Application of Taguchi method in optimization of desalination by vacuum membrane distillation

This research focuses on desalination via vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). In order to enhance the performance of VMD in desalination and to get more flux, effects of operating parameters on the yield of distillate water were studied. Four parameters at three levels were selected: temperature (35, 45, and 55 °C), vacuum pressure (30, 80, and 130 mbar), flow rate (15, 30, and 60 mL/s) and concentration (50, 100, and 150 g/L). Taguchi method was used to plan a minimum number of experiments. The optimal levels thus determined for the four factors were: temperature 55 °C, vacuum pressure 30 mbar, flow rate 30 mL/s and concentration 50 g/L. The results show that increasing temperature and decreasing vacuum pressure improve permeate flux. However, the permeate flux increases with increasing flow rate initially and then reaches to a maximum value at 30 mL/s and then decreases with increasing the flow rate.     

Simulation of membrane distillation modules for desalination by developing user's model on Aspen Plus platform

This paper presents a simulation study of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) and air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) for desalination. Simulation models are built on Aspen Plus^® platform as user defined unit operations for these two types of modules, respectively. Large scale modules for practical industrial applications are simulated and studied for the effects of design and operation variables, as well as the importance of heat and mass transfers of each phase. For each type of modules with heat recovery design, the response surface method (RSM) is applied to develop the performance-variables quadratic model, followed by the multivariable optimization. Optimal designs can realize separation efficiencies, defined as the ratio of water produced to the feed, of 8.2% and 5.8% for DCMD and AGMD, respectively.     

Optimization of solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination pilot plant using response surface methodology

A solar thermal and photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant has been constructed and optimized for brackish water desalination. The central composite experimental design of orthogonal type and response surface methodology (RSM) have been used to develop predictive models for simulation and optimization of different responses such as the salt rejection coefficient, the specific permeate flux and the RO specific performance index that takes into consideration the salt rejection coefficient, the permeate flux, the energy consumption and the conversion factor. The considered input variables were the feed temperature, the feed flow-rate and the feed pressure. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been employed to test the significance of the RSM polynomial models. The optimum operating conditions have been determined using the step adjusting gradient method. An optimum RO specific performance index has been achieved experimentally under the obtained optimal conditions. The RO optimized plant guarantees a potable water production of 0.2 m³/day with energy consumption lower than 1.3 kWh/m³.     

中空纤维空气隙式膜蒸馏海水淡化过程的性能模拟与优化

利用响应曲面法(RSM),以模拟标准海水(质量分数3.5%)为进水对中空纤维空气隙式膜蒸馏(AGMD-HF)海水淡化过程的影响因子和膜通量指标进行了模拟优化。通过面向中心复合设计法(CCD)实现了基于热料液进水温度、冷凝液进水温度和料液流量的实验优化设计,并建立了响应值与影响因子之间的二次多项式回归模型。方差分析(ANOVA)、RSM分析及实验响应值与预测值的对比验证了该模型对影响因子和膜通量模拟优化的可信度。进一步地,通过期望函数的引入确定了各影响因子最佳水平,并利用太阳能加热驱动过程实验进行验证。结果表明,ANOVA的决定系数R²达到0.986,p值则低于0.0001;实验膜通量与预测值平均误差仅为6.95%,产水电导率始终保持在10 μS·cm^-1以下,脱盐率稳定在99.99%以上;最佳影响因子水平分别为83.5℃、13.2℃和60.2 L·h^-1,在此条件下太阳能加热驱动过程膜通量达到6.47 L·m^-2·h^-1。该实验不仅为潜在可行的规模放大过程提供了可参照的操作参数,而且表明将太阳能引入AGMD-HF海水淡化过程具有很强的实际应用潜力。     

基于响应面法光热-光电膜蒸馏系统优化研究

设计并搭建了太阳能光热-光电方腔型膜蒸馏系统,为研究该系统机理与优化问题,首先以料液进口温度、流量、太阳辐照度为影响因子,膜通量、能耗为响应值,采用响应面法分析各影响因子与响应值间的关系;其次结合中心复合设计法设计实验工况,建立响应值与影响因子的二次多项式回归模型,通过方差分析、实验验证对所建立的模型进行可靠性分析;最后对响应值进行响应面分析与系统优化,获得了系统最佳运行工况和最优膜通量、能耗值,并进行了实验验证。结果表明,系统最佳工况为：料液进口温度为63℃,料液进口流量为232 L/h,太阳辐照度为700 W/m²,在此工况下实际膜通量达到7.28 L/(m²·h),高于预测值6.39 L/(m²·h),两者误差为12.23%,对应的能耗值为10.40 L/(kW·h)。     

