Pilot-Scale Assessment of Solar-Integrated Membrane Distillation for Seawater Desalination

Conventional seawater desalination technologies are energy-intensive, highlighting the need for alternative desalination processes that can utilize renewable energy resources. Although solar-driven membrane distillation (MD) is a promising approach, its long-term performance under Kuwait’s challenging climatic conditions requires further field evaluation. The main aim of this study was to design, construct, and evaluate the technical performance and provide a preliminary capital-cost assessment of a solar-driven MD system under Kuwait’s actual environmental conditions. The optimal operating parameters for the MD system were first identified using deionized water in an electrically heated operating mode. These optimized conditions were then applied to evaluate the MD system’s desalination performance using different saline water sources. The results showed that the water flux was higher with low-salinity feedwater than with the brine sample. Following the initial trials, the MD system was integrated with a solar thermal unit and evaluated during a one-year field trial under Kuwait’s climatic conditions. The system was scheduled to operate for six hours per day, although operation was occasionally interrupted by unfavorable weather conditions and operational limitations. The experimental results demonstrated that the system produced an average of 23.42 L of distilled water per day. These findings highlight the potential of solar-integrated air-gap membrane distillation (AGMD) for small-scale seawater desalination under Kuwait’s climatic conditions. Further investigations are required to assess its scalability, environmental benefits, and socioeconomic feasibility for practical deployment.