What Is Membrane Distillation?

Membrane distillation is a new membrane separation process that has appeared in recent years. It is a membrane technology that uses a hydrophobic microporous membrane to separate an aqueous solution containing non-volatile solutes. Due to the surface tension of water, liquid water cannot penetrate the pores of the membrane under normal pressure, while water vapor can. When there is a certain temperature difference between the two sides of the membrane, water vapor molecules will condense on the other side through the micropores due to the difference in vapor pressure, so that the solution is gradually concentrated. This process can make full use of cheap energy such as factory heat or solar energy, coupled with easy process automation and simple equipment, is becoming a practical separation process. ^[1]