Hydrophobic PVDF hollow fiber membranes with narrow pore size distribution and ultra-thin skin for the fresh water production through membrane distillation

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hydrophobic asymmetric hollow fiber membrane was fabricated through the dry-jet wet phase inversion process. It is found that the PVDF hollow fiber has an ultra-thin skin layer and a porous support layer from the morphology study. The fully porous membrane structure has the advantage of decreasing the vapor transport resistance and enhancing the permeation flux. The fabricated PVDF membrane has a mean pore size of in diameter and a narrow pore size distribution. The rough external surface produces an advancing contact angle of 112±3^° with water. During direct contact membrane distillation (MD) of 3.5 wt% salt solution, PVDF hollow fibers produced a water permeation flux of (based on the external diameter of hollow fiber) and a NaCl rejection of 99.99% with a hot salt solution at 79.3 °C and cold distillate water at 17.5 °C. This performance is comparable to or superior to most of commercially available PVDF hollow fiber membranes, indicating that the newly developed PVDF may be suitable for MD applications.     

Application of response surface methodology to the chemical cleaning process of ultrafiltration membrane☆

A numerical model was established to predict and optimise the chemical cleaning process of Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF)Ultra filtration(UF)membranes with the results from the experiment that applied the Response Surface Method(RSM)and Central Composite Design(CCD).The factors considered in the experimental design were sodium hydroxide(NaOH)concentration,sodium hypochlorite concentration(NaClO),citric acid concentration and cleaning duration.The interactions between the factors were investigated with the numerical model.Humic acid(20 mg·L-1)was used as the model foulant,and chemical enhanced back flush(CEB)was employed to simulate the chemical cleaning process.The concentrations of sodium hydroxide,sodium hypochlorite,citric acid and cleaning duration tested during the experiments were in the range of 0.1%–0.3%,100–300 mg·L-1,1%–3%and 0.5–1.5 h,respectively.Among the variables,the sodium hypochlorite concentration and the cleaning duration showed a positive relationship involving the increased ef ficiency of the chemical cleaning.The chemical cleaning ef ficiency was hardly improved with increasing concentrations of sodium hydroxide.However,the data was sharply decreased when at a low level of sodium hydroxide concentration.In total,54 sets of cleaning schemes with 80%to 100%cleaning ef ficiency were observed with the RSM model after calibration.     

膜蒸馏脱盐中膜污染与膜润湿的研究进展

膜蒸馏作为一种脱盐的新兴技术受到广泛关注。然而,因为实际水质组分复杂,可能含有如表面活性剂、油类物质、易结垢盐和有机溶剂等污染物,导致一般疏水膜在长时间运行情况下极易发生膜污染或者膜润湿,最终造成膜通量或截留性能降低。本文首先简述了不同种类的膜污染和膜润湿的特点及形成原因,并分析了膜污染和膜润湿之间的区别和联系。对膜蒸馏过程中膜污染和膜润湿的监测和预测手段进行了简要介绍,最后针对膜蒸馏脱盐过程,重点介绍了近几年国内外预防膜污染和膜润湿的研究进展。研究者一般从污染物与疏水膜的相互作用力着手对疏水膜进行表面改性制备全疏膜和Janus复合膜,避免污染物在膜面的吸附以及抑制表面或孔道润湿。越来越多的研究人员采用致密亲水膜的渗透汽化脱盐来从根本上避免疏水膜带来的润湿。除此之外,对进料液进行预处理也能显著延迟膜的污染和润湿,如混凝/沉淀、膜过滤、煮沸、pH调控等,还可通过改变进料方式、辅助外加磁场等措施控制膜表面局部区域的流体力学状态,减少污染物的附着。适当的膜后处理措施也能恢复膜性能。最后,文章指出了解决膜蒸馏中膜污染和膜润湿的研究方向。     

Hydrophobic mullite ceramic hollow fibre membrane (Hy-MHFM) for seawater desalination via direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD)

