Development and Characterization of Low-Cost Flat Sheet Ceramic Membranes for Water Desalination by Membrane Distillation

This thesis is concerned with the development and characterization of low-cost flat sheet ceramic membranes for water desalination by membrane distillation. The research covers the beneficiation and characterization of kaolin clay and metakaolin grafted membranes with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFAS). In addition, state-of-the-art research findings on solar-powered membrane technologies for water purification are presented and discussed. The outcomes are presented in three parts. In the first part, a detailed literature review on solar powered membrane technology is presented in a publication entitled: 'Solar assisted membrane technology for water purification: A review' Shortage of safe drinking water is one of the main leading problems in the world. Even in high-income countries where household water treatment systems are present, safe drinking water may not be always available due to the limitations of advanced separation technologies and high energy costs. On the other hand, many urban and rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia situated in semi-arid to arid regions are without reliable access to safe drinking water. It is, therefore, important to explore how solar energy can be coupled/integrated with water treatment systems for clean water production. Membrane-based advanced separation technologies play a major role in water purification by utilization of low-cost heat sources such as low-grade waste heat, geothermal energy, and solar energy to make the process technically viable and economically attractive for small/medium/large-scale water treatment applications. Solar energy can be a viable source of power for water purification facilities in the coming years. Photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors are appropriate solar energy collectors for making a solar-powered water treatment system. Solar-assisted membrane-based water purification techniques could hold a viable solution to the existing problems in semi-arid and arid regions. Due to the high quality necessary for potable water, studies have been carried out on solar-assisted membrane-based technologies in water purification. This review considers basic concepts, specific energy consumption, water production cost, and applications of solar-driven membrane-based water purification technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis (FO), electrodialysis (ED), membrane distillation (MD), and hybrid membrane systems (HMS). This review will allow re