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Advance in Thermal-Driven Membrane Processes

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Prof. Dr. Peiyong Qin

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Guest Editor

Collage of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: biorefinery; biofuels recovery; separation techniques, in particular membrane processes; process intensification

Prof. Dr. Xinmiao Zhang

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Guest Editor

Environmental Protection Research Institute, Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, SINOPEC, Beijing 100030, China
Interests: separation membranes; membrane distillation; pervaporation; wastewater treatment and near-zero liquid discharge

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane-based technology represents an emerging strategy for energy-efficient liquid separation. Temperature differences across membranes drive thermal-driven membrane processes, including membrane distillation (MD) and pervaporation (PV). There are several configurations for (i) MD used in saline water desalination, wastewater volume reduction and resource recovery, e.g., direct contact MD, air gap MD, sweeping gas MD and vacuum MD, and (ii) PV used in organic solvent dehydration, hypersaline brine desalination and bioalcohol recovery, e.g., organophilic PV and hydrophilic PV. Thermal-driven membrane processes exhibit the unique advantages, where their driving force is not strongly influenced by the feed concentration/composition, and the operation conditions are mild without high pressures/temperatures. Hence, they are imperative to achieve superior industrial separation processes and reduce the capital and energy cost.

This Special Issue aims to publish recent advances in thermal-driven membrane processes with both membrane distillation and pervaporation for various liquid separation. The topics of interests include, but are not limited to, fabrication, modification, simulation and characterization of membrane materials (including polymeric membranes, inorganic membranes and organic/inorganic hybrid membranes) and parameter optimization, energy calculation, intensification of separation processes, etc.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

wastewater treatment;
seawater desalination;
resource recovery;
solvent dehydration;
biofuels recovery;
water purification.

Prof. Dr. Peiyong Qin
Prof. Dr. Xinmiao Zhang
Guest Editors

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Research

27 pages, 8373 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Comparative Energetics of Various Membrane Distillation Configurations and Guidelines for Design and Operation

by Md Rashedul Islam, Bosong Lin, Yue Yu, Chau-Chyun Chen and Mahdi Malmali

Membranes 2023, 13(3), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13030273 - 24 Feb 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2904

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative performance study of single-stage desalination processes with major configurations of membrane distillation (MD) modules. MD modules covered in this study are (a) direct contact MD (DCMD), (b) vacuum MD (VMD), (c) sweeping gas MD (SGMD), and (d) air gap MD (AGMD). MD-based desalination processes are simulated with rigorous theoretical MD models supported by molecular thermodynamic property models for the accurate calculation of performance metrics. The performance metrics considered in MD systems are permeate flux and energy efficiency, i.e., gained output ratio (GOR). A general criterion is established to determine the critical length of these four MDs (at fixed width) for the feasible operation of desalination in a wide range of feed salinities. The length of DCMD and VMD is restricted by the feed salinity and permeate flux, respectively, while relatively large AGMD and SGMD are allowed. The sensitivity of GOR flux with respect to permeate conditions is investigated for different MD configurations. AGMD outperforms other configurations in terms of energy efficiency, while VMD reveals the highest permeate production. With larger MD modules, utilization of thermal energy supplied by the hot feed for evaporation is in the order of VMD > AGMD > SGMD > DCMD. Simulation results highlight that energy efficiency of the overall desalination process relies on the efficient recovery of spent for evaporation, suggesting potential improvement in energy efficiency for VMD-based desalination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Thermal-Driven Membrane Processes)

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13 pages, 1728 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nickel Chalcogenide Nanoparticles-Assisted Photothermal Solar Driven Membrane Distillation (PSDMD)

by Donia Elmaghraoui, Imen Ben Amara and Sihem Jaziri

Membranes 2023, 13(2), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020195 - 4 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2160

Abstract

Developing photothermal solar driven membrane distillation (PSDMD) is of great importance in providing fresh water for remote off-grid regions. The production of freshwater through the PSDMD is driven by the temperature difference between feed and distillate sides created via the addition of efficient photothermal nanostructures. Here we proposed nickel sulfides and nickel tellurium nanoparticles (NPs) to be loaded into the polymeric membrane to enhance its performance. Ag and CuSe NPs are also considered for comparison as they are previously used for membrane distillation (MD). Our theoretical approach showed that all of the considered NPs increased the temperature of the PVDF membrane by around a few degrees.

NiS

and

{NiTe}_{2}

NPs are the most efficient solar light-to-heat converters compared to NiTe and

{NiS}_{2}

NPs due to their efficient absorption over the visible range. PVDF membrane loaded with 25% of NiCs NPs and a porosity of 32% produced a transmembrane vapor flux between 22 and 27 L/m²h under a 10-times-amplified sun intensity. Under the same conditions, the PVDF membrane loaded with

CuSe

and Ag NPs produced 15 and 18 L/m²h of vapor flux, respectively. The implantation of NPs through the membrane not only increased its surface temperature but also possessed a high porosity which provided a higher distillation and energy efficiency that reached 58% with NiS NPs. Finally, great agreement between our theoretical model and experimental measurement is obtained. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Thermal-Driven Membrane Processes)

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