A low-cost hydrophobic mullite hollow fibre membrane (Hy-MHFM) fabricated via phase inversion/sintering technique followed by fluoroalkyl silane (FAS) grafting is presented in this study. The prepared CHFMs were characterized before and after the grafting step using different characterization techniques. The pore size of the CHFM surface was also determined using ImageJ software. The desalination performance of the grafted membrane was evaluated in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) using synthetic seawater of varying salt concentrations for 2 h at various feedwater temperatures. The outcome of the evaluations showed declines in the permeate flux of the membrane at increasing feed concentration, as well as increased flux with increased feed temperature. The long-term stability of the membrane was achieved at time 20 h, feed temperature 60 °C, and permeate temperature 10 °C, the membrane achieved a salt rejection performance of about 99.99 % and a water flux value of 22.51 kg/ m² h.     

响应面法优化一水硫酸氢钠流化催化精馏生产乙酸乙酯工艺条件

以新型的一水硫酸氢钠为催化剂,采用粉末状催化剂混合乙酸一起进料的加入方式,即流化催化精馏工艺,并利用响应面法优化乙酸乙酯催化精馏过程条件.首先,通过单因素灵敏度分析法对乙酸进料量、酸醇进料摩尔比、回流比、催化剂用量、釜底加热功率5个因素进行实验考察,确定了乙酸进料量、酸醇摩尔进料比、回流比3个关键因素的优化值及取值范围.根据单因素实验结果与精馏塔设备要求,塔釜加热功率和催化剂用量分别设定为68 W和2.0%(质量分数)乙酸,采用中心组合设计原则对乙酸进料量、酸醇进料摩尔比和回流比3个关键因素进行实验设计.以乙醇转化率为响应值,基于响应实验结果,利用响应面法对实验结果进行了方程回归,得到3个关键因素与响应值的二次关联模型.通过方差分析和平行实验,证明该模型准确可用.优化后的乙酸乙酯流态化催化精馏工艺条件为乙酸进料量3.2 mol·h^-1,酸醇进料摩尔比为3.1,回流比为3.3,在此优化条件下进行实验,乙醇转化率为88.67%,比基于单因素灵敏度分析法得到的优化工艺条件下乙醇转化率高1.0%.     

Application of response surface methodology and central composite rotatable design for modeling and optimization of a multi-gravity separator for chromite concentration

In this study, the application of response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite rotatable design (CCRD) for modeling and optimization of the influence of some operating variables on the performance of a multi-gravity separator (MGS) for chromite concentration is discussed. Three MGS operating variables, namely drum speed, tilt angle, and wash water flow rate were changed during the concentration tests based on CCRD. The range of values of the MGS variables used in the design were a drum speed of 133-217 rpm, tilt angle of 1.6°-8.4°, and wash water flow rate of 1.3-4.7 lpm. A total of 20 concentration tests were conducted using MGS on chromite ore obtained from Kangal/Eskikoy—Turkey.In order to optimize chromite concentration with MGS, mathematical model equations were derived by computer simulation programming applying least squares method using MATLAB 7.1. These equations that are second-order response functions representing concentrate grade and recovery were expressed as functions of three operating parameters of MGS. Predicted values were found to be in good agreement with experimental values (R² values of 0.96 and 0.98 for concentrate grade and recovery, respectively). In order to gain a better understanding of the three variables for optimal MGS performance, the models were presented as 3-D response surface graphs. This study has shown that the RSM and CCRD could efficiently be applied for the modeling of MGS for chromite concentration and it is an economical way of obtaining the maximum amount of information in a short period of time and with the fewest number of experiments.     

A new enhancement technique on air gap membrane distillation

The most serious concern in the application of air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) configuration is the low permeate flux caused by an additional transport resistance owing to the air gap, by the temperature and concentration polarization and by the surface fouling. This paper presents an innovative design of a low-cost and high efficient membrane module with an advanced enhancement technique in an AGMD configuration, which not only yields a much improved permeate flux but also requires no additional facility for the enhancement. The new module design includes a tangent directional and rotational inlet turbulent flow of hot feed and a partial contact between the membrane and the cooling plate in a small air gap. The concrete structure of the module is introduced in detail in the paper. Using this new module the permeate flux can be obtained up to 119 kg/m²h for tap water when the temperature of the hot and cold water is 77 °C and 12 °C respectively, which is about a 2.5-fold improvement over the traditional AGMD technique at the almost the same conditions. Within the range of our experimental study, the optimum partial contact area ratio is about 75–80%. Mechanistically, the tangent and rotational inlet turbulent flow can accelerate the diffusive process of mass and heat, reduce the boundary layer thickness of temperature and concentration and wash the membrane surface so as to improve the temperature and concentration polarization near the membrane surface and to raise the efficiencies of mass and heat transfer. Because of the partial contact between the membrane and the cooling plate with a large area, the main heat transfer and permeate condensation in the gap both are carried out on the contact area, which is very different from either the common AGMD or DCMD (direct contact membrane distillation) so as to reduce the transport resistance in the gap and thus to raise the permeate flux significantly. The new enhancement technique is also applied for the desalination of 15 wt.% salt water, which shows the similar improvement in permeate flux.     

