Abstract
This study develops a micro-structured hydrophobic alumina hollow fiber with a high permeate flux of 60 Lm−2h−1 and salt rejection over 99.9% in a vacuum membrane distillation process. The fiber is fabricated by phase inversion and sintering, and then modified with fluoroalkylsilanes to render it hydrophobic. The influence of the sintering temperature and feeding temperature in membrane distillation (MD) on the characteristics of the fiber and MD performance are investigated. The vacuum membrane distillation uses 3.5 wt % NaCl aqueous solution at 70 °C at 0.03 bar. The permeate flux of 60 Lm−2h−1 is the highest, compared with reported data and is higher than that for polymeric hollow fiber membranes.
Highlights
The availability of fresh water is limited
Few studies use inorganic ceramic membranes for membrane contactors because of lower porosity, which results from the sintering process that is used for ceramic membrane production
The Liquidparameter entry pressure of water (LEPw) value is a critical parameter for the hydrophobicity level of the hollow fiber and determines whether it is applicable for the membrane distillation (MD) process
Summary
The availability of fresh water is limited. Even though almost 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, more than 97% of water is in the oceans, leaving only 3% for consumption by human and animal life [1,2]. Membrane separation processes are an emerging technology that feature low energy consumption, especially membrane contactors with porous membranes [4,5]. Few studies use inorganic ceramic membranes for membrane contactors because of lower porosity, which results from the sintering process that is used for ceramic membrane production. For membranes with various geometries, hollow fiber membranes have been widely studied because of their potential for low mass transfer resistance and high packing density [4,5,20]. Whether organic polymer or inorganic, ceramic hollow fiber membranes are generally fabricated using phase inversion, which is a common way to produce the membrane for MD [3]. This study fabricates hydrophobic ceramic fiber membranes for vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) using a high performance via phase-inversion/sintering method
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