9/21/2021

EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Membrane Separation for Water and

Objective
wastewater Treatment …..Basics…
• To introduce the principles and design
Dr. KURIAN JOSEPH of different membrane separation
Professor of Environmental Engineering technologies including microfiltration,
Centre for Environmental Studies ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse
Anna University, Chennai –600025 osmosis, electrodialysis and
E mail: [email protected] membrane bioreactor processes for
water and wastewater treatment.

EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Course Outcome: On completion of the course, the  UNIT I MEMBRANE FILTRATION PROCESSES
student is expected to be able to  Membrane filtration for solid Liquid separation - cross flow
• explain the various main membrane processes, principles, separation filtration - theory of membrane separation – mass transport
mechanisms,and applications[CO1 ] characteristics - concentration polarisation – membrane flux
• apply the knowledge of science and engineering fundamentals to analyse
the mechanisms of membrane filtration[CO2] and trans membrane pressure -types and choice of
• design of membrane systems involving microfiltration, ultrafiltration, membranes- porous, nonporous, symmetric and assymmetric
nanofiltration,reverse osmosis, electrodialysis and membrane bioreactor – membrane structures and materials - plate and frame,
processes [CO3]
• select appropriate membrane technologies for water and wastewater spiral wound and hollow fibre membranes –membrane
treatment taking into account the impact of the solutions in a sustainability performance factors and considerations – membrane
context[CO4]
• conduct research pertinent to membrane technology applications to water manufacturing process.
and wastewater treatment and communicate effectively to different
stakeholders as well as engage in independent life-long learning[CO5]

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EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT

 UNIT II MEMBRANE SYSTEMS  UNIT III MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS

 Membrane module/element designs – membrane
 Historical perspective of MBRs- biotreatment
system components – design of membrane systems -
design of modules, assembly, plant process control and fundamentals- MBR principles and fundamentals-
applications - design and applications of low pressure MBR design principles, design assignment,
membrane technology systems-microfiltration and alternative MBR configurations – commercial
ultrafiltration design and applications of diffusive technologies- fouling and fouling control- case
membrane technologies- nanofiltration and reverse studies
osmosis - – electro dialysis : Ion exchange membranes,
process design- design of membrane systems - pump
types and pump selection – plant operations –
economics of membrane systems

EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT

 UNIT IV PRETREATMENT AND POST TREATMENT  UNIT V Case Studies

SYSTEMS
 Case studies on the design of membrane
 Membrane fouling – source water quality characterization-
particulate membrane foulants - mineral membrane-scaling based water and wastewater treatment
foulants - natural organic foulants- microbial foulants- systems – zero liquid effluent discharge
parameters and measurement methods- Langlier index, silt
plants – desalination of brackish water and
density index -combined impacts of various types of foulants-
control of fouling -pretreatment methods and strategies – seawater – project implementation and
source water screening and conditioning- pretreatment by project economics – environmental issues –
sand and membrane filtration- monitoring of pretreatment –
chemical cleaning systems- biofoulant control – post treatment reject management –energy recovery
systems systems

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EN 5072 MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR WATER AND

WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT WASTEWATER TREATMENT

 REFERENCES Membrane separation technology selectively

 Mihir K. Purkait, Randeep Singh, Membrane Technology in Separation Science, separates materials via pores and/or minute gaps in
CRC Press, 2018
 Anthony Wachinski, Membrane Processes for water reuse, McGraw-Hill, the molecular arrangement of a continuous structure
Newyork, 2013 of membrane.
 Nikolay Voutchkov, Desalination Engineering-Planning and Design, McGraw-Hill,
Newyork, 2013
 Symon Jud, MBR Book – "Principles and application of MBR in water and
wastewater treatment", Elservier, 2010.
According to IUPAC, a membrane is a “structure,
 A.F. Ismail, Takeshi Matsuura, Membrane Technology for Water and Wastewater having lateral dimensions much greater than its
Treatment, Energy and Environment, CRC Press, 2016 thickness, through which mass transfer may occur
 Kaustubha Mohanty, Mihir K. Purkait, Membrane Technologies and Applications,
CRC Press, 2011 under a variety of driving forces”.
 Baker, R.W., "Membrane technology and applications", 2nd ., JohnWiley 2012
 Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., George Tchobanoglous, Franklin L. Burton and H. David
Stensel, Wastewater engineering, treatment and reuse fourth Edition, McGraw- Semipermeable membranes allows some type of
Hill, 2017 matter to pass through while leaving others behind.

