Fluorographite-co-polydimethylsiloxane coated polyvinylidene-fluoride membrane for desalination of highly saline water with humic acid in direct contact membrane distillation

Superhydrophobic modification of TiO2 nanocomposite PVDF membranes for applications in membrane distillation

Optimization of membrane modification using SiO2 for robust anti-fouling performance with calcium-humic acid feed in membrane distillation

Fouling and crystallisation behaviour of superhydrophobic nano-composite PVDF membranes in direct contact membrane distillation

Surface modification of glass fiber membranes by fluorographite coating for desalination of concentrated saline water with humic acid in direct-contact membrane distillation

Amphiphobic PVDF composite membranes for anti-fouling direct contact membrane distillation

Membrane distillation as post-treatment for anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor for organic and nitrogen removal

Evaluation of hollow fiber-based direct contact and vacuum membrane distillation systems using aspen process simulation

Membrane distillation has seen a growing amount of industrial interest due to its low operating pressure, minimal temperature requirements, and high salt rejection. This body of work involves the fabrication of a microporous nanocomposite membrane with enhanced hydrophobicity for use in a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. Reduced graphene oxide/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (rGO/PVDF-HFP) flatsheet membranes were prepared via a facile electrospinning technique. These fabricated membranes were characterized using techniques including SEM, XPS, AFM, a TGA test, liquid entry pressure (LEP), and the measurement of contact angle in order to investigate the effect that incorporating rGO has on membrane surface morphology and performance. Results demonstrated that a maximum water contact angle of 139° was achieved with an increased liquid entry pressure (LEP) of up to 103.42 kPa. Antifouling and antiwetting performance of fabricated membranes were investigated through a dire...

Preparation and characterization of PPO/PS porous membrane for desalination via direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD)

Direct contact and air gap membrane distillation: Differences and similarities between lab and pilot scale

Investigations on the effect of spacer in direct contact and air gap membrane distillation using computational fluid dynamics

Hydrophobic C60-modified PVDF membrane with micro-nano structures for mitigating CaSO4 scaling in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD)

Cyclic olefin polymer as a novel membrane material for membrane distillation applications

Membrane distillation (MD) is a hopeful desalination technique for brine (salty) water. In this research, Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) will be used. The sample used is from Shat Al –Arab water (TDS=2430 mg/l). A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane was used as a flat sheet form with a plate and frame cell. Several parameters were studied, such as; operation time, feed temperature, permeate temperature, feed flow rate. The results showed that with time, the flux decreases because of the accumulated fouling and scaling on the membrane surface. Feed temperature and feed flow rate had a positive effect on the permeate flux, while permeate temperature had a reverse effect on permeate flux. It is noticeable that the flux in DCMD is greater than AGMD, at the same conditions. The flux in DCMD is 10.95LMH, and that in AGMD is 7.14 LMH. In AGMD, the air gap layer made a high resistance. Here the temperature transport reduces in the permeate side of AGMD due to the air gap resistance. The heat needed for AGMD is lower than DCMD, this leads to low permeate flux because the temperature difference between the two sides is very small, so the driving force (vapor pressure) is low. 

An integrated membrane distillation (MD) flowsheet, consisting of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) units, was proposed and analysed in terms of thermal performance and water recovery factor, for the first time. The same lab-scale membrane module (40 cm2) was used for carrying out experiments of DCMD and VMD at fixed feed operating conditions (deionised water at 230 L/h and ~40 °C) while working at the permeate side with deionised water at 18 °C and with a vacuum of 20 mbar for the DCMD and the VMD configuration, respectively. Based on experimental data obtained on the single modules, calculations of the permeate production, the specific thermal energy consumption (STEC) and the gained output ratio (GOR) were carried out for both single and integrated units. Moreover, the calculations were also made for a flow sheet consisting of two DCMD units in series, representing the “traditional” way in which more units of the same MD configuration are combined to enhance the water recovery factor. A significant improvement of the thermal performance (lower STEC and higher GOR) was obtained with the integrated DCMD–VMD flowsheet with respect to the DCMD units operating in series. The integration of DCMD with VMD also led to a higher permeate production and productivity/size (PS) ratio, a metric defined to compare plants in terms of the process intensification strategy.