Numerically Optimized Thermal Modeling of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

The present study defines the mathematical model, and a numerical study is conducted to get the approximate results using the conservation of mass and energy. These properties are then calculated, and variations in input parameters like membrane properties, flow rate, flow type, Reynolds number, concentration, and climate effect are varied to get optimum results. Various studies have been conducted at TDS of 10 PPT, and we have identified that the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane provides the highest permeate water flux. It is also seen that when the flow changes from laminar to turbulent, at the transition zone, we get the highest permeate water flux, but it keeps on increasing with increased Reynolds number in the turbulent region, but it is not advisable to go beyond the transition phase; otherwise, it will increase the heat loss due to high turbulence eddies formation, and also, we need more power supply to increase Reynolds number; hence further studies are carried out at Reynolds number of 2100. One thing is also observed that a country with a high annual average temperature will produce high permeate water flux.