Abstract

Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising technology for seawater desalination due to the ability to process high-salinity waters and the ability to be driven by low-grade or waste heat. However, practical applications of MD membranes are limited by the low vapor flux and fouling problem. Recently, there is a growing interest in developing novel MD membrane materials with enhanced hydrophobicity to improve the efficiency of desalination performance. Interestingly, the incorporation of nanomaterials for tailoring superhydrophobic properties of MD membranes has attracted enormous attention in MD. Herein, according to the new insights of the available literature data, the current trend for achieving superhydrophobic MD membranes by embedding inorganic nanomaterials is provided. The influence of the inorganic additives on membrane fouling, stability, separation performance, is also discussed. Finally, theoretical principles of MD, the milestones of the evolution of developing superhydrophobic membrane surfaces, and future trends are also given for the new readers in the field.

摘要

膜蒸馏 (MD) 是一种很有前途的海水淡化技术，因为它能够处理高盐度水，并且能够由低品位或废热驱动。然而，MD膜的实际应用受到低蒸气通量和结垢问题的限制。最近，人们对开发具有增强疏水性的新型 MD 膜材料以提高脱盐性能的效率越来越感兴趣。有趣的是，纳米材料的结合用于定制 MD 膜的超疏水特性在 MD 中引起了极大的关注。在此，根据现有文献数据的新见解，提供了通过嵌入无机纳米材料实现超疏水MD膜的当前趋势。无机添加剂对膜污染、稳定性、分离性能，也进行了讨论。最后，还为该领域的新读者提供了MD的理论原理，发展超疏水膜表面发展的里程碑以及未来的趋势。