Polymer Film Heat Transfer Surfaces in Seawater Desalination: Fouling Layer Formation and Technology

The emerging polyether ether ketone (PEEK) films were evaluated as future heat exchanger materials in seawater thermal desalination processes. Fouling resistance curves were measured in a pilot plant for pure PEEK films, talcum-filled PEEK films, and stainless-steel films with artificial seawater, showing that pure PEEK films have the advantage of weaker forces of adhesion or cohesion between the scaling materials and the film surface. Increasing the flow rate from 18 to 24 L min^?1 results in decreases of both the fouling rate and the asymptotic values. This was attributed to the lower polarity of 10.4 %, the lower arithmetic average roughness of 0.06 μm, and the homogeneous topography of the PEEK film. This polymer film is adaptable to in situ cleaning in thermal seawater desalination processes.