A STUDY OF SEPARATION BY THE DIRECT-CONTACT MEMBRANE DISTILLATION PROCESS

The flux of permeate in the separation by the direct-contact membrane distillation process as a function of membrane characteristics and ope rating conditions was considered. The expressions describing the vapor transfer through a hydrophobic membrane, the temperature at the surfa ce of the membrane, and changes of temperature and concentration solut ions along the module in the countercurrent device were derived and pr oposed. The theoretically predicted results show about 85-90% agreemen t with the experimental data. The utility of equations in the separati on technology was pointed out.