Investigation of membrane distillation (MD) with a laminar flow of the
streams in a module has been performed. The equations describing the
heat transfer in MD capillary modules were presented and verified expe
rimentally. The equations were derived for the calculation of the feed
and distillate temperature at a layer adjacent to the membrane. The h
eat transfer correlations were implemented in a physical model of the
MD process and the applicability of the model was validated. (C) 1998
Elsevier Science B.V.