On transport resistances in direct contact membrane distillation

In this work a direct contact membrane distillation system is studied. The usual description of the polarization effects on flux using the temperature and concentration polarization coefficients is completed with the introduction of the transport resistances. The analysis in terms of these resistances facilitates the interpretation of the role played by each heat and mass transfer step of the overall process on the flux control. In addition the resistances facilitate the discussion of the dependence of flux on the membrane and module characteristics and operating conditions. Different experimental systems have been studied using the resistance analysis. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.