Membrane separation -Objective Dependence of Urban-Industrial society

• selective permeation of one or more on a safe and abundant supply of water.
species through a membrane, thereby
achieving separation. • How to meet Contaminants Typical Example
increasing water Suspended solids Dirt, clay, colloidal
Membrane separates feed into:
Permeate (filtrate) = a stream passing through the
demand ? materials
Dissolved organics Trihalomethanes,
membrane, devoid of substances retained by the • How to achieve synthetic organic
membrane
Retentate (concentrate) = enriched with substances Zero liquid chemicals, humic
retained by the membrane discharges? acids, fulvic acids
Dissolved ionics Heavy metals, silica,
Retentate • How to achieve (salts) arsenic, nitrate
Feed
Emerging water Microorganisms Bacteria, viruses,
Membrane
Pump pollutants protozoan cysts,
fungi, algae
Standards?
Gases Hydrogen sulfide,
Permeate
methane, radon

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Why do we Need
Water - Public Health Issues
Advanced Treatment & Processes ?
 Although water resources are fixed, Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa in
 The quality of available water resources steadily water and wastewater represent potential
declines risks to public health.
Bacteria Viruses Protozoa
 New technology to detect contaminants developes (E.coli) (Hepatitis, Polio) (Giardia) (Cryptosporidium)

 Environmental standards become more and more tight

 Wastewater reuse becomes more and more important

in line with climate change
Two of the most sustainable ways to create alternative water source:
1) Advanced wastewater treatment and reuse MBR Process
2) Seawater desalination RO Process
- Key for these treatment processes: Membrane Technology

WATER/WASTEWATER TREATMENT METHODS

Evolution of Water Filtration Technology

CHEMICAL PHYSICAL BIOLOGICAL

Chemical River Bed Filtration Slow Sand Filtration

Oxidation Carbon adsorption Activated sludge
Distillation Extended aeration (Roman Times) (Germany 1820)
Chemical
Precipitation Filtration Anaerobic
Coagulation Steam Stripping processes

Dissolved air Oil and grease Rotating biological

flotation skimming contactors Rapid sand
Sequencing batch DyNasand filters are
Electrochemical Oil/water separation Filter
reactors and no longer
oxidation
Sedimentation trickling filters the most
Actiflow
Flocculation cost-
Membrane Biological nitrogen
Hydrolysis technologies Deep Bed effective
removal
Mono-Media
Neutralization Bioaugmentation polishing
step.
Solvent Extraction Rapid Sand Filtration
Ion Exchange (Chicago 1900) Cellulosic Membranes (1980)

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Membrane Filtration is applied after secondary treatment to produce

an effluent of higher quality to protect the receiving waters or to provide reusable
water for its further domestic and/or industrial recycling (cooling water supplies).
Non-filtration membrane technologies
Feed wastewater
stream
• Dialysis which uses
concentration
PRELIMINARY
TREATMENT differences as the
separating driving
PRIMARY
Membrane force.
TREATMENT
Wastewater separation • Electro dialysis
treatment Removal of : which uses electric
SECONDARY
process •Additional organic and suspended solids.
TREATMENT •Nitrogenous Oxygen Demand (NOD)
•Nutrients
potential
•Toxic materials
differences as the
ADVANCED
TREATMENT separating driving
Also called
It’s a combination of
physical, chemical, “Tertiary force.
and biological Treatment”
processes
To discharge or
reuse/recycling

Size of Different Water contaminants

SPECIES RANGE OF DIMENSIONS (nm)
Particles (Size)
Yeasts and fungi 1000-10000
Bacteria 300-10000
Oil emulsions 100-10000
Colloidal solids 100-1000
Viruses 30-300
Proteins, polysaccharides 2-10
Enzymes 2-5
Common antibiotics 0.6-1.2
Organic molecules 0.3-0.8
Inorganic ions 0.2-0.4
Water 0.2

Particles (larger than 1 micron)

Colloids (smaller than 1 micron
Solutes (ions and organic molecules) – size typically between 1 Angstrom
(0.1 nm) and 1 nm

