Pressure-retarded membrane distillation for low-grade heat recovery: The critical roles of pressure-induced membrane deformation

Yuan, Zhangfu; Li, Wei; Afroze, Jannatul Dil; Goh, Kunli; Chen, Yumao; Yu, Yanxi; She, Qianhong; Chen, Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2019.02.045

Cited by 31 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…6; details of the model are presented in the following section). Similar results have also been reported in previous VPDO studies [15,20].…”

Section: Impact Of Hydraulic Pressure On Mass Transfersupporting

confidence: 92%

“…While theoretical analyses have shed light on the performance-limiting effects of the VPDO process and suggested desirable membrane properties [16,18], experimental validations of these analytical results are lacking. To date, there are no commercial membranes specifically designed for VPDO and, so far, experimental tests on only one commercial ultrafiltration membrane and one lab-fabricated asymmetric membrane have been reported [15,19,20]. Understanding the role of the membrane properties in the performance of the VPDO technology is vital for improving process efficiency and for the development of high-performance membranes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low-temperature heat utilization with vapor pressure-driven osmosis: Impact of membrane properties on mass and heat transfer

Chen

Boo

Yip

2019

Journal of Membrane Science

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The emerging vapor pressure-driven osmosis (VPDO) membrane technology enables direct conversion of abundant low-temperature (< 100°C) heat resources to useful work. In this study, a theoretical model is established to understand mass and heat transfer of VPDO, and two hydrophobic nanoporous membranes, polypropylene (PP) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), of different chemistry and structural properties were evaluated. Although the PP membrane has a less effective transport pathway, the considerably larger pore size yields a much higher Knudsen diffusivity that results in consistently higher vapor fluxes across different temperature-pressure conditions. This finding provides strong evidence that mass transfer in VPDO is dominated by Knudsen diffusion. Additionally, we find that operation at higher pressurizations caused vapor flux decline that is attributed to the membrane morphological deformation. However, the PP membrane is less sensitive to the effects of compaction, underlining the importance of membrane mechanical robustness for VPDO. Lastly, the study shows that evaporative heat transfer is significantly greater than conductive losses and the PP membrane, with higher water fluxes, has better evaporation thermal efficiencies. This study provides fundamental understanding on the impacts of membrane properties on mass and heat transfer in VPDO, and highlights the centrality of vapor permeability and mechanical robustness in developing high-performance membranes.

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“…6; details of the model are presented in the following section). Similar results have also been reported in previous VPDO studies [15,20].…”

Section: Impact Of Hydraulic Pressure On Mass Transfersupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-temperature heat utilization with vapor pressure-driven osmosis: Impact of membrane properties on mass and heat transfer

Chen

Boo

Yip

2019

Journal of Membrane Science

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“…DCMD is the simplest and most studied configuration, while AGMD appears to be less susceptible to wetting because the membrane is not in contact with liquid on the permeate side . Recently, some modified or novel MD configurations have been developed to enhance the energy efficiency, such as pressure-retarded MD, permeate gap MD, material gap MD, conductive gap MD, and photothermal MD . Moreover, flash-feed VMD system, multistage and multieffect MD configurations, and MD hybrids in combination with various separation processes have also been proposed.…”

Section: The Wettability and Wetting Of MD Membranesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of Membrane Wettability in Membrane Distillation from the Perspective of Interfacial Interactions

Chang

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

150

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Hydrophobic membranes used in membrane distillation (MD) systems are often subject to wetting during long-term operation. Thus, it is of great importance to fully understand factors that influence the wettability of hydrophobic membranes and their impact on the overall separation efficiency that can be achieved in MD systems. This Critical Review summarizes both fundamental and applied aspects of membrane wetting with particular emphasis on interfacial interaction between the membrane and solutes in the feed solution. First, the theoretical background of surface wetting, including the relationship between wettability and interfacial interaction, definition and measurement of contact angle, surface tension, surface free energy, adhesion force, and liquid entry pressure, is described. Second, the nature of wettability, membrane wetting mechanisms, influence of membrane properties, feed characteristics and operating conditions on membrane wetting, and evolution of membrane wetting are reviewed in the context of an MD process. Third, specific membrane features that increase resistance to wetting (e.g., superhydrophobic, omniphobic, and Janus membranes) are discussed briefly followed by the comparison of various cleaning approaches to restore membrane hydrophobicity. Finally, challenges with the prevention of membrane wetting are summarized, and future work is proposed to improve the use of MD technology in a variety of applications.

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“…To date, the hydrodynamics in membrane-bounded channels equipped with net spacers or profiled membranes has been investigated assuming an undeformed (reference or nominal) geometry. However, many membrane processes, including ED and RED, may experience membrane deformation due to a transmembrane pressure (TMP) between fluid channels [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. For example, Hong et al [21] performed experimental and numerical studies of an RED stack with 200 cell pairs, showing a high pressure difference between seawater and fresh water channels.…”

Section: Motivation and Strategy Of The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluid–Structure Interaction and Flow Redistribution in Membrane-Bounded Channels

et al. 2019

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The hydrodynamics of electrodialysis and reverse electrodialysis is commonly studied by neglecting membrane deformation caused by transmembrane pressure (TMP). However, large frictional pressure drops and differences in fluid velocity or physical properties in adjacent channels may lead to significant TMP values. In previous works, we conducted one-way coupled structural-CFD simulations at the scale of one periodic unit of a profiled membrane/channel assembly and computed its deformation and frictional characteristics as functions of TMP. In this work, a novel fluid–structure interaction model is presented, which predicts, at the channel pair scale, the changes in flow distribution associated with membrane deformations. The continuity and Darcy equations are solved in two adjacent channels by treating them as porous media and using the previous CFD results to express their hydraulic permeability as a function of the local TMP. Results are presented for square stacks of 0.6-m sides in cross and counter flow at superficial velocities of 1 to 10 cm/s. At low velocities, the corresponding low TMP does not significantly affect the flow distribution. As the velocity increases, the larger membrane deformation causes significant fluid redistribution. In the cross flow, the departure of the local superficial velocity from a mean value of 10 cm/s ranges between −27% and +39%.

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Pressure-retarded membrane distillation for low-grade heat recovery: The critical roles of pressure-induced membrane deformation

Cited by 31 publications

References 59 publications

Low-temperature heat utilization with vapor pressure-driven osmosis: Impact of membrane properties on mass and heat transfer

Low-temperature heat utilization with vapor pressure-driven osmosis: Impact of membrane properties on mass and heat transfer

A Critical Review of Membrane Wettability in Membrane Distillation from the Perspective of Interfacial Interactions

Fluid–Structure Interaction and Flow Redistribution in Membrane-Bounded Channels

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