You are on page 1of 3

ABSTRACT

The experiment of membrane separation was conducted to separate chemical


substances in various sizes from microscopic to molecular level which is the
separation of dissolved solutes from saline water. Membrane separation processes
are rate governed process where not only of relative quantity of substance separated
but also the rate at which the separation is taking place. The objective of the
experiment is to study the characteristic on the four different membranes which are
reverse osmosis (RO), nano filtration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF) and also micro
filtration(MF) membranes. Besides, the objectives are to calculate the composition of
solid salt at product for each membranes to be compare and to plot the graph of the
permeate weight versus time to observe the different of separation rate for four
membranes. This experiment is operated separately for each membrane because of
the different pressure requires for membrane 1, 2, 3, and 4 which are 18bar, 12 bar,
10 bar, and 8.5 bar respectively. The experiment was conducted completely and
successfully.

INTRODUCTION

Membrane separations are based on solid, semi-permeable barriers, through


which apart of the material is led. Each component in a mixture has different
permeability, which depends on the molecular size, pore sizes in the membrane and
chemical characters of the components and the membrane and their interactions.
Components that flow easily through the membrane are enriched on one side and
the remaining components on the other side of the membrane. Material that has
passed the membrane is called permeate, and the remaining material is called as
retentate. Retentate thus remains on the same side of the membrane as the feed.

The separated stream can be liquid or gas. In most cases the same phase is on
both sides of the membrane, but not always. Membrane separation is a technique
that is used in science and industry to separate substances from a mixture by filtering
that mixture through a porous membrane. The substance being filtered can be either
a liquid or a gas. Membrane separation has many practical applications, including
water filtration and the creation of concentrated solutions. Membrane processes
cover a group of separation processes in which the characteristics of a membrane
are used to separate the components of a solution or a suspension.
AIMS/OBJECTIVES

To study a characteristic on four different types of membrane.

THEORY

The term membrane most commonly refers to a thin, film-like structure that
separates two fluids. It acts as a selective barrier, allowing some particles or
chemicals to pass through, but not others. In some cases, especially in anatomy,
membrane may refer to a thin film that is primarily a separating structure rather than
a selective barrier.

A membrane is a selective barrier that permits the separation of certain species


in a fluid by combination of sieving and sorption diffusion mechanism. Separation is
achieved by selectively passing (permeating) one or more components of a stream
through the membrane while retarding the passage of one or more other components

Membrane processes are characterized by the fact that a feed stream is divided
into 2 streams: retentate and permeate. The retentate is that part of the feed
that does not pass through the membrane, while the permeate is that part of the feed
that does pass through the membrane. The optional "sweep" is a gas or liquid that is
used to help remove the permeate. The component(s) of interest in membrane
separation is known as the solute. The solute can be retained on the membrane and
removed in the retentate or passed through the membrane in the permeate.

A membrane is a layer of material which serves as a selective barrier between


two phases and remains impermeable to specific particles, molecules, or substances
when exposed to the action of a driving force. Some components are allowed passage
by the membrane into a permeate stream, whereas others are retained by it and
accumulate in the retentate stream.
Some advantages of membrane separation are less energy-intensive, since they
do not require major phase changes, do not demand adsorbents or solvents, which
may be expensive or difficult to handle and the equipment simplicity and modularity,
which facilitates the incorporation of more efficient membranes. The particular
advantage of membrane separation processes is that it operate without heating and
thus are energetically usually lower than conventional thermal separation processes
(distillation, Sublimation or crystallization). This separation process is purely physical and,
thanks to its gentle separation, the use of both fractions (permeate and retentate) is
possible.

You might also like