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Microbes (Size) Dissolved Impurities

Cations Anions Nonionic

TDS in different types of water

Typical Characteristics of Brackish water
• Freshwaters differ substantially from seawaters by
Cations (mg/L)
the relative amount of salts found in them.
Sodium, Na+ 747
Magnesium, Mg2+ 484
Calcium, Ca2+ 361
Potassium, K+ 38
Manganese, Mn2+ 0.04
SiO2 21.4
Anions (mg/L)
Chloride, Cl- 2,140
Sulfate, SO42- 202
 Six elements comprise about 99% of sea salts: chlorine Bicarbonate, HCO3- 448
(Cl-), sodium (Na+), sulfate (SO4-2), magnesium (Mg+2), Nitrate, NO3- 27
calcium (Ca+2), and potassium (K) Fluoride, F- 0.37

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Ionic composition of sea water

Dissolved Ions mg/L Equivalent per Kg of water
Cations
Sodium, Na+ 10,561 0.47560
Magnesium, Mg2+ 1,272 0.10833
Calcium, Ca2+ 400 0.02068
Potassium, K+ 380 0.01007
Total 12,613 0.61468
Anions
Chloride, Cl- 18,980 0.55438
Sulfate, SO42- 2,758 0.05946
Bromide, Br- 65 0.00084

Total 21,803 0.61468

Total Dissolved Solids 31,416

Membranes are “Barriers which separate two

phases and restricts transport of various Membrane Separation Application
molecules in a selective manner”. • Membrane separation processes operate without
• Thick/Thin heating and therefore use less energy than
• Liquid/Solid conventional thermal separation processes such
Membranes • Symmetric/Asymmetric as distillation, sublimation or crystallization
• Natural/Synthetic
can be • Homogeneous/Heterogeneous • The separation process is purely physical and both
• Neutral/Charged fractions (permeate and retentate) can be used.
• Cold separation using membrane technology is widely
• Pressure used in the food
Separation • Concentration technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industri
is Driven by • Temperature es.
• Electrical potential Gradients

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Membranes- Many Industrial Applications

Membrane Separation Application
• Important technical applications include the production of 1. Waste and water treatment
drinking water by reverse osmosis (worldwide approximately 7 2. Clarification of fruit juice, wine and beer
million cubic metres annually), filtrations in the food industry,
3. Ultrapure water in the semiconductor industry
the recovery of organic vapours such as petro-
chemical vapour recovery and the electrolysis for chlorine 4. Metal recovery as colloidal oxides or hydroxides
production. 5. Cold sterilization of beverages and pharmaceuticals
• In waste water treatment, membrane technology is becoming 6. Medical applications: transfusion filter set, purification of surgical water
increasingly important. With the help of ultra/microfiltration it
7. Continuous fermentation
is possible to remove particles, colloids and macromolecules,
so that waste-water can be disinfected in this way. 8. Purification of condensed water at nuclear plants

• This is needed if waste-water is discharged into sensitive 9. Separation of oil-water emulsions

waters especially those designated for contact water-sports
and recreation.

Membranes Applications – An Overview Membrane Separation-Drivers

Capital costs for membrane

technology continues to drop.

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A Short History of
Membrane Technologies
Membrane treatment is not new.
Cellulosic membranes have been in
use for four decades.

What is new
is that
membrane
systems are
now
affordable!

History membrane technology

• The process of osmosis through semi-permeable
membranes was first observed in 1748 by Jean Antoine
Nollet
• Produced fresh water from seawater in the mid-1950s with
cellulose acetate RO (fluxes too low)
• Loeb and Sourirajan made asymmetric CA membrane in the
sixties with high fluxes
• Seventies and eighties: new materials, standardization
/optimization
• Nineties: lowering energy consumption; control of fouling
• Twenty one century: breakthrough of RO followed by (UF,
MF, NF,…)

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• RO membranes originally designed to Particle Removal vs.

reject salts, not organics! Dissolved Organics Removal
Solids Contact Separation System
Size Exclusion
Device Treated water
Sorbant
Coagulant
Inflow
Immersed
membrane

Evolution
Organics Rejection… Emerging Cellulosic Systems
Residuals
Challenge PVDF and Fluoropolymer systems

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Why Membrane Separation?

