Wire-wrapped and helically-finned tubular ceramic membranes for enhancing water and waste heat recovery from wet flue gas

Recycling water and waste heat from wet flue gas is crucial for sustainable energy-water-environment nexus in industrial processes. Herein, we report the use of wire-wrapped and helically-finned tubular ceramic membranes to construct membrane condensers for simultaneous water and heat recovery. Compared with conventional plain tubular ceramic membrane (PTCM), wire-wrapped tubular ceramic membrane (WTCM) and helically-finned tubular ceramic membrane (FTCM) both exhibit superior water and heat recovery performance, indicating a non-negligible effect of chaotic fluid mixing on heat and mass transfer enhancement. FTCM shows better condensate capture performance than WTCM. Moreover, improved condensing heat transfer performances are observed on FTCMs provided with large fin height and pitch. FTCM provides higher heat transfer coefficients than PTCM at around 7.4% to 59.3% depending on different fin structures. Effects of operation parameters on membrane condensation process using FTCM are also investigated. Gas-side parameters have significant effects on water/heat recovery performance than water-side parameters. This study can serve as a basis for process intensification of membrane-based condensation used for flue gas dehumidification.

Automated summary

This study reports the use of wire-wrapped and helically-finned tubular ceramic membranes for simultaneous water and heat recovery. The new membranes show superior performance compared to traditional plain tubular ceramic membranes, indicating the significant effect of chaotic fluid mixing on heat and mass transfer enhancement. The study also investigates the effects of different parameters on the membrane condensation process using helically-finned tubular ceramic membranes.