Hydrophilic/hydrophobic composite membranes for membrane distillation

Abstract

Membrane distillation is an emerging separation technology, used for desalination. The mass and heat transfer through the membrane depends on membrane structure and process conditions. In this contribution, hydrophilic membranes are coated with different hydrophobic materials. Immersion of the membrane in the hydrophobic solution results in a single layer hydrophobic membrane structure, while coating the solution only on one side of membrane results in dual layer hydrophilic-hydrophobic structures. All membranes have the same pore size, porosity and tortuosity and therefore, a good comparison can be made between one layer and dual layer membranes. Direct contact membrane distillation experiments reveal the improved performance of the dual layer membranes compared to the single layer membranes.status: publishe