Integration with Other
Processes
• Management and Regulatory Answers
• TOC & DBPs (Coagulant/PAC/GAC)
– May be the only option to meet the
• Taste & Odor regulatory standards regarding TDS and to
(Aeration/PAC/GAC/ClO2) comply with Zero Discharge Norms
• Soluble Fe & Mn (Oxidants) – Reverse Osmosis is a recommend BAT for
particular contaminants (e.g., arsenic,
• Arsenic (Ferric coagulants) nitrate, heavy metals, etc.)

Why Membrane Separation? Other objectives of separation can be

• Technical Answers
• Concentration: the desired component is present at
–Modular design a low concentration and solvent has to be removed
–Small foot-print • Purification: undesirable components have to be
removed
–Continuous process, simple • Fractionation: a mixture must be separated into two
automation or more desired components
–No phase and temperature change • Reaction mediation: combination of chemical or
biochemical reaction with a membrane separation
process to increase the reaction rate

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Membrane Separation - Limitations

membrane processes classification criterions
• High cost. Membranes (and associated systems) are
costly, but for low selective separations. • mechanisms of substance separation
• Lack of selectivity. In many cases, the separation • driving force
– Pressure , Concentration, Chemical potential, Electric potential
factors are still insufficient.
• properties of separated particles (size, shape, charge)
• Low fluxes. The permeate flow rate available are still
• membrane types
too low for some applications. – Separation properties (permeability, porosity, pore size, selectivity,
• Sensitive to chemical attack. Many materials can be cut-off)
damaged by acids, oxidants or organic solvents. – structure, (porous, non-porous, symmetric, asymmetric, composite,
homogenous, heterogeneous, mosaic, sandwich)
• Poor mechanical resistance. Many materials do not – material (organic, inorganic)
withstand abrasion, vibrations, high temperatures or – shape (planar, tubular, hollow fibre)
pressures. – function and production

Basic mechanisms of substance Driving Forces for transport

separation on the membrane Pressure Gradient (∆ P): Electrical potential Gradient (∆ E):
 Reverse osmosis  Electrodialysis
• Difference in particle size (sieving effect)  Nanofiltration  Membrane electrolysis
 Electrosorption
 Ultrafiltration
• Difference in charge of mixture components  Microfiltration


Electrofiltration
Electrochemical ion exchange

• Difference in diffusivity  Vapor permeation

Temperature gradient (∆ T):
 Gas permeation
• Difference in solubility of components in the  Pervaporation


Membrane distillation
Thermo-osmosis

membrane Concentration gradient (∆ C):

Processes with combined driving forces:
 Dialysis
 Membrane extraction  Electro-osmofiltration (∆ P + ∆ E)

 Supported liquid membrane (SLM)  Electro-osmotic concentration (∆ E + ∆ C)

 Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM)  Gas separation (∆ P + ∆ C)

 Non-dispersive solvent extraction with  Piezodialysis (∆ P + ∆ C)

hollow fiber contactors.

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Pressure-Driven Membrane Processes Pressure-Driven Membrane Processes

Membrane MF UF NF RO

Feed
Permeate

Suspended Solids (Particles)

Macromolecules (Humics)
P Multivalent Ions (Hardness)
Water Molecules

Particle or Solute Solvent

Molecule Monovalent Ions (Na+,Cl-)

Pressure driven processes Membrane processes and driving force

MF UF NF RO
∆P= 10-300 kPa 50-500 kPa 0.5-1.5 MPa 0.5-1.5 MPa Feed Permeate Driving
Process phase phase Force
Microfiltration L L ΔP
Ultrafiltration L L ΔP
Nanofiltration L L ΔP
Reverse Osmosis L L ΔP
Dialysis L L Δc
Electrodialysis L L ΔΕ
Pressure requirements are based on osmotic pressure for R.O., Pervaporation L G ΔP
osmotic pressure and fluid mechanical frictional headloss (straining)
Gas Permeation G G ΔP
for nanofiltration, and purely fluid mechanical frictional headloss
(straining) for ultra- and microfiltration.

