Membrane Technology

Membrane separation is a technology which

selectively separates materials via pores and/or
minute gaps in the molecular arrangement of a
continuous structure.
 Membrane Technology
th  QUICK HISTORY
18 century First evidences of membrane
technology

th th
19 to early 20 century Only used in laboratory scales to
develop physical and chemical
theories

Not being used for industrial and

commercial purposes
1980’s Reliable,
efficient,
low-cost,
 Membrane Technology
APPLICATIONS
1. Food and dairy industry
2. Waste streams treatment
3. Separation of milk fraction
4. Concentrating of protein
5. Recover protein from brine used in washed
cheese manufacturing
6. Defatting skimmed milk and whey streams
7. Partial Demineralization of whey
 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
1. Micro-porous membrane
2. Homogeneous membrane
3. Electrically charged membrane
4. Assymetric membrane
5. Liquid membrane
 Emulsion Liquid Membrane (ELM)

 Immobilized Liquid Membrane (ILM)

 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
1. Micro-porous membrane
-made up of materials like ceramics,
graphite, metal oxides and polymers
-works like a fibre filter and separates by
sieving mechanism
-In structure and function, microporous
membranes are similar to conventional filters,
however, the pore size is very small compared to
 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
2. Homogeneous membrane
-dense membranes through which molecules
pass by pressure, concentration or electrical
potential gradient
-used to separate the chemical species of
similar size and diffusivity when their concentation
difference is significant
 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
3. Electrically charged membrane
-consists of highly swollen gels which carry
fixed positive or negative charges.
-their main potential is in electrodialysis
 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
4. Assymetric membrane
-consists of two parts; thin skin layer (0.1-1.0
micron), highly porous (100-200 micron)
-the thin layer acts as a separator and its
separation characteristics depends on the
membrane material and its pore size
-porous sub layer has a little impact on
separation. Its main purpose is to give support to
 Membrane Technology
TYPES OF MEMBRANE
5. Liquid membrane
-utilize the carrier to transport the
components selectively like metal ions “at
relatively high rates across the membrane
interface”

 Emulsion Liquid Membrane (ELM)

 Immobilized Liquid Membrane (ILM)
MEMBRANE MATERIALS
 BY: ANALOU PALARION
 MEMBRANE
MATERIALS
 Polymeric Membranes
 Non-polymeric Membranes
 Hybrid Membranes
 Bipolar Membranes
POLYMERIC Natural Polymers occur in nature and
MEMBRANE can be extracted.
S Example:
(ORGANIC MEMBRANES)  Wood
 Proteins
 Cellulose
Natural Synthetic polymers are derived from
Polymers petroleum oil, and made by scientists
and engineers.
Synthetic Example:
Polymers  Nylon
 Polyethelene
 PolytetrafluoroethyleneTeflo
n
POLYMERI
Inorganic membranes refer to
C membranes made of materials such
as ceramic, carbon, silica, zeolite,
MEMBRAN various oxides (alumina and zirconia)
ES and metals such as palladium, silver and
their alloys. Inorganic
Membranes
INORGANIC
Dense / Non-
MEMBRANES Porous Inorganic
Porous
Membranes
Membranes
LIQUID
MEMBRANES Example:
Metal Zeollites
 Carbon Ceramic
POLYMERI
Liquid membranes are literally
C membranes made of liquid. It consists of a
liquid phase existing either in supported or
MEMBRAN unsupported form that serves as a membrane
ES barrier between two phases of aqueous
solutions or gas mixture.

INORGANIC
MEMBRANES
LIQUID
MEMBRANES
HYBRID Mixed matrix membranes (MMM)
MEMBRAN essentially comprise molecular sieving materials
(such as zeolite or CMS - carbon molecular
ES sieves) embedded (dispersed) in a polymer
matrix.

MIXED
MATRIX
MEMBRANES

Mixed matric hollow fiber membrane with zeolite as inorganic

particle phase and polyimide as polymeric continuous phase.
BIPOLAR Bipolar membranes are composed of two
MEMBRAN distinct layers which are selective to ions of
opposite charges. Because of this unique
ES characteristics, bipolar membranes are able
to electrically separate water into hydrogen
ANION- and hydroxyl ions.
EXCHANGE
MEMBRANE