A new model for mass transfer in direct contact membrane distillation

The mass transfer process in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) for three kinds of membranes was measured. Water fluxes at different temperatures and the membrane distillation coefficients (MDC) for each membrane were obtained directly from experimental data. The fact that the MDC values of membranes with larger pore size increase with temperature indicates that Poiseuille flow plays an important role in the process of mass transfer through the membrane. Based on this conclusion, a three-parameter model, named the Knudsen diffusion-molecular diffusion-Poiseuille flow transition (KMPT) model, was developed to predict MDC and water flux for membrane distillation. The parameters of the KMPT model for each membrane employed in this study, by which MDC at various temperatures can be determined, were evaluated by a nonlinear regression. The values of MDC and water fluxes for each membrane predicted by KMPT model agree well with that obtained directly from the experiment results. A large contribution of Poiseuille flow to mass transfer was observed and can be attributed to the distribution of large pores in the membranes. The KMPT model also provides a method for estimation of the effect pore size using the ratio of the MDCs; the ratio of the Poiseuille flow to molecular diffusion MDC provides the best estimation.     

直接接触式与气隙式膜蒸馏的比较研究

采用模拟计算和实验的方法对直接接触式膜蒸馏 (DCMD)和气隙式膜蒸馏 (AGMD)过程进行了比较研究。模拟计算及实验结果表明 ,AGMD中的气隙构成了过程的主要阻力 ,使得跨膜温差远小于膜两侧流体主体温差 ,这是两种膜蒸馏方式行为差别的主要原因所在。与AGMD相比 ,DCMD不仅膜通量水平高 ,而且膜通量对操作条件反应灵敏 ,易于实施过程的强化。而DCMD的热效率与AGMD相比差距并不太大。     

Using bipolar membrane electrodialysis to synthesize di-quaternary ammonium hydroxide and optimization design by response surface methodology

Bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) has already been described for the preparation of quaternary ammonium hydroxide.However,compared to quaternary ammonium hydroxide,di-quaternary ammonium hydroxide has raised great interest due to its high thermal stability and good oriented performance.In order to synthesize N,N-hexamethylenebis(trimethyl ammonium hydroxide) (HM(OH)2) by EDBM,experiments designed by response surface methodology were carried out on the basis of single-factor experiments.The factors include current density,feed concentration and flow ratio of each compartment (feed compartment:base compartment:acid compartment:buffer compartment).The relationship between current efficiency and the above-mentioned three factors was quantitatively described by a multivariate regression model.According to the results,the feed concentration was the most significant factor and the optimum conditions were as follows:the current efficiency was up to 76.2％ (the hydroxide conversion was over 98.6％),with a current density of 13.15 mA·cm-2,a feed concentration of 0.27 mol· L-1 and a flow ratio of 20 L· h-1∶26 L· h-1 ∶20 L· h-1∶20 L· h-1 for feed compartment,base compartment,acid compartment,and intermediate compartment,respectively.This study demonstrates the optimized parameters of manufacturing HM(OH)2 by direct splitting its halide for industrial application.     

Regeneration of Bombyx mori silk by electrospinning. Part 2. Process optimization and empirical modeling using response surface methodology

The response surface methodology was used to model and optimize the electrospinning parameters for the spinning of regenerated nanoscale silk fibers from domestic silkworm, Bombyx mori. Electric field and silk concentrations were chosen as variables to control fiber diameter at different spinning distances. Fiber diameter was correlated to these variables by using a second order polynomial function. The predicted fiber diameters were in agreement with the experimental results. Response surfaces were constructed to identify the processing window suitable for producing nanoscale fibers.     