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Dissolved salts Colloids Suspended solids

Viruses Bacteria

Org. macro. molecules Parasites

0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10

100mm

polio smallest Crypto-

virus micro- hair
sporidium
organism

Reverse Osmosis Ultrafiltration Sand filtration

Nanofiltration Microfiltration

• Microfiltration operates on a particle • Nanofiltration operates on a particle

size range of 0.10 µm to 0.15 µm. size range of 5xl0-2 µm to 5x10-3 µm
• Ultrafiltration operates on a particle size • Reverse osmosis operates on a particle
range of 0.15 µm to 5xl0-2 µm size range of 5xl0-3 µm to 10-4 µm.

Membrane Schematic (Typical) Physical, chemical,

and/or electrical
driving force
Permeate
[Product]
Feed or concentrate
Feed
Solute or particle Accumulated, rejected material,
rejection migrating back to bulk solution
Pump

Bleed is the
Permeate continuous
The portion of the feed stream waste stream
that passes through the Semi-permeable (selective) membrane
from a (MF) or
membrane (UF) system
Concentrate/Reject
the continuous waste stream
(concentrated dissolved solids) from Concentrate Permeate
(Reject)
a membrane process, usually in
association with nanofiltration (NF)
and reverse osmosis (RO) processes

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Terminology • Molecular Weight Cutoff (MWCO)

• Permeate – a measure of the removal characteristic of a membrane in terms of
– the material passing through the membrane from feed to outlet side atomic weight (or mass), as opposed to pore size; typically measured
in terms of Daltons
• Retentate
– the material retained on the feed-side of the membrane • Dalton
– a unit of mass equal to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom (i.e., one
• Solute
atomic mass unit (amu)); typically used as a unit of measure for the
– most often retained on the inside (feed side) of the membrane and molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of a ultrafiltration (UF),
deposited on the membrane wall nanofiltration (NF), or reverse osmosis (RO) membrane
• Solvent • mass-transfer coefficient
– the liquid phase that carries the solute – flow rate of that species per unit cross-sectional area of membrane
• gel effect per unit driving force (concentration, partial pressure, etc.) across the
membrane thickness.
• buildup of the solute on the membrane wall to form a high
concentration gradient \gel"

Molecular Weight Cutoff (MWCO) Separation properties of the membrane are

given by:Molecular weight cut-off
• neutral solutes of various molecular weights are considered to conduct
MWCO experiments. The operating conditions of these experiments are
low transmembrane pressure drop, high turbulence and low feed
concentration. • MWCO is defined as the MW
of a solute that was rejected
• The typical solutes are glucose (molecular weight 180), sucrose (molecular
weight 342), various fractions of polyethylene glycol (molecular weights: at 90 percent ( although, this
definition is not explicit and
200, 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 4000, 60000, 10000, 30000), dextran
it can vary between 60 and
(molecular weight 40000, 1,50,000), etc. The molecular weight at 90%
solute retention indicates roughly the molecular weight cut off of the 90 percent depending upon
protocols used by various
membrane.
manufacturers)
• Experiments are conducted using each of these solutes and the observed
retention values at the steady state are measured. • rough estimate of the
• The observed retention values are then plotted against the molecular sieving effect and A MWCO of e.g. 100,000 means that a
weight of the solutes in a semi-log plot. rejection characteristic reference polymer (marker) with a molecular
of membrane weight of 100,000 Dalton is rejected for 95%;

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Common variables that increase

Molecular Driving
molecule passage
Pore size Process Removal of
mass Pressure • Sample concentration less than 1 mg/mL
> 10 "Classic" filter Suspended particles
• Linear versus globular molecules.
larger bacteria, yeast,
> 0.1 µm > 5000 kDa microfiltration < 2 bar
particles • High transmembrane pressure created by g-force in
centrifugal concentrators.
bacteria,
100-2 nm 5-5000 kDa ultrafiltration 1-10 bar macromolecules, • Buffer composition that favors breakup of molecules.
proteins, larger viruses
pH and ionic conditions that change the molecule
2-1 nm 0.1-5 kDa nanofiltration 3-20 bar viruses, 2- valent ions (for example, cause conformational changes or
reverse salts, small organic aggregation)
< 1 nm < 100 Da 10-80 bar
osmosis molecules

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Common variables that decrease

molecule passage
• Sample concentration higher than 1 mg/mL.
• Buffer conditions that permit molecules to
aggregate.
• Presence of other molecules that increase
sample concentration.
• Lower transmembrane pressure.
• Adsorption to the membrane or device.
• Low temperature (4 °C versus 24 °C)

