A membrane distillation apparatus includes a housing and an impeller. The housing includes a hot medium compartment, a cold medium compartment, a permeate gap compartment, a membrane, and a thermally conductive plate. The hot medium compartment includes a hot medium inlet configured to receive a hot medium stream including water. The cold medium compartment includes a cold medium inlet configured to receive a cold medium stream. The membrane defines pores that are sized to allow water vapor originating from the hot medium stream to pass from the hot medium compartment through the membrane to the permeate gap compartment. The thermally conductive plate and the cold medium stream are cooperatively configured to condense the water vapor from the hot medium stream. The permeate gap compartment includes a permeate outlet configured to discharge the condensed water vapor. The impeller is disposed within the permeate gap compartment.

The invention is a modular, flexible, thermal, insulating, multilayered enclosure utilizing membrane distillation technology. The enclosure has a heat conducting layer, an insulation layer, and a layer of hydrophobic, polymeric hollow fiber membranes between the insulation layer and conductive layer. The enclosure is wrapped around a heat exhaust to absorb and transfer heat to the hollow fiber membranes to facilitate membrane distillation enabling production of potable water.

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus that uses a brine from a well that is used to both generate electricity and recover valuable minerals present in the brine. The method and apparatus uses a hydrophobic membrane to separate water vapor from the brine to concentrate the brine that is then used to recover the minerals.

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 afunctional 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), passage openings (13 to 16) and vapor and/or liquid channels (17, 18) arranged between the outer frame (39) and the inner frame (43), wherein at least one of the vapor and/or liquid channels (17, 18) comprises at least one internal strut member (48) extending between the inner frame (43) and the outer frame (39).

A method of purifying an organic solvent is provided. The method includes introducing an organic solvent into a membrane distillation system. The membrane distillation system includes a perfluorodioxole membrane. The method includes performing a distillation technique with the membrane distillation system using the perfluorodioxole membrane to treat and purify the organic solvent.

The present disclosure describes a desalination system, comprising a membrane distillation unit; a preheater having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, the outlet being in communication with the inlet; an evaporator in communication with the liquid outlet of the MD, and having a fluid inlet configured to provide heat to aqueous liquid in the evaporator, the evaporator having a vapor outlet; at least one adsorption-desorption unit, having a vapor inlet in communication with the vapor outlet of the evaporator, the AD including a fluid inlet configured to receive either a heating or a cooling fluid and a fluid outlet, the AD having a vapor outlet and further including a fluid inlet in communication with the fluid inlet of the AD, a fluid outlet in communication with the heating fluid inlet of the preheater; and a condenser in communication with the permeate vapor outlet of the MD or the AD or both and having a condensation outlet.

The present invention relates to an olefins-paraffins separation process in feed stream containing hydrocarbons with 2 to 4 carbon atoms by facilitated transport membrane specific to olefins, comprising the following step: a. feeding the feed stream containing hydrocarbons with 2 to 4 carbon atoms into distillation column and at least 1 stage of membrane unit connected to distillation column at the feed of distillation column and at least 1 stage of membrane unit connected to the side draw of distillation column; and b. separating a portion of feed stream that is passed from the membrane unit, at least 1 stream is the product stream that mostly comprising olefins and at least 1 stream that mostly comprising paraffins.

Provided is a membrane distillation module 100 comprising a membrane distillation membrane cartridge 10 and a membrane distillation housing 20, wherein: the membrane cartridge 10 comprises a membrane anchoring part 12 in which porous membranes 11 are anchored by anchoring resin; the housing 20 comprises a housing body 30 and a housing lid 40; the membrane distillation module 100 comprises a support part 60 where the outer surface of the membrane anchoring part 12 is supported by the inner surface of the housing 20 with a seal member 50 interposed therebetween; and a value C in the cross section of the support part 60 is at least 30° C. as represented by the following formula, where d.sub.F is the equivalent circular diameter (mm) of the outer circumference of the membrane anchoring part 12, k.sub.F is the linear expansion coefficient (1/° C.) of the anchoring resin, d.sub.E is the equivalent circular diameter (mm) of the inner circumference of the housing 20; and k.sub.E is the linear expansion coefficient (1/° C.) of a portion where the housing 20 contacts the seal member 50.

A feedstock solution flow concentration system, which has a first step for counterflowing or parallel flowing a feedstock solution flow a containing a solute and a solvent b, and a draw solution flow d via a forward osmosis membrane o and transferring the solvent b in the feedstock solution flow a to the draw solution flow d to obtain a concentrated feedstock solution flow c, which is the feedstock solution flow which has been concentrated, and a diluted draw solution flow e, which is the draw solution flow which has been diluted.

The present disclosure relates to a method for determining the necessity of an action and/or a success of an action involving water, especially drinking water, process water or waste water, including steps as follows: providing a retentate of a water filter present in a water conveying line, analyzing the retentate regarding at least one property and/or its chemical composition, and determining the necessity or success of the action and, in given cases, deriving the action from the analysis. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a system including a means for providing the retentate of a water filter in a water conveying line and a measuring/analytical means for performing the analysis.