新型气隙式膜蒸馏组件脱盐过程

利用基于聚丙烯中空纤维膜和聚丙烯中空纤维换热管的新型能量回收式膜组件(AGMD-HF),以70 g·L^-1的氯化钠溶液为研究对象,考察了膜组件长度和膜孔径大小对膜组件脱盐性能的影响。为直接衡量操作条件、组件参数以及温差、浓差极化现象对传质系数的影响,引入总传质系数,并研究进料温度和膜孔径对总传质系数的影响。实验结果表明,总传质系数随着温度的升高、膜孔径的增大而增大,提高膜孔径可有效提高总传质系数,同时可有效提高通量和造水比。通量随组件长度的增大而减小,而造水比增大,因此在应用过程中可综合考虑通量和造水比以便选择合适的组件长度。     

液隙式热泵膜蒸馏海水淡化系统的热力性能分析

热泵膜蒸馏是一种新型的膜分离技术,在处理高浓度盐水方面具有很大的优势,而目前的热泵膜蒸馏系统存在渗透量较低、冷却水消耗量大等问题。为提高渗透量、减少冷却水的消耗,设计了一种新型液隙式热泵膜蒸馏的海水淡化系统,通过在Aspen Plus中自定义膜模块建立经过实验验证的系统仿真模型,研究了进料液温度、渗透侧温度及进料流量对系统膜通量及能效比等热力参数的影响。结果表明,渗透侧温度降低可引起渗透量增加和能效比减小,且在低渗透侧温度情况下渗透侧温度的改变对能效比影响更大。随着渗透侧温度变化,存在一个渗透侧温度使造水比最大且吨水能耗最小,研究工况下最大造水比可达3.42,最小吨水能耗为463 MJ/t,且该最佳渗透侧温度随进料液温度增加而增加。进料液流量增加可引起渗透量和能效比增加,引起吨水能耗升高和造水比降低,当进料液流量小于3 L/min时,进料液流量增加对吨水能耗和造水比的负面影响较显著,进料液温度为50℃时,料液流量从1.5 L/min增至3 L/min,造水比的降低幅度可达33.5%;料液流量从4.5 L/min增至6 L/min时,造水比的降低幅度降至10.6%。     

Experimental and modeling study for the removal of formic acid through bulk ionic liquid membrane using response surface methodology

Abstract

In this study, formic acid removal from its aqueous solutions through bulk ionic liquid membrane (BILM) was investigated. Tributyl phosphate (TBP) as a carrier in imidazolium-based ionic liquids was used. D-optimal design based on response surface methodology has been applied to investigate the effect of various operating factors. Initial formic acid concentration, TBP concentration, and NaOH concentration were selected as numerical factors, and ionic liquid type was chosen as a categorical factor. The model equations were obtained to determine BILM process behavior. The removal efficiencies, represented by the extraction and stripping efficiencies, were calculated from the experimental data. The highest removal efficiencies were determined at higher concentration values of TBP and NaOH. All ionic liquids studied in this study had good transport selectivity for the removal of formic acid. The design study showed that BILM is an effective method for the removal of formic acid from the water.     

Fabrication and characterization of hydrophobic PVDF hollow fiber membranes for desalination through direct contact membrane distillation

The mixture of inorganic salt LiCl and soluble polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500 as non-solvent additive was introduced to fabricate hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) by phase inversion process, using N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as solvent and tap water as the coagulation medium. Compared with other three membranes from PVDF/DMAc, PVDF/DMAc/LiCl and PVDF/DMAc/PEG 1500 dope solution, it can be observed obviously by scanning electron microscope (SEM) that the membrane spun from PVDF/DMAc/LiCl/PEG 1500 dope had longer finger-like cavities, ultra-thin skins, narrow pore size distribution and porous network sponge-like structure owing to the synergistic effect of LiCl and PEG 1500. Besides, the membrane also exhibited high porosity and good hydrophobicity. During the desalination process of 3.5 wt% sodium chloride solution through direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), the permeate flux achieved 40.5 kg/m² h and the rejection of NaCl maintained 99.99% with the feed solution at 81.8 °C and the cold distillate water at 20.0 °C, this performance is comparable or even higher than most of the previous reports. Furthermore, a 200 h continuously desalination experiment showed that the membrane had stable permeate flux and solute rejection, indicating that the as-spun PVDF hollow fiber membrane may be of great potential to be utilized in the DCMD process.