Hollow fiber membranes with different external corrugated surfaces for desalination by membrane distillation

Abstract

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) hollow fiber membranes were prepared using the phase inversion spinning technique under a wet gap mode. Different corrugated outer surfaces were obtained by means of a micro-engineered spinneret, spraying the external coagulant on the nascent fiber along gap, and different spinning parameters, namely, the gap distance and the external coagulant flow rate. A quantitative evaluation ofthe corrugation size and shape was carried out by electron scanning microscopy and atomic forcemicroscopy. The effect ofthe corrugation size and shape on the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) performance has been studied. The corrugated outer surface acted as micro-turbulence promoters mitigating the temperature polarization effect and enhanced the external effective surface area for condensation. Both factors improved the DCMD permeability of the hollow fiber membranes. However, corrugations with V-shaped valleys depths greater than about 30 m did not always improve the DCMD permeate flux. It was found that the membrane prepared with the spray wetting mode exhibited the best desalination performance. The salt rejection factor of all prepared hollow fiber membranes was greater than 99.9% and the highest DCMD permeate flux of this study was greater than those reported so far for the PVDF-HFP hollow fiber membranes.