Performance study of transport membrane condenser using condensate water to recover water and heat from flue gas

Transport membrane condenser (TMC) is an effective equipment for water and heat recovery from flue gas exhausted by coal-fired power plants. Characteristic of cooling water source for TMC is crucial to design and performance of the device. Due to the high water quality and relatively large water flow rate, the condensate water from the unit condenser is a suitable water source. However, the water flow rate in related research ex-ceeds the range of condensate water flow rate, and the results cannot be applied in this condition. Thus, we established a numerical model for performance study of TMC. The condensate water from the condenser of a 600 MW coal-fired power unit is adopted. The effects of structural and operating parameters on the performance of TMC are investigated, and the technical and economic analysis is conducted. Results show that series connection of membrane modules is more suitable than parallel connection for engineering applications. Moreover, the number of transverse rows should be larger than 60 by comprehensively considering heat and water recovery performance and flow resistance. Due to the high benefit of recovered heat, the maximum payback period is 1.68 years. This study provides theoretical support for the engineering application of TMC using condensate water as the cooling water source.