Methods for sustainable membrane distillation concentration of hyper saline streams

摘要

A novel method of producing concentrated streams or otherwise useful hypersaline brines from a source of non-potable or otherwise impaired water is provided. The method comprises feeding the source water into the feed side of a membrane distillation unit while simultaneously feeding a distillate stream through the receiving side of the distillation unit. The feed and receiving sides are separated by a hydrophobic, microporous membrane that al-lows water vapor to flux through the membrane to the receiving side. As the membrane be-comes clogged with particulates, the unit can be subjected to stream flow reversal and/or temperature gradient reversal in order to remove those particulates and restore previous vapor flux levels, after which previous operations can be resumed.