Enlarged Uses of Membrane Concepts

From the above, many functions may be imagined based on the employment of thin layers selective mass transfer, chemical or biological reaction, fluid distribution or 

Concurrently to these new unit operations based on the use of a local function defined on the thin layer itself, we can also recall many other achievements involving more complex functions attained by coupling membrane materials with other external unit operations of chemical engineering this is the so-called concept of hybridization.  

While membrane technologies will not provide the solution to every problem in the near future, their specific properties and advantages (compactness, modularity, microstructures, improved functionalities, easy control and, most of the time, an isothermal use without requirement for the addition of chemical additives) will allow broader fields of application. The following examples testify to their huge potential, as expected from laboratory experiments, while showing also the root of their unexpected but practical use in present day industrial processes and plants. 

The Need for More Integrated Views on Materials and Process Conditions 

As already underlined, the balance between the limitations induced by the supporting material, on the one side, and the fluid phases flowing along it, on the other side, is the key factor for the overall performance of a membrane operation. 

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