Applications and Assessment for Membrane Distillation
A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications for Water Treatment".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 143
Special Issue Editors
Interests: 2D materials; membrane separations; desalination; membrane distillation; brine reuse; resource recovery
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, “Applications and Assessment for Membrane Distillation”, explores the transformative potential of membrane distillation (MD) in water treatment, desalination, and process intensification. MD is a thermally driven separation process that utilizes temperature-induced phase changes to achieve effective separation, enabling operation at lower pressures while handling high-salinity and challenging feed streams. Despite its numerous advantages, the widespread industrial adoption of MD is hindered by several critical challenges, including process scalability, membrane fouling, and the need for optimized heat and mass transfer mechanisms.
To address these challenges, this Special Issue welcomes original research and review articles across several key thematic areas. A particular emphasis is placed on advancements in membrane material development, encompassing polymeric, ceramic, and nanocomposite membranes with enhanced performance in terms of permeability, selectivity, and fouling resistance. Additionally, contributions focusing on membrane distillation configurations and process optimization—with an emphasis on improving energy efficiency, freshwater recovery, and operational stability—are highly encouraged. Given the increasing importance of sustainable energy integration, this Special Issue also seeks studies exploring the coupling of MD with renewable energy sources, such as solar, geothermal, and waste heat utilization. Research integrating experimental approaches with theoretical insights—including computational fluid dynamics (CFDs), molecular simulations, and machine learning techniques—is particularly valued. Furthermore, the Special Issue highlights the need for robust assessment methodologies to evaluate the feasibility and impact of MD innovations. Submissions incorporating experimental characterization, advanced simulation and modeling, techno-economic assessments, and lifecycle analyses are encouraged to ensure that novel developments are both technologically viable and economically sustainable. Finally, we invite contributions that explore emerging and novel applications of MD, such as industrial wastewater recovery, resource concentration (e.g., extraction of valuable compounds from brines), and its integration into hybrid membrane systems. Given MD’s potential to contribute to sustainable industrial practices, studies that assess its role in circular economy frameworks and environmental impact reduction are particularly relevant.
Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Novel membrane materials and configurations for advanced membrane distillation;
- New methodologies to assess technical hurdles in membrane distillation;
- Strategies to mitigate membrane fouling and temperature polarization;
- Computational modeling of membrane distillation processes;
- Case studies for emerging applications of membrane distillation;
- Environmental and economic aspects of membrane distillation technology.
Dr. Seunghyun Hong
Prof. Dr. Xuan Zhao
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- membrane distillation
- novel membranes
- innovative configuration
- optimal design
- modeling
- assessment
- emerging applications
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