CATION-
EXCHANGE
MEMBRANE
MEMBRANE SEPARATION
MODELS
Two basic models for mass transfer through
the membrane will be considered:

the hydrodynamic model for porous membranes;

the solution-diffusion model for dense
membranes.
In the framework of porous membranes
the mass transport mechanism is model
as a pure convective motion of
molecules across the membrane due to
a superimposed pressure gradient.
In the solution-diffusion model, the pressure
within the membrane is constant at the high-
pressure value (pr), and the gradient in
chemical potential across the membrane is
expressed as a smooth gradient in solvent
activity (𝛾S𝜒S).
Membrane Shapes and
Modules
Ralph Vincent J. Agustin
Samuel Gotardo
• Membrane separation consists of different process operating on a variety of
physical principles and applicable to a wide range of separations of miscible
components
• These methods yield only a more concentrated liquid stream than feed.
Membrane separation processes have several advantages.
These include :
1) Low energy alternative to evaporation in concentrating a dilute feed,
particularly when the desired material is thermally labile or when the
desired component is a clear liquid
2) The chemical and mechanical stresses on the product are minimal and
since no phase change is involve the energy requirement is modest
3) Product concentration and purification can be achieved in a single step
and the selectivity towards the desired product is good
4) The method can easily be scaled up
Industrial Membrane Modules
• Industrial membrane plants often require hundreds to thousands of
square metres of membrane to perform the separation required on a
useful scale. There are several ways to economically and efficiently
package membranes to provide a large surface area for effective
separation.
These packages are called membrane
modules. The most important were:
• Plate and frame
• Tubular
• Spiral-wound
• Hollow fiber
Plate-and-Frame Modules
• The plate-and-frame modules were one of the earliest types of
membrane system, but because of their relatively high cost they have
been largely replaced in most applications by spiral-wound modules
and hollow-fiber modules. Plate and Frame membrane systems utilize
membranes laid on top of a plate-like structure, which in turn is held
together by a frame-like support. Flat sheet membranes are bolted
together with a frame around the perimeter; similar to a heat
exchanger or filter press. There are two types of plate and frame
membrane configurations; dead-end and cross flow. In dead-end
plate and frame systems, the feed solution flows perpendicular into
the membrane, while cross flow systems are made so that the flow is
tangential to the membrane wall.
 How it works
• Because the flow is perpendicular to the membrane, dead-end plate and frame
membrane separation works through a process called cake filtration. Cake filtration
starts when the feed solution passes through the filter plates and creates a buildup
of solids on the filter surface. This buildup, or cake layer, reduces the effective pore
size opening of the filter and helps improve the filtration of the feed solution.
For cross flow plate and frame membrane systems, fouling of the membrane is
significantly less because the flow is tangential and does not require use of the cake
filtration system. It works on the basic principles of cross flow where feed enters on
one side of the plated membrane and concentrate collects on the other end of the
plate. Permeate travels through the membrane and collects on the inside of the
supporting plate.
Common applications for plate & frame configurations include cosmetics
production, electro dialysis, in a limited number of reverse osmosis and
ultrafiltration and specialty high solids food and beverage applications.
• Disadvantages
• Low packing density is one major problem for plate and frame membrane
systems. Low efficiency compared to other configurations, and high pressure drop,
are other problems that plague plate and frame systems as well. For dead end
systems, buildup is much greater than cross-flow systems and therefore efficiency
is much less.
Irreversible damage is also a common problem because of the constant buildup
on the membrane surface.
In addition, plate and frames are difficult and expensive to clean and maintain.
Entire racks must be disassembled for replacement and the cost per square meter
can be very high.
• Advantages
• A couple main advantages of plate and frame membrane systems include solids
being able to be easily separated from water and easy removal/cleaning of filter
surfaces. Certain cross flow plate and frame systems allow the plate and frame to
be rotated, allowing more shearing forces and fouling reduction. Plate and frame
filters also do not have any feed spacers which reduces the potential for fouling
and they can typically handle high solids concentrations
Spiral-wound modules
• Industrial-scale modules contain several membrane envelopes, each
with an area of 1 to 2 m2, wrapped around the central collection pipe.
Multi-envelope designs minimise the pressure drop encountered by
the permeate travelling toward the central pipe. The standard
industrial spiral-wound module is 8-inch in diameter and 40-inch
long.
• The module is placed inside a tubular pressure vessel. The feed
solution passes across the membrane surface, and a portion of the
feed permeates into the membrane envelope, where it spirals
towards the centre and exits through the collection tube
• 4 to 6 spiral-wound membrane modules are normally connected in
series inside a single pressure vessel. A typical 8-inch diameter tube
containing 6 modules has 100 to 200 m2 of membrane area. An
example of a membrane tube with 2 modules
How it works

