|
1
|
Afsari M, Ghorbani AH, Asghari M, Shon HK, Tijing LD. Computational fluid dynamics simulation study of hypersaline water desalination via membrane distillation: Effect of membrane characteristics and operational parameters. Chemosphere 2022; 305:135294. [PMID: 35697112 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this study, a comprehensive model was developed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and the behaviour of a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system was investigated at hypersaline feedwater conditions. The effects of various operating parameters including feed and permeate velocities, temperatures and salinities, as well as different membrane characteristics like thickness, porosity, and thermal conductivity were studied. The developed simulation model was also validated using experimental data. The results showed that the membrane conductivity and thickness had a significant impact on the DCMD performance, and the optimum operational condition was necessary to be determined. The results showed that increasing the feedwater salinity from 50 to 200 g/l decreased the membrane flux by up to 33%, while a four times decrease in thermal conductivity of the membrane could lead to an increase in the membrane flux from 11.2 to 32.4 l/m2·h (LMH). In addition, the optimal membrane thickness was found to increase with salinity, reaching >120 μm for treatment of 22 wt% NaCl feedwater solution. However, the flux declined from >32 LMH to <13 LMH upon the increase in feedwater salinity (up to 22 wt% NaCl solution). It is also shown that a thinner membrane performed better for desalination of low salinity feedwater, while the thicker one produces higher separation performance and thermal efficiency for hypersaline brine desalination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morteza Afsari
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Amir Hossein Ghorbani
- Chemical Engineering Department, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran, Iran
| | - Morteza Asghari
- Separation Processes Research Group (SPRG), University of Science and Technology of Mazandaran, Iran
| | - Ho Kyong Shon
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia; ARC Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Leonard D Tijing
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia; ARC Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|