Radial wetting heterogeneity and its governing role in local cleaning efficiency of hollow fiber membranes

Jiahao Mo; Lu Xiao; Yang Yang; Shiqi Huang; Zhe Yang; Xianhui Li; Zhifeng Yang

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282

Radial wetting heterogeneity and its governing role in local cleaning efficiency of hollow fiber membranes

Jiahao Mo
, Lu Xiao
, Yang Yang
, Shiqi Huang
, Zhe Yang
, Xianhui Li
, Zhifeng Yang

Guangdong University of Technology
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory
University of Science and Technology Liaoning

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Membrane wetting induced by low liquid-surface-tension surfactants is a critical challenge in membrane distillation (MD). In-situ water flushing has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to recover the hydrophobicity of partially wetted membrane. However, the role of local wetting kinetics in cleaning efficiency remains unclear. This study investigated wetting behavior along the radial direction (top side and bottom sides) of hollow fiber membrane during MD operation and cleaning. The results revealed that the wetting progressed more rapidly at the membrane top side than at the bottom side under identical feed temperatures and flow rates. During in-situ water flushing, a critical cleaning depth was identified, beyond which the partially wetted membrane could not be completely recovered. Lower flushing water temperature (<20 °C) and flow velocity (1.5 cm s⁻¹) were found to enhance this cleaning threshold. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and simplified force analysis revealed that heterogeneous temperature distributions governed local wetting and cleaning behavior and allowed theoretical determination of the critical cleaning depth. These findings provide mechanistic insights into local flushing efficiency and support improved long-term stability of MD systems.

Original language	English
Article number	125282
Journal	Journal of Membrane Science
Volume	746
Early online date	16 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282
Publication status	Published - 30 Apr 2026

Data Availability Statement

The authors do not have permission to share data.

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (52270063), Funds for International Cooperation and Exchange of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (W2421076), Basic Science Center Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52388101), and the R&D program of Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2024B1212040004). We would like to thank Analysis and Test Center of Guangdong University of Technology for the test analysis work.

Keywords

Critical cleaning depth
Hollow fiber membrane
Membrane wetting
Radical wetting kinetics
Water flushing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biochemistry
General Materials Science
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Filtration and Separation

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10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282

Cite this

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title = "Radial wetting heterogeneity and its governing role in local cleaning efficiency of hollow fiber membranes",

abstract = "Membrane wetting induced by low liquid-surface-tension surfactants is a critical challenge in membrane distillation (MD). In-situ water flushing has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to recover the hydrophobicity of partially wetted membrane. However, the role of local wetting kinetics in cleaning efficiency remains unclear. This study investigated wetting behavior along the radial direction (top side and bottom sides) of hollow fiber membrane during MD operation and cleaning. The results revealed that the wetting progressed more rapidly at the membrane top side than at the bottom side under identical feed temperatures and flow rates. During in-situ water flushing, a critical cleaning depth was identified, beyond which the partially wetted membrane could not be completely recovered. Lower flushing water temperature (<20 °C) and flow velocity (1.5 cm s−1) were found to enhance this cleaning threshold. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and simplified force analysis revealed that heterogeneous temperature distributions governed local wetting and cleaning behavior and allowed theoretical determination of the critical cleaning depth. These findings provide mechanistic insights into local flushing efficiency and support improved long-term stability of MD systems.",

keywords = "Critical cleaning depth, Hollow fiber membrane, Membrane wetting, Radical wetting kinetics, Water flushing",

author = "Jiahao Mo and Lu Xiao and Yang Yang and Shiqi Huang and Zhe Yang and Xianhui Li and Zhifeng Yang",

year = "2026",

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day = "30",

doi = "10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282",

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volume = "746",

journal = "Journal of Membrane Science",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Radial wetting heterogeneity and its governing role in local cleaning efficiency of hollow fiber membranes

AU - Mo, Jiahao

AU - Xiao, Lu

AU - Yang, Yang

AU - Huang, Shiqi

AU - Yang, Zhe

AU - Li, Xianhui

AU - Yang, Zhifeng

PY - 2026/4/30

Y1 - 2026/4/30

N2 - Membrane wetting induced by low liquid-surface-tension surfactants is a critical challenge in membrane distillation (MD). In-situ water flushing has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to recover the hydrophobicity of partially wetted membrane. However, the role of local wetting kinetics in cleaning efficiency remains unclear. This study investigated wetting behavior along the radial direction (top side and bottom sides) of hollow fiber membrane during MD operation and cleaning. The results revealed that the wetting progressed more rapidly at the membrane top side than at the bottom side under identical feed temperatures and flow rates. During in-situ water flushing, a critical cleaning depth was identified, beyond which the partially wetted membrane could not be completely recovered. Lower flushing water temperature (<20 °C) and flow velocity (1.5 cm s−1) were found to enhance this cleaning threshold. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and simplified force analysis revealed that heterogeneous temperature distributions governed local wetting and cleaning behavior and allowed theoretical determination of the critical cleaning depth. These findings provide mechanistic insights into local flushing efficiency and support improved long-term stability of MD systems.

AB - Membrane wetting induced by low liquid-surface-tension surfactants is a critical challenge in membrane distillation (MD). In-situ water flushing has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to recover the hydrophobicity of partially wetted membrane. However, the role of local wetting kinetics in cleaning efficiency remains unclear. This study investigated wetting behavior along the radial direction (top side and bottom sides) of hollow fiber membrane during MD operation and cleaning. The results revealed that the wetting progressed more rapidly at the membrane top side than at the bottom side under identical feed temperatures and flow rates. During in-situ water flushing, a critical cleaning depth was identified, beyond which the partially wetted membrane could not be completely recovered. Lower flushing water temperature (<20 °C) and flow velocity (1.5 cm s−1) were found to enhance this cleaning threshold. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and simplified force analysis revealed that heterogeneous temperature distributions governed local wetting and cleaning behavior and allowed theoretical determination of the critical cleaning depth. These findings provide mechanistic insights into local flushing efficiency and support improved long-term stability of MD systems.

KW - Critical cleaning depth

KW - Hollow fiber membrane

KW - Membrane wetting

KW - Radical wetting kinetics

KW - Water flushing

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U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282

DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125282

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105030441954

SN - 0376-7388

VL - 746

JO - Journal of Membrane Science

JF - Journal of Membrane Science

M1 - 125282

ER -

Radial wetting heterogeneity and its governing role in local cleaning efficiency of hollow fiber membranes

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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