Membrane filtration

Water and Wastewater Engineering

(ECE4453)
NAME: 1) GONG WEE JIE Group 1 ID:SCM-023815
2 ) A S FA N DYA R K H A N N I A Z I ID: SCM-027033
3 ) W O N G KA I J U N ID: SCM-023701
S U P E RV I S O R: I R K E N N E T H
DAT E : 0 3 / 0 5 / 2 0 1 7
 Membrane filtration
principles
membrane is a thin layer of semi-permeable material that separates certain
species in a fluid by a combination of sieving and diffusion mechanisms
 Mechanism of mass transfer
through the membrane

Solution-diffusion model
transport occurs only by diffusion (Charge,
concentration, temperature gradient)
Separated by chemical potential

Hydrodynamic model
Transported through pores
Separated by pressure
 Transport mechanism through
membrane

Figure 1: transport through porous membrane

Figure 1 (a)- Bulk flow through pores. Pore diameter is large molecular
diameter and pressure difference exist.
Figure 1 (b)- Selective diffusion through pores. Chemical-potential,
concentration difference exist
Figure 1 (c)- Restricted diffusion- separate the smallest component
Flow regime
 Dead-end filtration Cross flow mode

Mode of Feed is pumped perpendicularly Feed is pump across

operation onto the membrane the membrane
surface tangentially

Process Operate in batches to relieve the Continuous process

mode concentrated species

advantage High collection rate Limits build up of solid

Applicatio Beverage industry (sterile Food industry (Dairy)

n filtration)
 Membrane material and structure
Organic- Cellulose, polyamides (PA), polyvinyl dine fluoride
(PVDF), polypropylene (PP).
Dense membranes are used for RO, porous membranes for
pressure based filtration
 Membrane properties
Membrane polarity- membrane charge should be neutral to
prevent fouling and to improve permeability
Mechanical strength- bursting pressure
Chemical resistance- solvent compatibility
Thermal resistance
Pore size
 Parameter on separation efficiency
Solute shape and size- Able to pass through pores

Hydrophobic interaction, charge and polarity- Small charged molecules

enter membrane pores and block smaller pores

Viscosity- high viscosity the mass transfer decreases and pressure drop
increases
 Membrane configuration (Spiral-wound)

Spiral sheets of materials assembled into layers and

rolled around a central permeate tube
 Tubular configuration

retentate streams flow through the inside of the tubes with the
permeate collected in the outer shell.
Used for high solid content wastewater
 Hollow fiber
Configuration
retentate streams flow through the inside of the many
tubes with the permeate collected inside the hollow fibre
 Plate and frame
membrane
membranes are manufactured into sheets and placed
between plates which form channels for permeate and
retentate streams
 Types of membrane
filtration
Micro filtration
Ultra filtration
Nano filtration
Reverse osmosis
 Micro filtration
Separation process using membrane with a pore size of
0.03 micron to 10 microns. (1 micron = 0.0001
millimeter)
The process requires low feed water operating pressure
100-400 kPa and has a molecular weight cut of (MWCO)
of greater then 1000,000 Dalton's
 Micro filtration
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
 Ultra filtration
Is used in conjunction with micro filtration membrane to remove the
organic substances not removed by micro filtration
The process uses a membrane with size of 0.002-0.1 micron
The process requires low feed water operating pressure 200-700 kPa
and has a molecular weight cut of (MWCO) of approximately then
10,000 to 100,000 Daltons
 Ultra filtration
application
Removal of pathogens from milk
Process and waste water treatment
Enzyme recovery
Fruit juice concentration and clarification
Dialysisand other blood treatments
Desalting and solvent-exchange of proteins (via
diafiltration)
 Nano filtration
Is a relatively recent membrane process
The membrane used in the process has a nominal size of
0.001 micron
Pushing water through these small pores require higher
pressure then micro and ultra filtration
The operating pressure is usually near 600 kPa and can rise
as high as 1000 kPa
They are sometimes also called softening membranes
because they remove hardness from water
This process can eliminate almost all bacteria, cyst and
viruses
 Application
Removal of tar components in feed in oil and petroleum
industry
In terms of medicine, able to extract amino acids and
lipids from blood and other cell culture
 Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a process where pressure is applied
on a concentrated solution to pass it through a semi
permeable membrane to a less concentrated solution
Reverse Osmosis is capable of removing up to 99%
+ of the dissolved salts (ions), particles, colloids,
organics, bacteria and pyrogens from the feed water
An RO membrane rejects contaminants based on
their size and charge. Any contaminant that has a
molecular weight greater than 200 is likely rejected
by a properly running RO system (for comparison a
water molecule has a MW of 18).
Likewise, the greater the ionic charge of the
contaminant, the more likely it will be unable to pass
through the RO membrane.
 Reverse Osmosis
Applications
Reverse Osmosis is very effective in
treating brackish, surface and ground
water for both large and small flows
applications
Water and waste water purification
Food industry
Desalination
Maple syrup production
Contaminants
Removed
 Membrane filtration advantages

Flexible: Can be used in the separation, concentration and purification of a

huge variety of materials.

Environmentally friendly, Clean technology: low energy requirement

Capable of selectively of fractionating particle species according to size.

No phase changes involved, both feed and product streams remain in the liquid
form.
 Membrane filtration
disadvantages
Prone to membrane fouling: decrease in permeate flux. Expensive cleaning and
regeneration.

The high flow rates used in cross-flow feed can damage shear sensitive
materials.

Equipment cost can be high, frequent replacement and regeneration of filters.

If manufacturing process is not precisely controlled, cause uneven pore size

membranes, giving poor separation performance
 Application in
Malaysia
Membrane Filter Press - Ultrafiltration
Palm oil fractionation to produce palm olein (cooking oil)
Pressure applied squeeze the solid to reduce moisture content
 Water purification
Reverse osmosis to remove dissolved solids, microorganism
household drinking water purification
Production of bottled RO water
 Biological
wastewater
treatment
Removes some dissolved solids and most microorganism
Reduces turbity, BOD
Coagulant may be added to precipitate dissolve solid
 Reference
J. D. Seader, 2010.Separation Process Principles, 3rd Edition. 3
Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

Md. Akhtarul Islama,Mohammad Shahedul Hossaina, Mathias

Ulbricht, (2016). Model-dependent analysis of gas flow/pore
dewetting data for microfiltration membranes. Journal of membrane
science.Volume533,351-363.

MembranenFiltrationmSSWM.2017.Membrane Filtration
SSWM. [ONLINE]. Available at:[http://www.sswn.info./Accessed
01 May 2017].