Performance modelling of direct contact membrane distillation for flat sheet module

The main objective of this paper is to develop a general predictive mathematical model of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) for flat sheet module. This model, based on fundamental equations of mass and heat transfer, aims to predict the water permeate flux across the membrane and to investigate the influence of membrane characteristics such as its thickness, its length, the pore size and porosity, on the performance of DCMD process. All physical parameters implemented in the mathematical model have been estimated using appropriate temperature correlations. Obtained results revealed that doubling the thickness of the membrane decreases the permeate flux by an amount of 43% and increasing the membrane porosity by 20% yields an increase of the permeate flux by 40%. However, pore size as well as membrane length variations show no sensitive effect on permeate flux. A good agreement between this theoretical model and experimental data was observed for various feed temperatures. This suggests that this tool could be utilized efficiently to predict permeate flux values for DCMD process.