Fabrication of polymeric membranes for membrane distillation process and application for wastewater treatment: Critical review

Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven membrane separation process in which only vapor molecules can be transferred through hydrophobic membrane. Significant efforts have been made with MD membrane especially for seawater desalination, but its application is expanded quickly for wastewater treatment and reuse. Membrane performance in MD process varies strongly depending upon the intrinsic properties of membrane materials. This paper provides critical reviews on MD membrane focusing on fabrication methods and membrane materials as well as its applications for wastewater treatment and reuse. To achieve high effluent quality for wastewater reuse purposes, the MD process is integrated with membrane bioreactor (MBR) although both organic and inorganic fouling are the main issues to be resolved in hybrid MD system.