Ablagerungsbildung und ihre Minderung in der Membrandestillation zur Konzentrierung von Meerwasser Fouling and its Mitigation in Membrane Distillation for Seawater Brine Concentration

Membrane distillation is considered a promising process for concentrating highly saline waters, particularly brine from seawater desalination plants or saline wastewater from industrial processes as part of the Zero Liquid Discharge strategy. A major challenge is crystallization fouling on the membrane surface. In this study, a process model was coupled with geochemical software to investigate local temperatures and concentrations as well as the local saturation indices of various salts in a large-scale membrane module during seawater brine concentration. Results from a laboratory-scale membrane distillation system show that the formation of calcium sulfate, following the deposition of calcium carbonate, leads to a significant decline in permeate flux. The use of antiscalants shifts crystallization fouling to higher concentration factors.