Isotopic water separation using AGMD and VEMD

The 18O isotopic water permeation and separation characteristics of a hydrophobic PTFE membrane using Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) and Vacuum Enhanced Membrane Distillation (VEMD) were investigated. Permeation fluxes were measured by weighing the collected membrane-permeated water vapor. 18O/16O of each water sample was analyzed by the Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS). We observed the effects of the air filled membrane pores and the temperature gradient applied to the membrane surfaces on the vapor permeation flux and the oxygen isotope separation for the first time. For both AGMD and VEMD, the permeation flux and the degree of 18O separation increased as the membrane interfacial temperature gradient increased. Even though, oxygen isotope separation and the permeation flux for VEMD is slightly higher than AGMD, the latter may be more efficient from the system's operational point of view.