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.

Provided herein is a universally applicable biofouling mitigation technology using acoustically excited encapsulated microbubbles that disrupt biofilm or biofilm formation. For example, a method of reducing biofilm formation or removing biofilm in a membrane filtration system is provided in which a feed solution comprising encapsulated microbubbles is provided to the membrane under conditions that allow the encapsulated microbubbles to embed in a biofilm. Sonication of the embedded, encapsulated microbubbles disrupts the biofilm. Thus, provided herein is a membrane filtration system for performing the methods and encapsulated microbubbles specifically selected for binding to extracellular polymeric substances (EFS) in a biofilm.

A humidifier comprises hollow shell and humidifier core. The humidifier core includes a transfer sheet, a plurality of first channels, and a plurality of second channels. The transfer sheet comprises a permeable material having a plurality of sections and a plurality of layers of spacing materials. The plurality of first channels are configured to allow air flow in a first direction and to prevent airflow in a second direction that is different from the first direction. The plurality of second channels are configured to allow air flow in the second direction and to prevent airflow in the first direction. The humidifier comprises a stack of alternating first channels and second channels, and the first channels are configured to transfer liquid from air flowing in at least one of the first channels to air flowing in at least one of the second channels. The humidifier is suitable for use in fuel cell stack.

The present disclosure to an apparatus for membrane distillation using a solar absorber and a heat pump, in which in the implementation of a membrane distillation process for producing treated water using a temperature difference between raw water and a coolant, raw water is heated using the solar absorber with improved heat collection efficiency, and through this, the treated water production efficiency of the membrane distillation process is improved.

The present disclosure to an apparatus for membrane distillation using a solar absorber and a heat pump, in which in the implementation of a membrane distillation process for producing treated water using a temperature difference between raw water and a coolant, raw water is heated using the solar absorber with improved heat collection efficiency, and through this, the treated water production efficiency of the membrane distillation process is improved.

A solar distillation device includes a feed water chamber having an open interior feed water compartment and a feed water inlet to the feed water compartment. A distillate chamber has a top and sides and an open interior distillate compartment, and a distillate water outlet in liquid communication with the distillate compartment. The top, the rear wall, and the sides of the distillate chamber includes a solar radiation transmissive portion. A distillation membrane separates the feed water compartment from the distillate compartment, and has a feed water facing surface and a distillate facing surface. The membrane can include a porous hydrophobic material, and the distillate surface of the distillation membrane can be black. The transmissive portion allows solar radiation to pass through the top, the rear wall, and the sides of the distillate chamber and strike the distillation membrane.

The invention provides a water-alcohol separation system and a method for water-alcohol separation for producing a high purity alcohol while achieving energy saving as the whole process. Namely, a water-alcohol separation system including plural separation membrane modules connected in series, a vacuum apparatus for reducing a pressure at a permeated side of each of the separation membrane modules, and a condenser for condensing a vapor that has passed through a membrane, in which plural independent vacuum systems reduce the pressure at the permeated side of the membrane of the separation membrane modules.

A humidifier comprises hollow shell and humidifier core. The humidifier core includes a transfer sheet, a plurality of first channels, and a plurality of second channels. The transfer sheet comprises a permeable material having a plurality of sections and a plurality of layers of spacing materials. The plurality of first channels are configured to allow air flow in a first direction and to prevent airflow in a second direction that is different from the first direction. The plurality of second channels are configured to allow air flow in the second direction and to prevent airflow in the first direction. The humidifier comprises a stack of alternating first channels and second channels, and the first channels are configured to transfer liquid from air flowing in at least one of the first channels to air flowing in at least one of the second channels. The humidifier is suitable for use in fuel cell stack.

This document describes systems and methods for treating and recovering water from feed solutions using a membrane module that has a plurality of hollow fiber membranes encapsulated in a collection chamber and an expansion chamber that is connected to the outlet of the membrane module.

Various examples are related to smart membranes for monitoring membrane based process such as, e.g., membrane distillation processes. In one example, a membrane, includes a porous surface and a plurality of sensors (e.g., temperature, flow and/or impedance sensors) mounted on the porous surface. In another example, a membrane distillation (MD) process includes the membrane. Processing circuitry can be configured to monitor outputs of the plurality of sensors. The monitored outputs can be used to determine membrane degradation, membrane fouling, or to provide an indication of membrane replacement or cleaning. The sensors can also provide temperatures or temperature differentials across the porous surface, which can be used to improve modeling or control the MD process.