Leila Fatehi - Department of Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University,Tehran, Iran.
M. Mahdi A. Shirazi - Department of Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University,Tehran, Iran.
Dariush Bastani - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran,
Ali Kargari - Department of Petrochemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Mahshahr Campus, Khuzestan, Iran.

This work focuses on sweeping gas membrane distillation process using flat sheet hydrophobic PTFE membrane in a plate and frame module for desalination of sodium chloride solution. The solution with 10, 25 and 50g/L concentrations used in the experiments. The effects of operatingparameters consist of feed temperature (45, 55 and 65oC), feed flow rate (200, 400 and 600mL/min), sweeping gas flow rate (4, 10 and 16SCFH) and feed concentration on the permeate flux studied. The results show that the feed temperature has major effect on the permeate flux. Increase of the feed concentration caused to reduce the permeate flux due to increase of concentration polarization effect and reduction of vapor pressure difference. Moreover, sweepinggas flow rate can increase the permeate flux due to reduction of vapor pressure in the permeate side.

Sweeping gas membrane distillation, PTFE membrane, desalination, permeate flux,sodium chloride solution