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Novel natural vacuum membrane distillation for water desalination: a combinational approach

Bahmanabadi, A ; Sharif University of Technology | 2024

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2024.117319
  3. Publisher: 2024
  4. Abstract:
  5. Many methods have been proposed to produce fresh water utilizing solar and low-grade energy. The natural vacuum method is widely used despite its limitations in water production. The entry of non-condensable gases into the condenser reduces the amount of water production in the natural vacuum system. In addition, it requires a large evaporator surface to produce fresh water at a high rate. This research resolves these limitations for the first time by integrating the natural vacuum and membrane distillation methods, increasing the evaporation area in a small space, and creating a re-vacuum. Based on the results, the amount of water production for feed water with a salinity of 0.5 M, a flow rate of 60 L/h, and temperatures of 45, 65, and 85 °C reach 5.5, 18.5, and 45.9 m3/day for each square meter of the membrane by combining the methods above without creating a re-vacuum for 24-hour tests. Re-vacuum occurs in this novel system by pumping the saline water upward against the outlet valve and the existing membrane. When a re-vacuum occurs every 6 h, the amount of water production for feed water temperatures of 45, 65, and 85 °C increases approximately by 70 % for all feed water temperatures. However, energy consumption does not rise significantly due to employing a pump instead of a vacuum pump. © 2024
  6. Keywords:
  7. Membrane distillation ; Modeling ; Natural vacuum ; Vacuum
  8. Source: Desalination ; Volume 576 , 2024 ; 00119164 (ISSN)
  9. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0011916424000304