abstract
Membrane distillation is an attractive technology for solar-powered decentralized desalination that has not yet reached commercial
breakthrough on a large scale. The main barriers are energy consumption and cost. Since the latter are mostly related to the former,
thermal energy efficiency is key to assessing the potential of the different available membrane distillation systems at a commercial
scale. As discussed here, existing membrane distillation technologies use mostly flat sheet membranes in plate and frame and
spiral-wound modules. Modules based on hollow fibre membranes are also considered, as well as the concept of multi-effect
vacuum membrane distillation for improved heat recovery. The heat efficiency of each system is analysed based on available
experimental results. Better internal heat recovery and capacity for upscaling are found to be important elements of distinction
which make multi-channelled spiral-wound modules working in air-gap configuration stand out currently, with the lowest heat
consumption of all large scale modules. Potential for improvement of this and other technologies is also discussed, and an
estimation based on the associated costs for solar energy is used for establishing boundary conditions towards the implementation
of membrane distillation for solar desalination.
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