In an example method, first electrical power is generated using one or more solar panels, and a water level rise of a sea is mitigated, at least in part, using a water processing system that is at least partially powered by the first electrical power. Mitigating the water level rise of the sea includes extracting saline water from the sea, desalinating the saline water, directing the desalinated water to one or more turbine generators, generating second electrical power using the one or more turbine generators, and directing the desalinated water from the one or more turbine generators into one or more aquifers. The one or more aquifers are hydraulically isolated from the sea.

A membrane distillation module includes a housing having a hot inlet for receiving a hot feed and a hot outlet for expelling the hot feed; a porous membrane located inside the housing and having an outside surface that defines an enclosure, the outside surface being configured to contact the hot feed, wherein the porous membrane is configured to prevent the hot feed from passing from outside the porous membrane to an inside of the enclosure; and a non-porous conduit located inside the enclosure, the non-porous conduit having an inlet for receiving a cold feed and an outlet for expelling the cold feed.

A dehydration method is a dehydration method for selectively separating water from a mixture that contains water, and the method includes a step of supplying the mixture to a supply side space of a zeolite membrane having an ERI structure, and a step of making a pressure difference between the supply side space and a permeation side space of the zeolite membrane having an ERI structure.

Systems and methods using membrane distillation are provided for desalinating water, for example for the production of potable water, to address freshwater requirements. In an aspect the systems and methods do not require applying an external heat source, or the energy cost of the heating source, to heat the feed stream to the membrane. In an aspect, the sensible heat present in surface seawater is used for the heat energy for the warm stream fed to the membrane, and deep seawater is used as the cold/coolant feed to the membrane to provide the needed temperature gradient or differential across the membrane.

The invention relates to a multistage membrane distillation apparatus (5000), comprising a plurality of multistage membrane distillation modules (500, 600), the modules being configured to be flowed through in parallel by a liquid (F) to be concentrated. Each module comprises a plurality of serial condensation/evaporation stages (50, 60) configured to be flowed through in series by the liquid to be concentrated. Each condensation/evaporation stage comprises a plurality of parallel condensation/evaporation elements (101, 102) configured to be flowed through in parallel by the liquid to be concentrated. Each condensation/evaporation element comprises at least one condensation unit and at least one evaporation unit. The apparatus further comprises at least one of: a centralized heating stage configured to generate steam and to provide the steam to each of the modules in parallel, and a centralized condensation stage configured to receive steam from each of the modules in parallel and to condensate the steam.

The invention relates to a distillation apparatus for producing water for injection, comprising: at least one membrane distillation module (500, 600), the module being configured to be flowed through by a liquid to be concentrated, wherein: the module (500, 600) comprises at least one condensation/evaporation stage (50, 60), the condensation/evaporation stage (50, 60) comprises at least one condensation/evaporation element (101, 102), and the condensation/evaporation element comprises at least one condensation unit (101) and at least one evaporation unit (102), the apparatus further comprising: a heating stage (300) configured to generate steam and to provide the steam to the at least one condensation/evaporation stage (50, 60) of the at least one module, and a droplet elimination device (320) comprising a membrane (321) configured to separate droplets from the steam generated by the heating stage.

The invention relates to a modular flow system having a plurality of frame elements (101, 102) configured to be combined together to form a stack for forming a functional member such as in particular a membrane distillation stage, a vapor generator, a condenser, a heat exchanger, a filter and/or a pervaporation stage, wherein the frame elements (101, 102) each include: an outer frame (39) and an inner frame (43), the inner frame (43) encasing a central inner region (40) and being surrounded by the outer frame (39), at least one first passage opening (13 to 16) arranged between the outer frame (39) and the inner frame (43) and separated from the central inner region (40) by a frame wall on a first and/or opposite second frame side of the inner frame (43), and at least one liquid passage (45, 46) provided by the frame wall and configured to distribute a liquid from the first passage opening (13) to a feeding area (40′) and/or to collect a liquid from the feeding area (40) to the first passage opening (16a, 16b)), the feeding area (40′) being aligned with the central inner region (40) but being outside and/or in front of the inner frame (43), wherein the liquid passage extends asymmetrically and/or discontinuously along the first and/or second frame side.

The present disclosure relates to a method for treating a solvent in wastewater generated in a polycarbonate production process. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method for treating a solvent in wastewater generated in a polycarbonate production process, which can easily recover a high purity solvent regardless of the concentration of the solvent by using a membrane distillation method to reuse it, and contribute to energy savings.

A desalination apparatus is disclosed which comprises: a first tank for storing seawater to be desalinated; a second tank comprising a hydrophobic membrane desalination module operable to absorb only fresh water vapors and reject salt components when the seawater is heated to a first predetermined temperature that changes the seawater into the fresh water vapors, and wherein the hydrophobic membrane desalination module is configured to continuously allow the distilled fresh water to make contact with the fresh water vapors within its interior hollow volume; and a third tank, in fluid communication with the second tank, configured to cause the fresh water vapors from the hydrophobic membrane desalination module to be condensed into liquid fresh water by continuously allowing the fresh water vapors to make contact with a coolant water at a second temperature.

Fluorinated polyazoles, porous membranes made therefrom, methods of making the porous membrane, and methods of using the porous membrane for purifying water, are described. For example, the present disclosure describes fluorinated polyoxadiazoles and polytriazoles that are capable of fabricating flat sheet, hollow fiber, and electrospun porous membranes are described.