What is the future of membrane distillation applications in industry? What are the barriers that have prevented it so far from becoming fully commercialized?
Hello Latifa yousef
Although I am not an industry expert but I will deliver my opinion on the use in the future of a membrane distillation.
I think that the problem is the cost of the material used (membranes, compressors… etc) which makes the cost price of distilled water very high.
In against part, membrane distillation produces large quantities of water compared with solar distillation which remains less profitable despite its low cost… this is my opinion and I must leave the word to the experts in this field.
good luck.
I think another important barrier is building up references in industry and the believe in the potential of the technology and the limited amount of players selling systems at larger scale.
Membrane Distillation (MD) is most certainly a viable technology, and compete with more traditional technologies such as Seawater RO and Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) plants. Membrane Distillation is a newer technology, has more companies entering the market but still lacks large number of commercial installation. Companies such as Memsys from Germany has Membrane Distillation product, has sold large systems in China, and has done pilot plant work in the USA.
Based on my evaluation, MD technology should be considered for desalination of non-traditional sources of wastewater including reject streams from Cooling towers, Air scrubbers blowdown streams and coal pile runoff from power plants, RO reject streams, etc. If waste heat is available (Example, condensate loop or air stack for power plants) then the technology could be more affordable, will require less power.
Most Membrane Distillation technologies are made with the materials that can be exposed to wide pH range, wide range of chemicals, oxidizing environment, etc.
Best regards,
Ken Pandya
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