Osmotically driven separation using a draw solution, attractive at low salinity. Research-stage; EngiMetric models none of it.
- Research
- Not quantitatively modeled
Membrane Distillation MD
Vapour transport through a hydrophobic membrane, driven by a vapour pressure difference. Research-stage; not modeled.
Overview
Vapour transport through a hydrophobic membrane, driven by a vapour pressure difference. Research-stage; not modeled.
How it works
Separation mechanism and feed window. Tolerant of salinity, but prone to wetting and to organic and biofouling.
What the process produces. Very high quality distillate, as with thermal processes.
Energy. Low-grade heat. Attractive where waste heat is available.
Process sequence
Where this technology normally sits in a treatment train. The steps either side of it are documented in the Library as separate entries.
- Warm brine
- Hydrophobic membrane
- Cold permeate side
- Condensate collection
Typical applications
- Wastewater reuse research
- Brine concentration
- Desalination at low temperature difference
Main equipment
- MD module stack
- Heating loop
- Cooling loop
- Feed management
Key design parameters
The parameters an engineer actually sets, and why each one drives the design. EngiMetric does not assume any of them.
| Parameter | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Temperature difference | Sets the vapour flux. |
| Membrane pore size and wettability | Wetting destroys the process. |
| Flux | Currently far below RO. |
Advantages
- Can reject well above RO rejection.
- Runs at low temperature.
Limitations
- Flux and wetting remain limiting.
- Thermal losses erode the low-energy advantage.
Engineering considerations
- EngiMetric has no MD engine and claims no MD performance figures.
Status and EngiMetric support
Industry maturity and commercial status describe the technology itself. EngiMetric support and quantitative modeling describe what this platform does with it — and those two are read from the engineering registry at build time, so they cannot drift from the code.
- Engineering maturity
- Research How established the technology is in the industry. Not an EngiMetric claim.
- Commercial status
- Research Where the technology sits in the market. Not an EngiMetric claim.
- EngiMetric support
- Research No execution-registry entry exists, so no support is claimed.
- Design engine
- No Whether the Plant Designer can carry this as a configured process step.
- Quantitative modeling
- Not quantitatively modeled No engine exists, so EngiMetric states no figure for this technology.
Not quantitatively modeled. EngiMetric publishes no energy, recovery, flux, capacity or cost figure for this technology. Every quantitative statement on this page comes from your own inputs or from an external source, never from a calculation on this platform.
Because no EngiMetric engine exists for Membrane Distillation, this page deliberately contains no calculated figures. Any energy, recovery, flux or capacity value you need must come from a supplier, a published plant or your own analysis.