Recent advances in novel membranes for improved anti-wettability in membrane distillation: A mini review

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging water treatment technology that employs a microporous hydrophobic membrane as a physical barrier against liquid feed and utilizes the transmembrane vapor pressure difference as the driving force to propel volatile components transport across the membrane. MD has a great potential in various industrial applications such as desalination, food industry, drug purification, and separation of azeotropic mixtures. Although it has a bright future, the large-scale industrialization of MD is restricted by serious membrane wetting issues. This review illustrates the membrane wetting types, summarizes several wetting detections, discusses the causes of membrane wetting and eventually highlights the development of membrane synthesis for improved anti-wettability.