Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/mwt.2016.7.1.071

Comparative study of air gap, direct contact and sweeping gas membrane distillation configurations  

Loussif, Nizar (Ecole Nationale d'Ingenieur de Monastir, Universite de Monastir)
Orfi, Jamel (Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University)
Publication Information
Membrane and Water Treatment / v.7, no.1, 2016 , pp. 71-86 More about this Journal
Abstract
The present study deals with a numerical simulation for the transport phenomena in three configurations of Membrane Distillation (Air Gap, Direct Contact and Sweeping Gas Membrane Distillation) usually used for desalination in order to make an objective comparison between them under the same operating conditions. The models are based on the conservation equations for the mass, momentum, energy and species within the feed saline and cooling solutions as well as on the mass and energy balances on the membrane sides. The theoretical model was validated with available data and was found in good agreement. DCMD configuration provided the highest pure water production while SGMD shows the highest thermal efficiency. Process parameters' impact on each configuration are also presented and discussed.
Keywords
desalination; membrane distillation; air gap; direct contact; sweeping gas;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Schofield, R.W., Fane, A.G. and Fell, C.J.D. (1987), "Heat and mass transfer in membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 33(3), 299-313.   DOI
2 Sebastian, R.K., Kujawski, W., Bukowska, M., Picard, C. and Larbot, A. (2006), "Application of fluoroalkylsilanes (FAS) grafted ceramic membranes in membrane distillation process of NaCl solutions", J.Membr. Sci., 281(1-2), 253-259.   DOI
3 Shirazi, M.M.A., Kargari, A., Tabatabaei, M., Ismail, A.F. and Matsuura, T. (2014), "Concentration of glycerol from dilute glycerol wastewater using sweeping gas membrane distillation", Chem. Eng. Process.: Process Intensif., 78, 58-66.   DOI
4 Song, L., Ma, Z., Liao, X., Kosarajua, P.B., Irish, J.R. and Sirkar, K.K. (2008), "Pilot plant studies of novel membranes and devices for direct contact membrane distillation-based desalination", J. Membr. Sci., 323(2), 257-270.   DOI
5 Srisurichan, S., Jiraratananon, R. and Fane, A.G. (2006), "Mass transfer mechanisms and transport resistances in direct contact membrane distillation process", J. Membr. Sci., 277(1-2), 186-194.   DOI
6 Tomaszewska, M., Gryta, M. and Morawski, A.W. (1995), "Study on the concentration of acids by membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 102, 113-122.   DOI
7 Versteeg, H.K. and Malalasekera, W. (2007), An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Finite Volume Method, (2nd Edition), Pearson and Prentice Hall, England.
8 Wu, C.R., Li, Z.G., Zhang, J.H., Jia, Y., Gao, Q. and Lu, X.L. (2015), "Study on the heat and mass transfer in air-bubbling enhanced vacuum membrane distillation", Desalination, 373, 16-26.   DOI
9 Alklaibi, A.M. and Lior, N. (2005), "Transport analysis of air gap membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 255(1-2), 239-253.   DOI
10 Amali, A.E., Bouguecha, S. and Maalej, M. (2004), "Experimental study of air gap and direct contact membrane distillation configurations: application to geothermal and seawater desalination", Desalination, 168, 357.   DOI
