HEAT-TRANSPORT IN THE MEMBRANE DISTILLATION PROCESS

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.