Direct(or 'dead end') flow and Cross-flow

Two modes of membrane filtration Filtration
• Direct(or 'dead end') flow and Cross-flow.
– In direct flow, the full raw water feed supply
passes directly through the filter similar to
conventional sand-filtration. These filters require
Direct flow
periodic cleaning (or back washing) of filtration
membranes. requires less
energy as
– In contrast, a cross flow filtration mode employs a there is no
high velocity of raw water feed flowing in parallel Direct circulating of Cross-flow
feed water
over (across) the membrane surface. This flow (or 'dead end') flow
keeps the membrane surface from fouling or •The appropriate filtration mode should be selected by taking into account
factors such as fluid composition, membrane material, selectivity of the
accumulating solids. membrane, filtration module geometry, and cleaning methods.

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(Deposition mode)
Dead end and Cross flow Filtration
(Deposition mode and Suspension mode)
Dead-end Filtration
Dead end Cross-flow

Feed
All the suspended solids in
Feed Retentate
the feed end up on the
membrane in a filter cake
Cake Thickness
Permeate Permeate

(Through flow)
Yield
(Tangential flow)
All the suspended solids in the feed end minimizes the build up of a filter cake to
up on the membrane in a filter cake plug or foul the membrane
time

(Suspension mode) Crossflow Operation

• Crossflow:
Flux DP

Cake
Flux
Cross-flow filtration – Limits ‘cake’ deposited J=
µ(RM + RC)
on surface and
Cake
increases flux (J)
– Limits concentration at Crossflow
Yield membrane surface (CW)
and increases flux Flux FILM MODEL

Flux

CW
Cake Thickness – Most modules operate J = kSln(CW/CB)
in crossflow kS = f(crossflow)
CW
Crossflow
time
allows the solids to be kept in suspension and minimizes the
build up of a filter cake to plug or foul the membrane

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Cross-flow filtration Which of the following is true for dead

end filtration?
• Advantages:
• the water flux increases if the pressure is
– turbulent flow
constant
– continuous concentrate discharge • the water flux decreases if the pressure is
– control of cake-layer build-up constant
• Disadvantages: • the water flux is constant and the pressure
– more complex process layout increases
• the water flux is constant and the pressure
– high(er) energy consumption
decreases
– high(er) investment cost

Which of the following is true for dead

Membrane Separation - Terms
end filtration?
• the water flux increases if the pressure is • Membrane separation process is defined by
constant which compound is more readily transported
• the water flux decreases if the pressure is (selectivity) through the membrane and by
constant the flow of the specific compound (flux).
• the water flux is constant and the pressure
increases
• the water flux is constant and the pressure
decreases

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Membrane Separation - Terms

• How much water can be produced by a
Flux : the throughput of a pressure-driven membrane membrane element, having surface area of
filtration system expressed as flow per unit of membrane 32.5 m2 operated at a flux of 0.7 m3/m2/s ?
area (e.g., gallons per square foot per day (gfd) or liters
per hour per square meter (Lmh))
• Qp element = JA = (0.7 m3/m2/s ) (32.5 m2)
= 22.75 m3/day/ element

Flux: The permeate flowing through the membrane per

unit time and per unit surface area (not flow) m 3/m2-hr

Flux is a function of: Salt flux

– Membrane thickness (Resistance of the
membrane including fouling)
• amount of salt (TDS) pass through a given area of
– Chemical composition of feed membrane per unit of time.
– Membrane porosity • Salt flux is a function of concentration gradient
– Time of operation and not driving pressure.
• with increasing driving pressure, the
– Pressure across the membrane (Trans Membrane
concentration of salts in the permeate decreases
Pressure) due to constant salt leakage and increased water
Water temperature (Temperature ≈ Viscosity) flux .
– Concentration Polarisation • The net effect of increased drive pressure is to
dilute a constant mount of slat with more pure
water.

