NUKLEONIKA 2004, 49(4):137-142
Jaewoo Kim1, Sang Eon Park2, Taek-Soo Kim1, Do-Young Jeong1, Kwang-Hoon Ko1
1 Laboratorium for Quantum Optics, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Dukjin-Dong 150, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon, Korea 305-353,
2 Division of Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Doryong-Dong 1, Yusung-Gu, Daejeon, Korea 305-340
The 18O isotopic water permeation and separation characteristics of a hydrophobic PTFE
membrane using Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) and Vacuum Enhanced Membrane Distillation (VEMD)
were investigated. Permeation fluxes were measured by weighing the collected membrane-permeated water
vapor. 18O/16O of each water sample was analyzed by the Tunable Diode Laser
Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS). We observed the effects of the air filled membrane pores and the
temperature gradient applied to the membrane surfaces on the vapor permeation flux and the oxygen
isotope separation for the first time. For both AGMD and VEMD, the permeation flux and the degree of
18O separation increased as the membrane interfacial temperature gradient increased. Even
though, oxygen isotope separation and the permeation flux for VEMD is slightly higher than AGMD,
the latter may be more efficient from the system’s operational point of view.