Membrane processes industrial separations

S.A. Stern, Industrial Applications of Membrane Processes The Separation of Gas Mixtures, in Membrane Processes for Industry, Proceedings of the Symposium, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, AL, pp. 196-217 (1966). 

Following this success, Generon, now a division of MG Industries, introduced a membrane process to separate nitrogen from air. The first-generation mem-... 

Membranes for industrial separation processes can be classified into the follow-ing groups according to the driving force that causes the flow of the permeant through the membrane. 

The fourth fully developed membrane process is electrodialysis, in which charged membranes are used to separate ions from aqueous solutions under the driving force of an electrical potential difference. The process utilizes an electrodialysis stack, built on the plate-and-frame principle, containing several hundred individual cells formed by a pair of anion- and cation-exchange membranes. The principal current appHcation of electrodialysis is the desalting of brackish groundwater. However, industrial use of the process in the food industry, for example to deionize cheese whey, is growing, as is its use in poUution-control appHcations. 

The individual membrane filtration processes are defined chiefly by pore size although there is some overlap. The smallest membrane pore size is used in reverse osmosis (0.0005—0.002 microns), followed by nanofiltration (0.001—0.01 microns), ultrafHtration (0.002—0.1 microns), and microfiltration (0.1—1.0 microns). Electro dialysis uses electric current to transport ionic species across a membrane. Micro- and ultrafHtration rely on pore size for material separation, reverse osmosis on pore size and diffusion, and electro dialysis on diffusion. Separation efficiency does not reach 100% for any of these membrane processes. For example, when used to desalinate—soften water for industrial processes, the concentrated salt stream (reject) from reverse osmosis can be 20% of the total flow. These concentrated, yet stiH dilute streams, may require additional treatment or special disposal methods. 

Industrial membrane processes may be classified according to the size range of materials that they are to separate and the driving force used in separation. There is always a degree of arbitrariness about such classifications, and the distinctions that are typically drawn. Table 16.1 presents classification of membrane separation processes for liquid systems. 

Hafez A, Khedr M, Gadallah H (2007) Wastewater treatment and water reuse of food processing industries. Part II Techno-economic study of a membrane separation technique. Desalination 214 261-272... 

Adsorptive separation is a powerful technology in industrial separations. In many cases, adsorption is the only technology available to separate products from industrial process streams when other conventional separation tools fail, such as distillation, absorption, membrane, crystallization and extraction. Itis also demonstrated that zeolites are unique as an adsorbent in adsorptive separation processes. This is because zeolites are crystalline soUds that are composed of many framework structures. Zeolites also have uniform pore openings, ion exchange abiUty and a variety of chemical compositions and crystal particle sizes. With the features mentioned, the degree of zeoUte adsorption is almost infinite. It is also noted that because of the unique characteristics of zeoHtes, such as various pore openings, chemical compositions and structures, many adsorption mechanisms are in existence and are practiced commercially. 

Polymer membranes are the most common commercial membranes for separations [1]. They have proven to operate successfully in many gas and liquid separations. For example, polymer membrane-based gas separation processes have undergone a major evolution since the introduction of the first polymer membrane-based industrial hydrogen separation process about two decades ago. The... 

This book provides a general introduction to membrane science and technology. Chapters 2 to 4 cover membrane science, that is, topics that are basic to all membrane processes, such as transport mechanisms, membrane preparation, and boundary layer effects. The next six chapters cover the industrial membrane separation processes, which represent the heart of current membrane technology. Carrier facilitated transport is covered next, followed by a chapter reviewing the medical applications of membranes. The book closes with a chapter that describes various minor or yet-to-be-developed membrane processes, including membrane reactors, membrane contactors and piezodialysis. 

Table 1.1 shows two developing industrial membrane separation processes gas separation with polymer membranes (Chapter 8) and pervaporation (Chapter 9). Gas separation with membranes is the more advanced of the two techniques at least 20 companies worldwide offer industrial, membrane-based gas separation systems for a variety of applications. Only a handful of companies currently offer industrial pervaporation systems. In gas separation, a gas mixture at an elevated pressure is passed across the surface of a membrane that is selectively permeable to one component of the feed mixture the membrane permeate is enriched in this species. The basic process is illustrated in Figure 1.4. Major current applications... 

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