scholarly journals Highly Saline Water Desalination Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD): Experimental and Simulation Study

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor A. Mohammad Ameen ◽  
Salah S. Ibrahim ◽  
Qusay F. Alsalhy ◽  
Alberto Figoli
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Water Desalination ◽  
System Of Nonlinear Equations ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

The path for water molecules transported across a membrane in real porous membranes has been considered to be a constant factor in the membrane distillation (MD) process (i.e., constant tortuosity); as such, its effect on membrane performance at various operating conditions has been ignored by researchers. Therefore, a simultaneous heat and mass transfer model throughout the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) module was developed in this study by taking into account the hypothetical path across the membrane as a variable factor within the operating conditions because it exhibits the changes to the mass transfer resistance across the membrane under the DCMD run. The DCMD process was described by the developed model using a system of nonlinear equations and solved numerically by MATLAB software. The performance of the poly-tetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane was examined to treat 200 g/L NaCl saline at various operating conditions. The simulation results in the present work showed that the hypothetical proposed path across the membrane has a variable value and was affected by changing the feed temperature and feed concentration. The results estimated by the developed model showed an excellent conformity with the experimental results. The salt rejection remained high (greater than 99.9%) in all cases. The temperature polarization coefficient for the DCMD ranged between 0.88 and 0.967, and the gain output ratio (GOR) was 0.893. The maximum thermal efficiency of the system was 84.5%.

scholarly journals Desalination of Highly Saline Water Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD)

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
Salah S. Ibrahim ◽  
Noor A. Mohammad Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Direct Contact ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Water Desalination ◽  
Permeation Flux ◽  
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation ◽  
Average Porosity ◽  
Rejection Factor ◽  
Flat Sheet Membrane

In this work, laboratory experiments were carried out to verify direct contact membrane distillation system’s performance in highly saline water desalination. The study included the investigation of various operating conditions, like feed flow rate, temperature and concentration of NaCl solution and their impact on the permeation flux were discussed. 16 cm2 of a flat sheet membrane module with commercial poly-tetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane, which has 0.22 μm pore size, 96 µm thickness and 78% average porosity, was used. A high salt rejection factor was obtained greater than 99.9%, and the permeation flux up to 17.27 kg/m2.h was achieved at 65°C for hot feed side and 20°C for cold side stream.

scholarly journals Influence of Hydraulic Pressure on Performance Deterioration of Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) Process

Membranes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Min Park ◽  
Sangho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Hydraulic Pressure ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Hydrophobic Membrane ◽  
Mass Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Efficient Operation ◽  
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) is a membrane distillation (MD) configuration where feed and distillate directly contact with a hydrophobic membrane. Depending on its operating conditions, the hydraulic pressures of the feed and distillate may be different, leading to adverse effects on the performance of the DCMD process. Nevertheless, little information is available on how hydraulic pressure affects the efficiency of DCMD. Accordingly, this paper investigates the effect of external hydraulic pressure on the process efficiency of DCMD. Gas permeabilities of MD membranes were measured to analyze the effect of membrane compaction by external pressure. Mass transfer coefficients were calculated using experimental data to quantitatively explain the pressure effect. Experiments were also carried out using a laboratory-scale DCMD set-up. After applying the pressure, the cross-sections and surfaces of the membranes were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that the membrane structural parameters such as porosity and thickness were changed under relatively high pressure conditions (>30 kPa), leading to reduction in flux. The mass transfer coefficients were also significantly influenced by the hydraulic pressure. Moreover, local wetting of the membranes were observed even below the liquid entry pressure (LEP), which decreased the rejection of salts. These results suggest that the control of hydraulic pressure is important for efficient operation of DCMD process.

Water Desalination Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation System

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz M. Ahmad ◽  
Atia E. Khalifa ◽  
Mohamed A. Antar
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Water Desalination ◽  
Feed Flow Rate ◽  
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation ◽  
Rejection Factor ◽  
System Output ◽  
Feed Temperature

Membrane distillation (MD) is a separation technique used for water desalination, which operates at low feed temperatures and pressures. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) is one of the common MD configurations where both the hot saline feed stream and the cold permeate stream are in direct contact with the two membrane surfaces. An experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of operating conditions such as feed temperature, feed flow rate, permeate temperature, and permeate flow rate on the system output flux. To check the effect of membrane degradation, the MD system was run continuously for 48 hours with raw seawater as feed and the reduction in system flux with time was observed. Results showed that increasing the feed temperature, decreasing the permeate temperature, increasing the feed and permeate flow rate yield an increase in flux. The effects of feed temperature and feed flow rate are the most significant parameters. After 48 hours of system continuous operation flux was reduced by 42.4 % but the quality of permeate (as measured by its TDS) is still very high with salt rejection factor close to 100 %. For the DCMD system under consideration, the GOR values remain between 0.8 and 1.2, for the tested range of operating temperatures.

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