air Gap membrane distillation (AGMD), a special type of energy efficient membrane distillation process, is a technology for producing freshwater from waste water. Having some benefits over other traditional processes, this method has been able to draw attention of researchers working in the field of freshwater production technologies. In this study, a basic AGMD system with flat coolant plate has been modified using a specially designed channelled coolant plate of portable size to observe its effect over the production rate and performance of the system. Attempt has been made to increase the amount of distillate flux by using the “fin effect” of the channelled coolant plate. A finned plate have been used instead of a flat coolant plate and experiments were conducted to compare the effect. Coolant temperature and feed temperature of the system have been varied from 10°C to 25°C and 40°C to 70°C respectively. Comparing the data, around 50% to 58% distillate enhancement has been observed for channelled coolant plate. Also, it was seen that the enhancement was higher for higher feed temperatures and coolant temperatures. With these findings, a better performing AGMD module has been introduced to mitigate the scarcity of freshwater.
Highlights
Membrane distillation (MD) is becoming one of the most popular technique of wastewater treatment in recent years which combines the benefits of thermal and membrane separation processes [1]
Membrane distillation fairly overcomes the limitation of thermal distillation and reverse osmosis
The amount of freshwater production was observed after using channelled coolant plate instead of a flat plate
Summary
Membrane distillation (MD) is becoming one of the most popular technique of wastewater treatment in recent years which combines the benefits of thermal and membrane separation processes [1]. The process contains a hot aqueous solution or wastewater side which purifies itself by being separated through a very thin microporous hydrophobic membrane toward a cooler side with lower temperature. MD is somewhat a recent technique with its energy efficient nature and cost effectiveness which allow it to be installed anywhere in the world with minimum capital compared to other methods available in the market [3]. The common available methods of treating wastewater includes thermal distillation and reverse osmosis (RO). Thermal distillation requires special infrastructure to install and RO needs very high pressure to overcome the osmotic pressure. The requirement of very low grade energy and high customizability give it the added advantages over those processes [5]
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