ABSTRACT
Membrane distillation (MD) has a great potential in treating high salinity industrial wastewater due to its unique characteristics. Nevertheless, the implementation of MD for industrial wastewater reclamation must be conducted with precaution because low surface tension contaminates in feed solutions may easily wet the membranes. In recent years, omniphobic membranes that exhibit strong repellence toward liquids with a wide range of surface tensions have been proposed as a promising solution to deal with the wetting problem. In this chapter, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of omniphobic interfaces and illustrate their fundamental working principles, innovative design approaches, and novel applications on membrane distillation. The review may provide insights in designing stable solid–liquid–vapor interfaces and serve as a guidance for the development of robust antiwetting membranes for industrial wastewater reclamation via membrane distillation.
