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BFI: Membrane Distillation and Heat Exchanger Testing: Installation, Preliminary Results, and Future Plans

The development of the modules is progressing steadily. Initial testing and further optimisations are planned to enhance the functionality.

The membrane distillation (MD) for water recovery has been successfully delivered by EvCon at BFI. After installation, the system underwent initial testing demonstrating its operational capabilities. A training session was conducted to ensure proper handling, maintenance and understanding of the MD system. During the training the unit was tested and demonstrated. The focus of the next steps includes laboratory trials to evaluate fouling and scaling behaviour and the impact of different water types to ensure the efficiency and performance of the unit. The unit will be tested with demineralized water, salt water as a reference and water from industrial partner sites to produce distilled water.

In parallel, the planning of the heat exchanger tests is underway and will be tested for scaling and fouling behaviour. The approach will involve using plate heat exchanger and experimental designs are being finalizes. One of the primary goals is the investigation of fouling by using plate cutouts made from the same material as the heat exchanger plates. This will be done with and without integrating ultrasound technology, to evaluate its impact on reducing deposits and improving long-term performance. Furthermore, the heat transfer rate will be determined by temperature measurements and flow characteristics (flow rate and pressure lost) with and without the integration of ultrasound to determine whether ultrasound can improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger.

VDEH-Betriebsforschungsinstitut (BFI), January 2025

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