Preparation and Characterization of Hydrophobic Membranes and Their Seawater Desalination Performance Study by Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

Abstract

Hydrophobic membranes prepared using Poly (tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) along with Poly (1,4-phenylene ether ether-sulfone) and zinc oxide nanoparticle was used in membrane distillation. To examine seawater purification, prepared polymeric membranes were evaluated, tested, and used in a lab-scale direct contact membrane distillation arrangement. These membranes which are synthesized using the electrospinning method have good mechanical and thermal stability. To understand prepared membranes’ desalination performance, the physicochemical properties of the seawater were analyzed before and after membrane distillation. The salt rejection remained at 99% and the highest energy efficiency of the system observed is 67.3%.

Keywords

• electrospinning, membrane characterization, direct contact membrane distillation, seawater desalination, performance study