SOLAR DESALINATION OF BRACKISH WATER USING MEMBRANE DISTILLATION PROCESS

Shortage of fresh water supply in New Mexico and southwestern parts of the U.S. is becoming an increasingly important and challenging problem. The objectives of this research are: evaluating technical and economic feasibility of solar desalination technology based on membrane distillation for New Mexico brackish water; assessing the feasibility of removing trace contaminants including arsenic, fluoride and nitrate from brackish water in the membrane distillation desalination process; developing a cost-effective solar desalination process for New Mexico brackish water using membrane distillation technology; Obtaining process data for process scale up and design for commercial solar desalination plant and recommending membrane distillation solar desalination technology for the State of New Mexico.