Membrane technology industrial applications

Since membrane integration in power plants is a relatively recent area of research and development, a wide range of plant designs have been proposed for each membrane technology and application. Note that the lack of industrial installations and comparative economic analyses makes it difficult to define reference process layouts. Therefore, the following sections will consider most of the designs assessed in the open literature, highlighting the differences proposed by the various researchers. 

Until now, very little attention has been given to PLA as a membrane for industrial applications. Research in this direction could provide some insight into the potential of PLA membranes. Finally, combinations of various technologies such as nanobiocomposites, multilayer biostructures, and biocoatings show promise for producing high-barrier biobased polymeric membranes for long-term shelf life applications. 

Z. Amjad, ed.. Reverse Osmosis Membrane Technology, Water Chemistry and Industrial Applications, Van Nostrand Reiohold, New York, 1993. 

Membrane-based separation techniques constitute nowadays well-established process methods for industrial treatments of fluids. Like SMB, membrane-based separations can be performed in continuous mode. In the field of preparative-scale enan-tiodiscrimination, much effort has been invested in this subject due its high potential [154, 155]. (Chapter 5 of this book is devoted to the subject, and further discusses the advantages and applications of membrane technologies.)... 

Early examples of the industrial application of this process (e.g. in the 1970s, General Electric [2] used first-generation ion-exchange membranes and SPE technologies) were not successful, mainly because of stability and activity/performance problems with the GDE. 

This concept later evolved into the Ucarsep membrane made of a layer of nonsintered ceramic oxide (including Zr02) deposited on a porous carbon or ceramic support, which was patented by Union Carbide in 1973 (Trulson and Litz 1973). Apparently, the prospects for a significant industrial development of these membranes were at the time rather limited. In 1978, Union Carbide sold to SPEC the worldwide licence for these membranes, except for a number of applications in the textile industry in the U.S. At that time, SPEC recognized the potential of inorganic membranes, but declassification of the inorganic membrane technology it had itself developed for uranium enrichment was not possible. 

Pervaporation has become one of the standard membrane technologies with a large number of realized industrial applications. Pervaporation is used for the dehydration of organic compounds, the separation of organic compounds from aqueous solu-... 

Wang, L.K. Cheryan, M. Application of Membrane Technology in Food Industry for Cleaner Production. The Second International Conference on Waste Minimization and Cleaner Production. United Nations Industrial Development Organization Vienna, Austria, 1995 Technical Report No. DTT-8-6-95, 42 pp. 

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. 

Six developed and a number of developing and yet-to-be-developed industrial membrane technologies are discussed in this book. In addition, sections are included describing the use of membranes in medical applications such as the artificial kidney, blood oxygenation, and controlled drug delivery devices. The status of all of these processes is summarized in Table 1.1. 

B.R. Breslau, P.H. Larsen, B.A. Milnes and S.L. Waugh, The Application of Ultrafiltration Technology in the Food Processing Industry, The 1988 Sixth Annual Membrane Technology/Planning Conference, Cambridge, MA (November, 1988). 

M. Cheryan and F.R. Alvarez, Food and Beverage Industry Applications, in Membrane Separation Technology Principles and Applications, R.D. Noble and S.A. Stem (eds), Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, pp. 415-460 (1995). 

My introduction to membranes was as a graduate student in 1963. At that time membrane permeation was a sub-study of materials science. What is now called membrane technology did not exist, nor did any large industrial applications of membranes. Since then, sales of membranes and membrane equipment have increased more than 100-fold and several tens of millions of square meters of membrane are produced each year—a membrane industry has been created. 

This membrane industry is very fragmented. Industrial applications are divided into six main sub-groups reverse osmosis ultrafiltration microfiltration gas separation pervaporation and electrodialysis. Medical applications are divided into three more artificial kidneys blood oxygenators and controlled release pharmaceuticals. Few companies are involved in more than one sub-group of the industry. Because of these divisions it is difficult to obtain an overview of membrane science and technology this book is an attempt to give such an overview. 

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