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Almahfoodh S, Qamar A, Kerdi S, Ghaffour N. Novel coiled hollow fiber module for high-performance membrane distillation. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 251:121127. [PMID: 38237460 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Membrane distillation (MD) scale-up is challenged by ineffective heat recovery and the temperature polarization effect. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) modules suffer high thermal conduction losses due to feed flow direction along the length of the membrane, resulting in low thermal efficiency. We propose a novel module design named coiled hollow fiber (CHF) to decouple the flow direction from the membrane surface in hollow fiber (HF) DCMD. Experimental and computational analyses were employed to compare the performance of CHF and the conventional design. The CHF module design successfully mitigates the TP effect in HF DCMD, increasing the flux by 148 % and 163 % in cross-flow and localized heating (LH) modes, respectively. Moreover, CHF operated in LH mode exhibits the lowest energy consumption of all configurations (81 % decrease) compared to the conventional design. This novel module design represents a new pathway for efficient and highly performing DCMD module.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Almahfoodh
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; Chemical and Biological Engineering Program, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Adnan Qamar
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sarah Kerdi
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Noreddine Ghaffour
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; Environmental Science and Engineering Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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Zhang X, Koirala R, Pramanik B, Fan L, Date A, Jegatheesan V. Challenges and advancements in membrane distillation crystallization for industrial applications. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 234:116577. [PMID: 37429399 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Membrane distillation crystallization (MDC) is an emerging hybrid thermal membrane technology that synergizes membrane distillation (MD) and crystallization, which can achieve both freshwater and minerals recovery from high concentrated solutions. Due to the outstanding hydrophobic nature of the membranes, MDC has been widely used in numerous fields such as seawater desalination, valuable minerals recovery, industrial wastewater treatment and pharmaceutical applications, where the separation of dissolved solids is required. Despite the fact that MDC has shown great promise in producing both high-purity crystals and freshwater, most studies on MDC remain limited to laboratory scale, and industrializing MDC processes is currently impractical. This paper summarizes the current state of MDC research, focusing on the mechanisms of MDC, the controls for membrane distillation (MD), and the controls for crystallization. Additionally, this paper categorizes the obstacles hindering the industrialization of MDC into various aspects, including energy consumption, membrane wetting, flux reduction, crystal yield and purity, and crystallizer design. Furthermore, this study also indicates the direction for future development of the industrialization of MDC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhang
- Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia; Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
| | - Ravi Koirala
- Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia
| | - Biplob Pramanik
- Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia; Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
| | - Linhua Fan
- Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia; Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
| | - Abhijit Date
- Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia; Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia
| | - Veeriah Jegatheesan
- Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia; Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia.
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Hardikar M, Felix V, Rabe AB, Ikner LA, Hickenbottom KL, Achilli A. Virus rejection and removal in pilot-scale air-gap membrane distillation. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 240:120019. [PMID: 37216784 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally-driven process that can treat high concentration streams and provide a dual barrier for rejection and reduction of pathogens. Thus, MD has potential applications in treating concentrated wastewater brines for enhancing water recovery and potable water reuse. In bench-scale studies, it was demonstrated that MD can provide high rejection of MS2 and PhiX174 bacteriophage viruses, and when operating at temperatures greater than 55 °C, can reduce virus levels in the concentrate. However, bench-scale MD results cannot directly be used to predict pilot-scale contaminant rejection and removal of viruses because of the lower water flux and higher transmembrane hydraulic pressure difference in pilot-scale systems. Thus far, virus rejection and removal have not been quantified in pilot-scale MD systems. In this work, the rejection of MS2 and PhiX174 at low (40 °C) and high (70 °C) inlet temperatures is quantified in a pilot-scale air-gap MD system using tertiary treated wastewater. Both viruses were detected in the distillate which suggests the presence of pore flow; the virus rejection at a hot inlet temperature of 40 °C for MS2 and PhiX174 were 1.6-log10 and 3.1-log10, respectively. At 70 °C, virus concentrations in the brine decreased and were below the detection limit (1 PFU per 100 mL) after 4.5 h, however, viruses were also detected in the distillate in that duration. Results demonstrate that virus rejection is lower in pilot-scale experiments because of increased pore flow that is not captured in bench-scale experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukta Hardikar
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States
| | - Varinia Felix
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States
| | - Andrew B Rabe
- Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States
| | - Luisa A Ikner
- Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States
| | - Kerri L Hickenbottom
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States
| | - Andrea Achilli
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745, United States.
