High-performance desalination of high-salinity reverse osmosis brine by direct contact membrane distillation using superhydrophobic membranes

In this study, the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) with a superhydrophobic membrane (SM-DCMD) herein was designed and applied to desalinate RO brine, showing excellent performance in desalinating high salinity. The superhydrophobic membrane with good resistance to pore wetting and fouling was prepared by coating silica nanospheres onto a porous glass fiber substrate and subsequent fluorination. It maintained a stable flux (31.27 LMH at feed temperate of 80°C) and outstanding salt rejection (~100%) even in the presence of natural organic matter (NOM, a typical organic foulant) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, a typical wetting agent with low surface tension). During handling practical reverse osmosis brine, such SM-DCMD system presented excellent performances in terms of a stable flux of 23.70 LMH and salt rejection efficiency of >99% over 24 h continuous operations. The relevant COD and color removal efficiency kept a constant value of 100%. These overall findings indicate that the SM-DCMD is a hopeful candidate for desalinating practical RO brine with high performance.