Isothermal and non-isothermal water transport in porous membranes. I. The power balance

A quantitative study of water transport through porous, unselective membranes of various types is presented. Effects produced by hydraulic pressure are compared with those due to a transmembrane temperature gradient. p]The quantities directly determined for five types of porous partitions of different structure are: hydraulic permeability, thermoosmotic permeability, activation energies of both these transport processes and thermal pressure. Experiments have been systematically conducted at temperatures from +20°C to +60°C. From the experimental data, thermohydraulic conductivity, thermal conductivity, heat of transport, ratio of conductive to convective heat fluxes and thermodynamic efficiency of the transport process have been calculated. Each of these quantities is expressed in terms of specific physical properties of system's components. p]These findings provide deeper insight in the fundamental physico-chemical aspects of thermodialysis, and open at the same time promising perspectives of practical applications for this process of direct transformation of thermal into mechanical (and electrochemical) energy.