ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Studies of membrane scaling during water desalination by membrane distillation

Marek Gryta

West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

E-mail: marek.gryta@zut.edu.pl

Abstract: The water discharged from the cooling system was proposed as feeding water and an energy source for demineralized water production by membrane distillation. The influence of scaling on the performance of hydrophobic membranes during water desalination has been investigated over a long period of time. The studies were performed with the application of polypropylene capillary membranes Accurel PP S6/2. The membrane modules were supplied with the feed preheated to temperatures of 313 K and 333 K. The yield obtained for these temperatures was 3 and 10 L/m² h, respectively. The electrical conductivity of obtained distillate was stabilized at a level of 6–8 microS/cm when the feed conductivity was over 2000 microS/cm. The MD process was carried out for 1400 h without module cleaning. Both the permeate flux and distillate conductivity were almost not changed after this period of time, which indicates that the used membranes maintained their non-wettability, and the membrane scaling was limited. The performed SEM–EDS examinations revealed that the deposits mainly formed on the membrane surface and their amount was significantly limited by the application of low feed temperature.

Keywords: Membrane distillation ; Scaling ; Desalination ; Hydrophobic membrane 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-018-0628-y

Chemical Papers 73 (3) 591–600 (2019)