Improvement of the Membrane Distillation performance through the integration of different configurations

In this work, the integration of two Membrane Distillation (MD) configurations was investi-gated as possible means to reduce the specific thermal energy consumption. Tests of DirectContact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) werecarried out on 40 cm2lab-scale modules equipped with a commercial flat polypropylenemembrane of 0.2 m, by sending distilled water as feed. The performance of integratedschemes with the feed exiting from the DCMD module sent as coolant stream in the AGMDmodule - where it is heated by the permeating vapor, before being recycled back to the DCMDunit - was analyzed. When compared to the single DCMD units, the integrated DCMD-AGMDsystems led to lower specific thermal energy consumption, as well as higher Gained OutputRatio (GOR) and permeate production.