Solar Energy Driven Membrane Desalination: Experimental Heat Transfer Analysis

Hosam Faqeha (), Mohammed Bawahab, Quoc Linh Ve, Oranit Traisak, Ravi Koirala, Aliakbar Akbarzadeh and Abhijit Date ()
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Hosam Faqeha: Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 715, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Bawahab: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Quoc Linh Ve: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Oranit Traisak: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Ravi Koirala: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Aliakbar Akbarzadeh: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
Abhijit Date: Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: In the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system, the temperature polarization due to boundary layer formation limits the system performance. This study presents the experimental results and heat transfer analysis of a DCMD module coupled with a salinity gradient solar pond (SGSP) under three different flow channel configurations. In the first case, the feed and permeate channels were both empty, while in the next two cases, the feed and permeate channels were filled with a porous spacer material. Two different spacer geometries are examined: 1.5 mm thick with a filament angle of 65°, and 2 mm thick with a filament angle of 90°. The study considers only the heat transfer due to conduction by replacing the hydrophobic membrane normally used in a DCMD module with a thin polypropylene sheet so that no mass transfer can occur between the feed and permeate channels. The Reynolds number for all three configurations was found to be between 1000 and 2000, indicating the flow regime was laminar. The flow rate through both the feed and permeate sides was the same, and experiments were conducted for flow rates of 5 L/min and 3 L/min. It has been found that the highest overall heat transfer coefficient was obtained with the spacer of 2 mm thickness and filament angle of 90°.

Keywords: water desalination; membrane desalination; solar pond; heat transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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