• Feed travels through the flow channels tangentially across the length
of the element. Filtrate smaller than the molecular weight cut-off will
then pass across the membrane surface into the permeate spacer,
where it is carried down the permeate spacer towards the permeate
tube. The remainder of the feed then becomes concentrated at the
end of the element body.
• Disadvantages
• Spiral element fouling is greater than fouling in tubular filtration processes. Due
to the high packing density, total suspended solids (TSS) must be reduced to a
minimum (<5mg/L) in the feed stream to prevent plugging of the membrane.
Spiral elements also cannot handle mechanical cleaning like tubular elements
and contain lower packing density than hollow fiber.
• Advantages
• Spiral-wound elements come in multiple configurations with different spacers,
membrane types, lengths, and diameters that allow it to be used in a wide
variety of applications. These elements have a very high packing density,
surpassing the packing density of plate and frame, tubular, and capillary
configurations. Spiral membranes also allow for easy cleaning through cleaning
in place (CIP). Additionally, spiral-wound elements offer the best value per
membrane area, smallest footprint, robust design which prevents membrane
breakage (compared to hollow fiber) and has relatively low capital and
operating costs.
Tubular Modules
• These modules are now generally limited to ultrafiltration
applications, for which the benefit of resistance to membrane fouling
outweighs the high cost. Tubular membranes contains as many as 5 to
7 smaller tubes, each 0.5 to 1.0 cm in diameter, nested inside a single
larger tube. In a typical tubular membrane system, a large number of
tubes are manifolded in series. The permeate is removed from each
tube and sent to a permeate collection header.
How it works

• Tubular modules consist of a minimum of two tubes; the inner tube,

called the membrane tube, and the outer tube, which is the shell. The
feed stream goes across the length of the membrane tube and is
filtered out into the outer shell while concentrate collects at the
opposite end of the membrane tube. They are commonly used for
applications such as oily wastewater treatment, MBR and other high
solids processes.
• Disadvantages
• Low packing density and large size are disadvantages of tubular modules.
Packing density of tubular modules is higher than plate and frame systems
but lower than capillary, hollow fiber, and spiral wound elements. Because of
the large inner diameter of the tubular modules, flow requirements are
higher than those of other system configurations. The capital and operating
costs (pump energy) for tubular membranes tends to be very high, along with
the requirements for larger footprints for capital equipment.
• Advantages
• Tubular systems have less fouling compared to plate and frame systems, and
a similar amount of fouling when compared to spiral and capillary. Tubular
systems allow for robust cleaning methods such as the use of harsh
chemicals, backwash, and even mechanical cleaning which might not be
available for other system configurations. They can handle the highest solids
and emulsified oil load compared to many other membrane types and can be
physically cleaned with sponge balls.
Hollow-fibre Modules
• Hollow-fibre modules are characteristically 4-8 inch (10-20 cm) in
diameter and 3-5 (1.0-1.6 m) feet long. Hollow-fibre units are almost
always run with the feed stream on the outside of the fibre. Water
passes through the membrane into the inside or "lumen" of the fibre.
A number of hollow-fibres are collected together and "potted" in an
epoxy resin at both ends and installed into an outer shell.
How it works

• Hollow fiber filtration works on the same principle as tubular and

capillary configurations but utilizes a small tube diameter which
allows for flexibility. Common applications for hollow fiber
membranes include MBR, RO pretreatment, Industrial
water/wastewater, juice processing, and biotech applications.
• Disadvantages
• Irreversible fouling and fiber breakage are the main problems concerning
hollow fiber filtration. Because of the flexibility of the fibers, they are
more likely to break when under high strain compared to other methods
of filtration such as tubular or spiral wound elements. Hollow fiber
membranes tend to have moderate capital costs, but high operating
costs compared to other configurations.
Advantages
• Hollow fiber membranes feature a very high packing density because of
the small strand diameter. Because of the flexibility of the strands,
certain filter configurations are possible that cannot be achieved in other
filtration configurations. They can also be backflushed from the permeate
side and air scoured, and can process feed streams with high total
suspended solids (TSS).
Factor affecting the separation processes
• 2 factors affect the selectivity and the flux or permeation rate
through the membrane severely affecting the overall performance of
the separation process.
• These include :
i) concentration polarization at the membrane surface (short term or
reversible)
ii) fouling of the membrane (long term & irreversible)
• 1. Concentration polarization : The non-permeating species is carried
towards the membrane by the convective flux of the feed but the
species remains on the upstream side. Its concentration increases
gradually at the membrane surface and ultimately become greater
than its concentration in the bulk liquid thereby setting up
concentration polarization at the membrane surface. It sets in also
due to different rates of transport of various species
• Fouling is irreversible and necessitates the replacement of the
membrane. It can inhibited by
a) Careful selection of membrane material (eq: hydrophilic surface is less
prone to fouling by proteins)
b) pretreatment of feed (such as pH adjustment or precipitation to
remove salt)
c) frequent cleaning of the membrane with chemicals and back flushing
permeate with The problems associated with concentration polarization
and fouling is overcome by cross-flow filtration instead of the
conventional dead-end filtration.
Modules of Membrane Separation
Goal for the designs
• Maximizing surface area of separation in a minimal volume.
Plate and frame Modules
• Parallel plates of
membrane arranged
in parallel.
Tubular Modules
• Separation membrane
composes the tube at
which the feed is fed
through.
Spiral Wound Modules
• Multilayer membrane
covering a permeable
pipe.
• Liquid flows from the
outside to the inside.
Hollow-fibre Modules
• Tubular module but
in reverse and uses
finer tubes (hollow-
fibre) to use in
separation.
 Classification of
Membrane Processes
• REVERSE OSMOSIS
• ULTRAFILTRATION
• MICROFILTRATION
• NANOFILTRATION
Reverse Osmosis
 Draws solvent through membranes from high TDS solutions
such as seawater, brackish water, industrial effluent,
fermentation broth and other sources.
Vant Hoff’s Equation
𝜋 = 𝐶𝑅𝑇𝑖
𝜋 = Osmotic Pressure
C = Molar concentration of the solute, mol/L
R = Universal Gas Constant, L*atm/mol*K
 T = Absolute temperature, K

