In 1752, J. AbbeNollet discovered the phenomenon
of osmosis.
History of membranes
ethanol
Water + ethanol
Semipermeable
membrane
Pig’s bladder
Driving force:
Osmotic pressure
Definition of a membrane
An intervening structure separating two
phases and/or acting as an active or
passive barrier to the transport of matter
between the phases adjacent to it.
SEPARATION CONTACTING
IMMOBILISATION
CONTROLLED RELEASE
Membranes
The heart
Membrane functions
Membrane structures
Symmetric
The structure and
transport properties
are identical over the
entire cross-section
The total thickness
determines the flux
Dialysis and
electrodialysis.
Ultrafiltration (UF)
a selective fractionation process
utilizing pressures up to 145 psi
(10 bar)
concentrate suspended solids
solutes of molecular weight
greater than 1,000
The permeate contains low
molecular-weight organic solutes
and salts
Nanofiltration (NF)
a special process selected when
RO and UF are not the ideal
choice for separation
perform separation applications
(demineralization color removal
desalination )
the permeat contains monovalent
ions and low molecular-weight
organic solutions
Microfiltration (MF)
low pressure cross-flow
membrane process
separating colloidal and
suspended particles
in the range of 0.05-10
microns
used for fermentation
broth clarification biomass
clarification recovery
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
high pressure energy-efficient
technique
dewatering process streams
concentrating low-molecular-
weight substances in solution
(purifying wastewater)
concentrate all dissolved and
suspended solids
permeate contains a very low
concentration of dissolved solids
widely used in the desalination
of seawater
RO
Membrane separations are applied
concentration (removal of a diluting solvent such
as water)
purification (separation of contaminants)
fractionation (resolution into two or more
component substances)
applications of micro-filtration
•cold sterilization of beverages
•clarification of fruit juices, beers and wines
•continuous fermentation
•separation of oil-water emulsions
•wastewater treatment
•beer, milk, whey, brine, etc
MF---cold sterilization
Bactocatch
R
from Tetra Alcross (Pully
Switzerland) www.tetrapak.com
Ceramic
membranes
Applications of ultra-filtration
•concentration of milk
•recovery of whey proteins
•recovery of potato
starch and proteins
•concentration of egg
•clarification of fruit juices
and alcoholic beverages
Wine
clarification
Nearly 1000
systems
installed
wastewater
treatment
UF-Whey protein concentrate manufacture
•removal of micro-pollutants
•water softening
•waste water treatment.
Main application of nano-filtration
Reverse osmosis
Integrated or composite
membranes;
Pore size<2 nm
Pressure 30~60 bar
Solution-diffusion
mechanism
RO
Desalination
Production of ultra
purewater
Concentration of juice
and milk
Application
Equipment of our campus
Plant visit of enzyme mill
Concentration of the enzyme
Advantages
No phase change;
Energy efficient;
A higher quality product;
Environmentally friendly;
Easy to scale-up
Advantages and limitations of
membrane technologies
Limitations
Long-term reliability not
proven;
Excessive pretreatment;
Concentration polarization
and membrane fouling;
Replacement of
membranes;