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Guo H, Gao H, Yan A, Lu X, Wu C, Gao L, Zhang J. Treatment to surfactant containing wastewater with membrane distillation membrane with novel sandwich structure. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 867:161195. [PMID: 36581298 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Surfactant containing wastewater widely exists in textile industry, which hardly to be treated by membrane technology due to its high in salinity and wetting potential. In this study, PVDF membrane was modified by constructing a PDMS-SiO2-PDMS "sandwich" structure on top of its surface via coating to achieve resistance to surfactant induced wetting. The "sandwich" layer was optimized based on the membrane performance during membrane distillation. Compared to the pristine PVDF membrane with contact angle of 92°, the water contact angle of the membrane with a "sandwich" layer of 0.44 μm increased to 153°. For the feed contained 0.5 wt% NaCl and 0.25 wt% surfactant, there was no membrane wetting occurred during the experiment period using the membrane with a "sandwich" structure, in comparison to the pristine PVDF membrane being wetted from beginning. For a challenge experiment to the developed membrane lasting for 100 h using a surfactant containing feed, there is no wetting sign observed and the stable flux is 20 kg·m-2·h-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanyu Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China
| | - Haifu Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China
| | - An Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China
| | - Xiaolong Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China
| | - Chunrui Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China.
| | - Li Gao
- ISILC, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia; South East Water Corporation, PO Box 2268, Seaford, Victoria 3198, Australia
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- ISILC, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia.
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Cassaro C, Virruso G, Culcasi A, Cipollina A, Tamburini A, Micale G. Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes for the Sustainable Production of Chemicals from Seawater Brines at Pilot Plant Scale. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2023; 11:2989-3000. [PMID: 36844752 PMCID: PMC9945178 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Environmental concerns regarding the disposal of seawater reverse osmosis brines require the development of new valorization strategies. Electrodialysis with bipolar membrane (EDBM) technology enables the production of acid and base from a salty waste stream. In this study, an EDBM pilot plant with a membrane area of 19.2 m2 was tested. This total membrane area results much larger (i.e., more than 16 times larger) than those reported in the literature so far for the production of HCl and NaOH aqueous solutions, starting from NaCl brines. The pilot unit was tested both in continuous and discontinuous operation modes, at different current densities (200-500 A m-2). Particularly, three different process configurations were evaluated, namely, closed-loop, feed and bleed, and fed-batch. At lower applied current density (200 A m-2), the closed-loop had a lower specific energy consumption (SEC) (1.4 kWh kg-1) and a higher current efficiency (CE) (80%). When the current density was increased (300-500 A m-2), the feed and bleed mode was more appropriate due to its low values of SEC (1.9-2.6 kWh kg-1) as well as high values of specific production (SP) (0.82-1.3 ton year-1 m-2) and current efficiency (63-67%). These results showed the effect of various process configurations on the performance of the EDBM, thereby guiding the selection of the most suitable process configuration when varying the operating conditions and representing a first important step toward the implementation of this technology at industrial scale.
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Balis E, Kaps TB, Hiibel SR. Understanding and exploiting crystal formation during sodium chloride crystallization on 3D-printed mesh materials. Sep Purif Technol 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Techno-Economic Analysis of Brine Treatment by Multi-Crystallization Separation Process for Zero Liquid Discharge. SEPARATIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/separations9100295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
This study analyses the concept of a novel multi-crystallization system to achieve zero liquid discharge (ZLD) for desalination plants using an innovative heat recovery system consisting of a heat transfer fluid and a compressor to reduce energy consumption. The main focus is to recover water and separately extract salts from seawater brines with high purity, including calcite, anhydrite, sodium chloride, and epsomite, which can be sold to the cement industry. The system is compared with a conventional brine treatment system. The energy demand and economic feasibility of both systems are assessed to evaluate profitability at a scale of 1000 kg/h. The results estimate that the utilization of a heat recovery fluid reduces energy consumption from 690 kWhth/ton of feed brine to 125.90 kWhth/ton equaling a total electric consumption of 60.72 kWhe/ton. The system can recover 99.2% of water and reduce brine discharge mass by 98.9%. The system can recover 53.8% of calcite at near 100% purity, 96.4% of anhydrite at 97.7% purity, 91.6% of NaCl at near 100% purity, and 71.1% of epsomite at 40.7% purity. Resource recovery accounts for additional revenues, with halite and water accounting respectively for 69.85% and 29.52% of the income. The contribution of calcite and anhydrite to revenue is very low due to their low production. The levelized cost of water (LCOW) of the multi-crystallization system is 13.79 USD/m3 as opposed to 7.85 USD/m3 for the conventional ZLD system. The economic analyses estimate that the conventional ZLD system can achieve payback after 7.69 years. The high electricity cost, which accounts for 68.7% of the annual expenses, can be produced from renewable sources.
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Numerical simulation and experimental analysis of ice crystal growth and freezing-centrifugal desalination for seawater with different compositions. Sep Purif Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2022.121656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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