 Pore size for RO membrane is around 1Ǻ (1E-10 meters)

 Separation mechanism: Solution Diffusion
 Pore or Inter-Molecular: < 5Ǻ
Raoults-Lewis Correlation
−ln 𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝜋 = 𝑅𝑇
𝑉𝑜
𝜋 = Osmotic Pressure
a = solvent activity interms of chemical potential
 Vo = molar volume of solvent, L/mol
R = Universal Gas Constant, L*atm/mol*K
 T = Absolute temperature, K
Types of RO membranes
Requirement
 Cellulosic
• Must be freely permeable to solvent
 Fully AROMATIC
POLYAMIDE • Highly impermeable to solutes

 Thin Film • Can withstand high operating pressures

Composite • Tolerant to wide ranges of pH and
Temperature
• Resistant to chemical attack/biological
attack
• Resistant to scaling and fouling by
contaminants
 Cellulosic Membranes  Casting a thin film
Info: acetone-based solution
 First commercial RO membrane of cellusose acetate (CA)
 Cheap polymer.
 Easy to manufacture
 Undergo degradation at 35 ˚C above and
attacked by bacteria.
 Poorly reject low molecular weight
contaminants
 Susceptible to hydrolysis
 Limited pH use (3-5 and 6-8)
 Aromatic polyamide Membranes
Info:
 Better resistance to hydrolysis and biological
attack than cellulosic membranes
 Better salt rejection than cellulosic
membranes
 pH range 4-11
 Withstand high temperatures than cellulosic
membranes
 Better rejection of water soluble organics
 Thin film composite Membranes
Info:
 Made by forming a thin, solute rejecting
surface film on top of a porous substructure.
Applications

 Desalination of brackish water

 Treatment of wastewater to remove impurities

 Treatment of surface and ground water

 Concentration of foodstuff

 Removal of alcohol from beer and wine

NANOFILTRATION
 Used most often with low TDS
solvent and removal of
disinfection by-product precursors
such as natural organic matter and
synthetic organic matter.

 Separation mechanism: Size

Exclusion

 Pore or Inter-Molecular: < 20 Ǻ

Applications of Nanofiltration
 Food and Dairy industry

 Chemical processing

 Pulp and paper industry

 Textiles

 Fresh, process and waste waters.

 Species Range of Dimensions (nm)
1 Ǻ = 1E-10 m = 0.1 nm
Yeast and Fungi 1000 – 10000

Bacteria 300 – 10000

Oil Emulsions 100 – 10000

Colloidal Solids 100 – 1000

Viruses 30 – 300

Proteins/Polysaccharides (MW 10^4 – 10^6) 2 – 10

Enzymes (MW 10^4 – 10^5) 2–5

Common Antibiotics (MW 300 – 1000) 0.6 – 1.2

Organic Molecules (MW 30 - 500) 0.3 – 0.8

Inorganic Ions (MW 10 – 100) 0.2 – 0.4

Water (MW = 18) 0.2

MICRO AND ULTRA FILTRATION
 MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY

• The principle of micro filtration and ultra filtration is physical separation. The
extent to which dissolved solids, turbidity and microorganisms are removed is
determined by the size of the pores in the membranes. Substances that are
larger than the pores in the membranes are fully removed. Substances that are
smaller than the pores of the membranes are partially removed, depending on
the construction of a refuse layer on the membrane.
• Micro filtration and ultra filtration are pressure-dependent processes, which
remove dissolved solids and other substances from water to a lesser extend
than Nano filtration and Reverse Osmosis.
 PENTAIR FLOW-X
MICROFILTER MEMBRANE
 MICRO FILTRATION

• Membranes with a pore size of 0.1 – 10 µm perform micro filtration.

