Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil
Water management is becoming increasingly challenging and several technologies, including membrane distillation (MD) are emerging. This technology is less affected by salinity compared to reverse osmosis and is able to treat brines up to saturation. The focus of MD research recently shifted from sea...
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MDPI AG
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/7/2/118 |
| _version_ | 1818536444327624704 |
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| author | Lies Eykens Kristien De Sitter Chris Dotremont Wim De Schepper Luc Pinoy Bart Van Der Bruggen |
| author_facet | Lies Eykens Kristien De Sitter Chris Dotremont Wim De Schepper Luc Pinoy Bart Van Der Bruggen |
| author_sort | Lies Eykens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water management is becoming increasingly challenging and several technologies, including membrane distillation (MD) are emerging. This technology is less affected by salinity compared to reverse osmosis and is able to treat brines up to saturation. The focus of MD research recently shifted from seawater desalination to industrial applications out of the scope of reverse osmosis. In many of these applications, surfactants or oil traces are present in the feed stream, lowering the surface tension and increasing the risk for membrane wetting. In this study, the technological boundaries of MD in the presence of surfactants are investigated using surface tension, contact angle and liquid entry pressure measurements together with lab-scale MD experiments to predict the wetting resistance of different membranes. Synthetic NaCl solutions mixed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were used as feed solution. The limiting surfactant concentration was found to be dependent on the surface chemistry of the membrane, and increased with increasing hydrophobicity and oleophobicity. Additionally, a hexadecane/SDS emulsion was prepared with a composition simulating produced water, a waste stream in the oil and gas sector. When hexadecane is present in the emulsion, oleophobic membranes are able to resist wetting, whereas polytetrafluoretheen (PTFE) is gradually wetted by the feed liquid. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:38:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e105a77060a46ada1e7a7ebc2325b5c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:38:02Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e105a77060a46ada1e7a7ebc2325b5c2022-12-22T00:54:42ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172017-01-017211810.3390/app7020118app7020118Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and OilLies Eykens0Kristien De Sitter1Chris Dotremont2Wim De Schepper3Luc Pinoy4Bart Van Der Bruggen5VITO—Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, BelgiumVITO—Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, BelgiumVITO—Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, BelgiumVITO—Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, BelgiumDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Cluster Sustainable Chemical Process Technology, KU Leuven, Gebroeders Desmetstraat 1, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, BelgiumWater management is becoming increasingly challenging and several technologies, including membrane distillation (MD) are emerging. This technology is less affected by salinity compared to reverse osmosis and is able to treat brines up to saturation. The focus of MD research recently shifted from seawater desalination to industrial applications out of the scope of reverse osmosis. In many of these applications, surfactants or oil traces are present in the feed stream, lowering the surface tension and increasing the risk for membrane wetting. In this study, the technological boundaries of MD in the presence of surfactants are investigated using surface tension, contact angle and liquid entry pressure measurements together with lab-scale MD experiments to predict the wetting resistance of different membranes. Synthetic NaCl solutions mixed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were used as feed solution. The limiting surfactant concentration was found to be dependent on the surface chemistry of the membrane, and increased with increasing hydrophobicity and oleophobicity. Additionally, a hexadecane/SDS emulsion was prepared with a composition simulating produced water, a waste stream in the oil and gas sector. When hexadecane is present in the emulsion, oleophobic membranes are able to resist wetting, whereas polytetrafluoretheen (PTFE) is gradually wetted by the feed liquid.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/7/2/118membrane distillationwettingsodium dodecyl sulfatehexadecane |
| spellingShingle | Lies Eykens Kristien De Sitter Chris Dotremont Wim De Schepper Luc Pinoy Bart Van Der Bruggen Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil Applied Sciences membrane distillation wetting sodium dodecyl sulfate hexadecane |
| title | Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil |
| title_full | Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil |
| title_fullStr | Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil |
| title_short | Wetting Resistance of Commercial Membrane Distillation Membranes in Waste Streams Containing Surfactants and Oil |
| title_sort | wetting resistance of commercial membrane distillation membranes in waste streams containing surfactants and oil |
| topic | membrane distillation wetting sodium dodecyl sulfate hexadecane |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/7/2/118 |
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