Possibility of nuclear desalination through various membrane distillation configurations: a comparative study

Abstract

Three membrane distillation processes, direct contact membrane distillation, sweeping gas membrane distillation and vacuum membrane distillation, have been experimentally studied in a shell-and-tube capillary membrane module. Preliminary experiments were conducted using distilled water and sodium chloride aqueous solutions as feed. The effects of the operating parameters - flow rate, temperature and salt concentration - have been investigated. A theoretical analysis that considers the heat and mass transfer through microporous hydrophobic membrane has been developed. A comparative study was made between the three membrane distillation configurations. Membrane distillation can be an alternative for liquid nuclear waste treatment.