Abstract
Membrane distillation is a thermally driven membrane process for seawater desalination and purification at moderate temperatures and pressures. A hydrophobic micro-porous membrane is used in this process, which separates hot and cold water, allowing water vapor to pass through; while restricting the movement of liquid water, due to its hydrophobic nature. This paper provides an experimental investigation of heat and mass transfer in tubular membrane module for water desalination. Different operating parameters have been examined to determine the mass transport mechanism of water vapor. Based on the experimental results, the effects of operating parameters on permeate flux and the heat transfer analysis have been presented and discussed in details.
Highlights
Membrane distillation (MD) is a relatively new thermal membrane separation process in which a microporous hydrophobic membrane separates water vapor from a liquid aqueous solution by transport through hydrophobic membrane pores, where the driving force is the vapor pressure difference created by temperature difference across the hydrophobic membrane
The experimental flux values of distilled and synthetic salt water have been measured by varying feed temperatures, feed water flow rates, and feed concentration from 40 to 70◦C, 60 to 240 (L/h), and 1000 to 5000 mg/L, respectively
The vapor transport mechanism is controlled by Knudsen molecular diffusion transition mechanism depending on temperature, flow rate, and feed concentration
Summary
Membrane distillation (MD) is a relatively new thermal membrane separation process in which a microporous hydrophobic membrane separates water vapor from a liquid aqueous solution by transport through hydrophobic membrane pores, where the driving force is the vapor pressure difference created by temperature difference across the hydrophobic membrane. Membrane distillation (MD) is attracting increasing desalination research interest because of its low cost. This option saves energy over conventional desalination processes [4]. This is considered by most researchers to be a better alternative to traditional desalination processes such as reverse osmosis (RO), multistage flash distillation (MSF), electrodialysis (ED), and so forth. MD produces ultrapure water without high temperatures or high pressures [2]. The aims of this experimental work are to elucidate the mechanism of heat and mass transfers of the MD process, to study the effect of process parameters on permeate flux and to investigate in details the heat transfer process and temperature polarization using a heat-mass transfer analogy
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