Chapters authored
Solar Membrane Distillation: Use of a Helically Coiled Fiber
Membrane distillation (MD) is a novel process introduced to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional distillation process. MD has gained much interest, principally, for its lower energy demand and higher rejection factors. Many configurations of the membrane module have been tested to improve the MD process. In this case, and in order to see the possibility of using the helically coiled fiber for MD coupled with solar energy, a mathematical model has been developed. This model describes the evolutions of permeate flow rate with the variation of inlet feed characteristics, solar flux, and so on. A comparison between the use of linear and helically-coiled fiber shows an enhancement of the temperature polarization coefficient about 6% for the case of the helical fiber and to have an improvement factor by 28%. For the case of the effect of solar energy on the permeate flow rate, an increase of 264% is remarked for the variation of the direct solar flux from 200 to 800 W/m2. However, a reduction of 12% for the permeate flux is obtained, when the inlet feed concentration grows from 10 to 300 g/l.
Part of the book: Distillation