Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane
Abstract Recent scientific advances have made headway in addressing pertinient issues in climate change and the sustainability of our natural environment. This study makes use of a novel approach to desalination that is environment friendly, naturally sustainable and energy efficient, meaning that i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17876-8 |
| _version_ | 1828182695824326656 |
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| author | Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat Mohammed Obaid Takeshi Matsuura Areej Al-Samhouri Jung-Gil Lee Sofiane Soukane Noreddine Ghaffour |
| author_facet | Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat Mohammed Obaid Takeshi Matsuura Areej Al-Samhouri Jung-Gil Lee Sofiane Soukane Noreddine Ghaffour |
| author_sort | Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Recent scientific advances have made headway in addressing pertinient issues in climate change and the sustainability of our natural environment. This study makes use of a novel approach to desalination that is environment friendly, naturally sustainable and energy efficient, meaning that it is also cost efficient. Evaporation is a key phenomenon in the natural environment and used in many industrial applications including desalination. For a liquid droplet, the vapor pressure changes due to the curved liquid–vapor interface at the droplet surface. The vapor pressure at a convex surface in a pore is, therefore, higher than that at a flat surface due to the capillary effect, and this effect is enhanced as the pore radius decreases. This concept inspired us to design a novel biporous anisotropic membrane for membrane distillation (MD), which enables to desalinate water at ambient temperature and pressure by applying only a small transmembrane temperature gradient. The novel membrane is described as a super-hydrophobic nano-porous/micro-porous composite membrane. A laboratory-made membrane with specifications determined by the theoretical model was prepared for model validation and tested for desalination at different feed inlet temperatures by direct contact MD. A water vapor flux as high as 39.94 ± 8.3 L m−2 h−1 was achieved by the novel membrane at low feed temperature (25 °C, permeate temperature = 20 °C), while the commercial PTFE membrane, which is widely used in MD research, had zero flux under the same operating conditions. As well, the fluxes of the fabricated membrane were much higher than the commercial membrane at various inlet feed temperatures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:21:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-205341409d9f4e328dcf087b1d618783 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:21:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-205341409d9f4e328dcf087b1d6187832022-12-22T03:44:17ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-08-011211810.1038/s41598-022-17876-8Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membraneMohammed Rasool Qtaishat0Mohammed Obaid1Takeshi Matsuura2Areej Al-Samhouri3Jung-Gil Lee4Sofiane Soukane5Noreddine Ghaffour6Chemical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of JordanDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of OttawaSaudi Membrane Distillation Desalination (SMDD) Co. Ltd., Innovation and Economic Development, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Carbon Neutral Technology R&D Department, Korea Institute of Industrial TechnologyDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Abstract Recent scientific advances have made headway in addressing pertinient issues in climate change and the sustainability of our natural environment. This study makes use of a novel approach to desalination that is environment friendly, naturally sustainable and energy efficient, meaning that it is also cost efficient. Evaporation is a key phenomenon in the natural environment and used in many industrial applications including desalination. For a liquid droplet, the vapor pressure changes due to the curved liquid–vapor interface at the droplet surface. The vapor pressure at a convex surface in a pore is, therefore, higher than that at a flat surface due to the capillary effect, and this effect is enhanced as the pore radius decreases. This concept inspired us to design a novel biporous anisotropic membrane for membrane distillation (MD), which enables to desalinate water at ambient temperature and pressure by applying only a small transmembrane temperature gradient. The novel membrane is described as a super-hydrophobic nano-porous/micro-porous composite membrane. A laboratory-made membrane with specifications determined by the theoretical model was prepared for model validation and tested for desalination at different feed inlet temperatures by direct contact MD. A water vapor flux as high as 39.94 ± 8.3 L m−2 h−1 was achieved by the novel membrane at low feed temperature (25 °C, permeate temperature = 20 °C), while the commercial PTFE membrane, which is widely used in MD research, had zero flux under the same operating conditions. As well, the fluxes of the fabricated membrane were much higher than the commercial membrane at various inlet feed temperatures.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17876-8 |
| spellingShingle | Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat Mohammed Obaid Takeshi Matsuura Areej Al-Samhouri Jung-Gil Lee Sofiane Soukane Noreddine Ghaffour Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane Scientific Reports |
| title | Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| title_full | Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| title_fullStr | Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| title_full_unstemmed | Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| title_short | Desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| title_sort | desalination at ambient temperature and pressure by a novel class of biporous anisotropic membrane |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17876-8 |
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