Search results for "membrane distillation"
showing 10 items of 53 documents
Performance comparison between overlapped and woven spacers for membrane distillation
2017
The sustainable production of freshwater from seawater desalination is receiving increasing attention. Recently, some desalination technologies are taking advantage from the coupling with renewable resources; among them, membrane distillation (MD) is one of the most promising since it can be easily powered by low-grade thermal energy. MD being an emerging technology, efforts are required to optimize geometry and operating conditions of real units in order to reduce the unitary freshwater production cost. In particular, temperature polarization is a well-known detrimental effect for the process driving force; spacers are traditionally used to enhance mixing and make temperature boundary laye…
Application of computational fluid dynamics technique in membrane distillation processes
2022
This Chapter illustrates the application of CFD to spacer-filled channels for membrane distillation. The topics discussed cover finite volume grids and grid independence, the unit-cell treatment of spatially periodic net spacers, and the dependence of flow and thermal fields and overall performance parameters (pressure drop and mean heat transfer coefficients) upon geometry and operating conditions (Reynolds number, flow attack angle, pitch-to-height ratio, spacer thermal conductivity, thermal boundary conditions, and one-side vs. two-side heat transfer).
Effect of spacer geometry on the process performance of pervaporation membrane modules
2009
Membrane distillation: solar and waste heat driven demonstration plants for desalination
2011
Design of a novel membrane-integrated waste acid recovery process from pickling solution
2019
Abstract Hydrochloric acid pickling is a common practice in steel manufacturing industry. During the process, acid is consumed to dissolve surface oxides and metals ions are accumulated in the solution, which becomes less effective with time. In addition, the costly and risky waste acid disposal is another issue affecting the hot-dip galvanizing industry. In this work, a novel sustainable waste acid recovery process from pickling solutions based on circular approach is proposed to tackle these issues. The innovative system allows (i) the continuous regeneration of pickling solutions to enhance process rate and performance and (ii) minimise the highly expensive and environmentally risky wast…
Sustainable water and energy: the EU-FP7 MEDIRAS and REAPOWER research projects
2014
Modeling and Design of Membrane Process Recovery of HCl and Metals from Pickling Solutions
2018
Abstract Hydrochloric acid pickling is one of the key steps in the hot-dip galvanizing process. It is a process widely used as a chemical pre-treatment method for cleaning, where metal surfaces with oxides are immersed into an acid solution. During the pickling process, the acid concentration decreases with time while the metal is accumulated. Thus, the efficiency of the pickling solution decreases and fresh solution must be used. Continuous regeneration of pickling solutions enhances pickling rate and process performance, but also minimises industrial wastewater disposal and chemicals consumption. The recovery and recycling process of valuable substances (e.g. acid and metals) can be accom…
Economic Benefits of Waste Pickling Solution Valorization
2022
An integrated hybrid membrane process, composed of a diffusion dialysis (DD), a membrane distillation (MD) and a reactive precipitation unit (CSTR), is proposed as a promising solution for the valorization and onsite recycling of pickling waste streams. An economic analysis was performed aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of the developed process with a NPV of about EUR 40,000 and a DPBP of 4 years. The investment and operating costs, as well as the avoided costs and the benefits for the company operating the plant, were analyzed with an extensive cost tracking exercise and through face-to-face contact with manufacturers and sector leaders. A mathematical model was implemented using the …
Experimental Analysis via Thermochromic Liquid Crystals of the Temperature Local Distribution in Membrane Distillation Modules
2013
A reliable and optimized design of channels for Membrane Distillation (MD) requires knowledge of local temperature distributions within the module. This information is essential to measure the temperature polarization, choice the module configuration (net spacer features, channel size, etc) providing the best process performance. Notwithstanding such crucial aspects, only few studies have been devoted to the experimental characterization of MD channels and none of them includes data on the local temperature distribution. In the present work, an experimental technique based on the use of Thermochromic Liquid Crystals (TLCs) and digital image processing, previously proposed by the authors (Pi…
An experimental study for the characterization of fluid dynamics and heat transport within the spacer-filled channels of membrane distillation modules
2018
Abstract The thermo-fluid dynamic behavior of spacer-filled channels for membrane distillation was investigated experimentally. Several different geometry were investigated thanks to customized reference spacers manufactured using a 3D printer. In particular, two sets of experiments were conducted: in the first set, cylindrical filaments were orthogonally arranged and the flow attack angle was made to vary from 0o to 90o; in the second set, the flow attack angle was kept symmetrical and the filament angle was made to vary from 30° to 150°. Each spacer was tested for Reynolds numbers between 200 and 900 in the hot channel, while maintaining a constant temperature difference of 13 °C between …