11 Bejan, A. (2004), Convective Heat Transfer, (3rd Edition), Wiley et Sons, NJ, USA.
12 Chang, H., Tsai, C., Wei, H. and Cheng, L. (2014), "Effect of structure of PVDF membranes on the performance of membrane distillation", Membr. Water Treat., Int. J., 5(1), 41-56.   DOI
13 Banat, F. and Simandl, J. (1998), "Desalination by membrane distillation: A parametric study", Sep. Sci. Technol., 33(1), 201-226.   DOI
14 Banat, F. (1994), "Membrane distillation for desalination and removal of volatile organic compounds from water", Ph.D. Dissertation; McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
15 Banat, F. and Simandl, J. (1994), "Theoretical and experimental study in membrane distillation", Desalination, 95(1), 39-52.   DOI
16 Charfi, K., Khayet, M. and Safi, M.J. (2010), "Numerical simulation and experimental studies on heat and mass transfer using sweeping gas membrane distillation", Desalination, 259(1-3), 84-96.   DOI
17 Chen, K.K., Xiao, C.F., Huang, Q.L., Liu, H., Liu, H.L., Wu, Y.J. and Liu, Z. (2015), "Study on vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) using FEP hollow fiber membrane", Desalination, 375(2), 24-32.   DOI
18 Christensen, K., Andresena, R., Tandskov, I., Norddahl, B. and Preez, J.H. (2006), "Using direct contact membrane distillation for whey protein concentration", Desalination, 200(1-3), 523-525.   DOI
19 Ding, Z., Liu, L., Li, Z., Ma, R. and Yang, Z. (2006), "Experimental study of ammonia removal from water by membrane distillation (MD): The comparison of three configurations", J. Membr. Sci., 286(1-2), 93-103.   DOI
20 El-Bourawi, M.S., Ding, Z.M, Ma, R. and Khayat, M. (2006), "Framework for better understanding membrane distillation separation process", J. Membr. Sci., 285(1-2), 4-29.   DOI
21 Garcia-Payo, M.C., Rivier, C.A., Marison, I.W. and Von Stockar, U. (2002), "Separation of binary mixtures by thermostatic sweeping gas membrane distillation: II. Experimental results with aqueous formic acid solutions", J. Membr. Sci., 198(2), 197-210.   DOI
22 Feng, C., Khulbe, K.C., Matsuura, T., Gopal, R., Kaur, S., Ramakrishna, S. and Khayet, M. (2008), "Production of drinking water from saline water by air-gap membrane distillation using polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber membrane", J. Membr. Sci., 311(1-2), 1-6.   DOI
23 Gabor, R., Steffen. K., Oliver. S., Benjamin. S., Zoltan, K., Gyula, V., Mehrdad, E. and Peter, C. (2015), "Experimental determination of liquid entry pressure (LEP) in vacuum membrane distillation for oily wastewaters" Membr. Water Treat., Int. J., 6(3), 237-249.   DOI
24 Garcia-Payo, M.C., Izquierdo-Gil, M.A. and Fernandez-Pineda, C. (2000), "Air gap membrane distillation of aqueous alcohol solutions", J. Membr. Sci., 169(1), 61-80.   DOI
25 Gryta, M., Tomaszewska, M. and Morawski, A.W. (1997), "Membrane distillation with laminar flow", Sep. Purif. Technol., 11(2), 93-101.   DOI
26 Gryta, M., Tomaszewska, M. and Karakulski, K. (2006), "Wastewater treatment by membrane distillation", Desalination, 198(1-3), 67-73.   DOI
27 Guijt, C.M., Rcz, I.G., Van Heuven, J.W., Reith, T. and De Haan, A.B. (1999), "Modelling of a transmembrane evaporation module for desalination of seawater", Desalination, 126(1-3), 119-125.   DOI
28 Guijt, C.M., Meindersma, G., Reith, T. and De Haan, A. (2005) "Air gap membrane distillation: 2. Model validation and hollow performance analysis", Sep. Purif. Technol., 43(3), 245-255.   DOI
29 Khayet, M., Godino, P. and Mengual, J.I. (2000a), "Nature of flow on sweeping gas membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 170(2), 243-255.   DOI
30 Izquierdo-Gil, M.A., Garcia-Payo, M.C. and Fernandez-Pineda, C. (1999), "Air gap membrane distillation of sucrose aqueous solutions", J. Membr. Sci., 155 (2), 291-307.   DOI
31 Khayet, M., Godino, M.P. and Mengual, J.I. (2000b), "Theory and experiments on sweeping gas membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 165(2), 261-272.   DOI
32 Khayet, M., Godino, M.P. and Mengual, J.I. (2003a), "Possibility of nuclear desalination through various membrane distillation configurations: A comparative study", Int. J. Nucl. Desalination, 1(1), 30-46.   DOI
33 Khayet, M., Godino, M.P. and Mengual, J.I. (2003b), "Theoretical and experimental studies on desalination using the sweeping gas membrane distillation method", Desalination, 157(1-3), 297-305.   DOI
34 Khayet, M., Godino, M.P. and Mengual, J.I. (2002), "Thermal boundary layers in sweeping gas membrane distillation processes", Am. Inst. Chem. Eng. J. (AIChE J.), 48(7), 1488-1497.   DOI
35 Loussif, N. and Orfi, J. (2014), "Effect of slip velocity on air gap membrane distillation process", Membr. Water Treat., Int. J., 5(1), 57-71.   DOI
36 Phattaranawik, J., Jiraratananon, R. and Fane, A.G. (2003), "Heat transport and membrane distillation coefficients in direct contact membrane distillation", J. Membr. Sci., 212(1-2), 177-193.   DOI
37 Ramon, G., Agnon, Y. and Dosretz, C. (2009), "Heat transfer in vacuum membrane distillation: Effect of velocity slip", J. Membr. Sci., 331(1-2), 117-125.   DOI
38 Rommel, M., Koschilowski, J. and Wighaous, M. (2007), Solar Desalination for the 21st Century, (Rizzuti et al.), The Netherlands.