Microfiltration membranes remove all bacteria. Only part of the viral
contamination is caught up in the process, even though viruses are smaller than
the pores of a micro filtration membrane. This is because viruses can attach
themselves to bacterial biofilm.
• Micro filtration can be implemented in many different water treatment
processes when particles with a diameter greater than 0.1 mm is need to be
removed from a liquid.
 APPLICATIONS

• · Cold sterilization of beverages and pharmaceuticals

· Clearing of fruit juice, wines and beer
· Separation of bacteria from water (biological wastewater treatment)
· Effluent treatment
· Separation of oil/ water emulsions
· Pre-treatment of water for Nano filtration or Reverse Osmosis
· Solid-liquid separation for pharmacies or food industries
ULTRAFILTER MEMBRANE
 ULTRAFILTRATION

• For complete removal of viruses, ultra filtration is required. The pores of ultra
filtration membranes can remove particles of 0.001 – 0.1 µm from fluids.
• Ultrafiltration (UF) is a membrane filtration process similar to Reverse
Osmosis, using hydrostatic pressure to force water through a semi-permeable
membrane. The pore size of the ultrafiltration membrane is usually 103 - 106
Daltons. Ultrafiltration (UF) is a pressure-driven barrier to suspended solids,
bacteria, viruses, endotoxins and other pathogens to produce water with very
high purity and low silt density.
 APPLICATIONS

• · The dairy industry (milk, cheese)

· The food industry (proteins)
· The metal industry (oil/ water emulsions separation, paint treatment)
· The textile industry
· The pharmaceutical industry
FLOW TYPE
 CROSS FLOW FILTRATION

• where the fluid is passed through tangentially with respect to the

membrane. Part of the feed stream containing the treated liquid is collected
below the filter while parts of the water are passed through the membrane
untreated. Cross flow filtration is understood to be a unit operation rather
than a process.
 DEAD-END FILTRATION

• all of the process fluid flows and all particles larger than the pore sizes of the
membrane are stopped at its surface. All of the feed water is treated at once
subject to cake formation. This process is mostly used for batch or semi
continuous filtration of low concentrated solutions
 MEMBRANE
ARRANGEMENTS
 TUBULAR MODULES

• The tubular module design uses polymeric membranes cast on the inside of
plastic or porous paper components with diameters typically in the range of 5
– 25 mm with lengths from 0.6 - 6.4 m. Multiple tubes are housed in a PVC or
steel shell. The feed of the module is passed through the tubes, accommodating
radial transfer of permeate to the shell side. This design allows for easy
cleaning however the main drawback is its low permeability, high volume hold-
up within the membrane and low packing density.
 HOLLOW FIBER

• This design is conceptually similar to the tubular module with a shell and tube
arrangement. A single module can consist of 50 to thousands of hollow fibres
and therefore are self-supporting unlike the tubular design. The diameter of
each fibre ranges from 0.2 – 3 mm with the feed flowing in the tube and the
product permeate collected radially on the outside. The advantage of having
self-supporting membranes as is the ease at which it can be cleaned due to its
ability to be backflushed. Replacement costs however are high, as one faulty
fibre will require the whole bundle to be replaced. Considering the tubes are
of small diameter, using this design also makes the system prone to blockage.
 SPIRAL-WOUND MODULES

• Are composed of a combination of flat membrane sheets separated by a thin

meshed spacer material which serves as a porous plastic screen support. These
sheets are rolled around a central perforated tube and fitted into a tubular
steel pressure vessel casing. The feed solution passes over the membrane
surface and the permeate spirals into the central collection tube. Spiral-wound
modules are a compact and cheap alternative in ultrafiltration design, offer a
high volumetric throughput and can also be easily cleaned. However it is
limited by the thin channels where feed solutions with suspended solids can
result in partial blockage of the membrane pores
 PLATE AND FRAME

• This uses a membrane placed on a flat plate separated by a mesh like material.
The feed is passed through the system from which permeate is separated and
collected from the edge of the plate. Channel length can range from 10 –
60 cm and channel heights from 0.5 – 1 mm.This module provides low volume
hold-up, relatively easy replacement of the membrane and the ability to feed
viscous solutions because of the low channel height, unique to this particular
design.
WHAT C AN THEY REMOVE