Thermoelectric water gap membrane distillation system and process

A distillation apparatus, comprising:

• a hot liquid block having a hot block inlet and a hot block outlet;
• a first thermoelectric module (TEM) and a second TEM, the first and second TEMs adjacent one another to form a TEM stack having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the hot liquid block is adjacent to the first side of the TEM stack;
• a condensation surface having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first side of the condensation surface is adjacent to the second side of the TEM stack;
• a feed liquid chamber having a feed chamber inlet, a feed chamber outlet, and a membrane disposed on at least one side of the feed liquid chamber, wherein one side of the membrane faces to the condensation surface and a gap of 1-200 mm separates the condensation surface and the membrane;
• a permeate outlet in fluid communication with the gap;
• a heating unit in fluid communication with the feed liquid chamber and the hot liquid block;
• and
• a cooling unit in fluid communication with the permeate outlet.