A numerical analysis of the electromagnetic field effect on direct contact membrane distillation performance

[Display omitted] •Analytical model integrated with CFD model is developed for EMF-DCMD process.•EMF would eliminate the need for increasing the feed velocity to promote turbulence.•EMF promoted the feed turbulence that significantly improved DCMD performance.•DCMD Electro-thermo-fluid model is successfully developed and validated experimentally.•EMF depicted a significant impact on the feed turbulence and a slight thermal impact. Using an advanced CFD model, this study attempts to determine how electromagnetic field (EMF) affects the performance of the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. The influence of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the permeate flow, evaporation efficiency (EE), and temperature polarization coefficient (TPC) of the DCMD process are studied using a thorough theoretical model linked with a CFD model. Experiments conducted in-house with and without the EMF influence are used to verify the CFD model. High magnetic potency propagates the turbulence in the feed channel, hence boosting the driving force and transport phenomena for vapor transport to the permeate side. Permeate flux increased by 30%, and EE increased by 15% when the magnetic field strength was raised from 0 to 0.5 T, particularly at a lower intake feed velocity (0.02 m/s) and temperature of 333.05 K. In contrast, with the same magnetic potency (0.5 T) at a higher velocity at an input feed temperature, there is less improvement in EE (5%) and permeate flux (12%) due to the elevated turbulence intensity at high feed velocity. This research contributes to studies aimed at elucidating how electromagnetic fields affect separation processes such as MD, opening the door for more tuning and use of the fascinating phenomenon.