Applications of Membrane Distillation (MD) Technology in Wastewater Treatment: A Mini-Review

Membrane distillation (MD) is gaining attention as a thermal membrane process for treating wastewater streams that are difficult to manage by conventional methods, especially those with high salinity or complex organic composition. In MD system, a vapor pressure difference drives water vapor through a porous hydrophobic membrane, while most non-volatile pollutants remain in the feed. This mini-review examines the use of MD in wastewater treatment by combining a research-trend analysis with a comparison of different wastewater applications. Publication trends and author keyword co-occurrence patterns were analyzed using Scopus records and VOSviewer. A total of ۱,۳۴۱ Scopus-indexed articles and reviews published between ۲۰۱۰ and ۲۰۲۵ were included in the analysis. The analysis shows a clear shift in MD research from conventional desalination toward real wastewater treatment, brine management, resource recovery, and integrated zero liquid discharge systems. The review also considers MD applications in different wastewater including textile wastewater, oily wastewater, produced water, landfill leachate, pharmaceutical wastewater, municipal wastewater, urine wastewater, radioactive wastewater and brine concentrates. The reviewed studies suggest that MD can support water recovery, brine concentration, contaminant retention, nutrient recovery and zero liquid discharge strategies. However, its wider use is still limited by membrane fouling, pore wetting, scaling, flux decline, thermal energy demand and the lack of long-term pilot-scale studies with real wastewater. Recent work highlights the importance of membrane surface modification, omniphobic and Janus membranes, suitable pretreatment, hybrid MD systems, heat recovery and the use of low-grade or waste heat. Overall, MD appears most useful when it is integrated into broader treatment systems designed for water recovery, resource recovery and brine management.

کلیدواژه ها:

Membrane distillation ، Wastewater treatment ، Textile wastewater ، Pharmaceutical wastewater ، municipal wastewater ، urine wastewater