Direct contact membrane distillation – a potential technology for treating saline water in Quang Dien and Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the salinization degree of irrigation water in Quang Dien and Phu Vang districts in Winter-Spring crop season and to propose a potential technology to treat saline water on lab-scale. The majority of irrigation water was brackish water (70%) at Quang Phuoc, Quang Loi, and Phu Dien villages with water concentration of up to nearly 7.1‰. For Quang Thai and Phu An villages, the salinization degree is much lower when the percentage of brackish water was from 30% to 40%. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) was implemented to treat 20‰ - 40‰ concentrations of saline water. The experimental results revealed that the freshwater production by DCMD met the requirements of irrigation water when the salinity was under 0.1‰. Additionally, feed inlet temperature was the most effective factor to produce the highest amount of freshwater compared to volume flowrate and feed concentration factors.