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Trans Membrane Pressure (TMP) An increasing TMP does not necessarily indicate
• pressure gradient across the membrane, or feed fouling, only the possibility of fouling.
pressure minus permeate pressure
• Since water viscosity and membrane
TMP is the net driving pressure
on the membrane forcing water
resistance are dependent on temperature.
through the membrane. – When water temperatures change, TMP changes
Transmembrane Pressure: as well.
Dead End Cross-flow
Pf + Pc • When flux and temperature are constant, the TMP is
Ptm = Pf – Pp Ptm = --------- - Pp
2 indicative of the degree of fouling on the membrane.
Ptm = Transmembrane pressure • A clean membrane will have a relatively low TMP,
Pf = feed Pressure at inlet to membrane module whereas a fouled membrane will have a relatively
Pc = concentrate Pressure at outlet of membrane module high TMP, depending on the severity of fouling.
Pp = Permeate pressure

Flux is normalized for pressure by calculating

specific flux (membrane permeability), which is the
flux at a standard temperature divided by the
transmembrane pressure
Permeability of a membrane
Lp = Jv / Δ P
Lp = permeability in m3 / m2.h.Pa
Jv = Flux in m3 / m2.h
Δ P = Trans Membrane Pressure
= Pfeed – Ppermeate

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permeability of solutes decreases (the

Membrane Permeability rejection increases) with an increase in
• Membrane permeability is
measured by distilled water runs. • degree of dissociation
Experiments are conducted using – weak acids, for example lactic acid, are rejected much better at
distilled water at various higher pH when the dissociation is high
transmembrane pressure drops • ionic charge
values. – e.g. divalent ions are better rejected than monovalent ions
• At various pressure drops, the water • molecular weight
flux is measured. A plot of – higher molecular weight species are better rejected
permeate flux versus operating • nonpolarity
pressure would be a straight line – less polar substances are rejected better
through the origin. • degree of hydration
• The slope of this curve indicates the – highly hydrated species, e.g. chloride, are better rejected than less
permeability (Lp) of the membrane. hydrated ones, e.g. nitrate
• degree of molecular branching
– e.g. iso-propanol is better rejected than n-propanol.

Rejection/Retention (R) - the percentage of solute concentration

removed from system feed water by the membrane.

Flux as a Function of Temperature

Since F is a function of  and  is a
function of temperature. Therefore, F
is a function of temperature.

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Permeability of Pressure driven

Temperature and Permeability
processes
• A UF plant is filtering clean water at a capacity
of 200 m3/h at temperature of 25 oC and 0.2
bar. What will be the required pressure, when
the temperature drops to 5 oC?

Evaluation of Membrane Performance

Q c , Cc
Q F , CF

Q P CP

 Selectivity: For dilute aqueous mixtures of a solvent (water) and a solute

(particles), the selectivity is expressed in terms of retention “R”
towards solute.

CF and Cp are solute concentration in feed and

CF - CP C permeate
R 1- P R = 100% (complete retention) of solute
CF CF
R = 0% (solute and solvent pass thru membrane

QF = QP + Qc
 Water Recovery: QP/QF
QF*CF = QP*CP + Qc*Cc
Typically, single RO elements are Recovery = (QP/QF)*100 [%]
operated with a recovery of 10–15% . Rejection = (1-CP/CF)*100 [%]

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Recovery Membrane Separation - Terms

• volumetric percent of feed water that is converted to filtrate
in the treatment process over the course of an uninterrupted • Salt Passage
(i.e., by chemical cleaning or a solids removal process such as
backwashing) operating cycle excluding losses that occur due – transport of a salt through a semi-permeable
to the use of filtrate in backwashing or cleaning operations) membrane; typically expressed either as a
percentage or as mass of salt per unit of
membrane area per unit time
• Salt Rejection
– amount of salt in the feed water that is rejected
by a semi-permeable membrane, expressed as a
percentage; also referred to as “solids rejection”
Recovery is often fixed at the highest level that maximizes permeate
flow while preventing precipitation of super-saturated salts within the
membrane system.

Rejection
• Whether particles can pass a membrane or (partially) not (are
partially or fully rejected) depends on:
– size of the particles;
– size of the pores in the membranes
– electrical charge of membrane pores;
– nature membrane material;
– electrical charge of particles (in particular for ions);
– diffusion coefficient particles (ions);
– process conditions e.g.,
• temperature
• salinity
• filtration rate (flux e.g., L/m2h)

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Reverse Osmosis Recovery Concentration Effects

 Example: A membrane is making 10 gallons per day
as product, while 40 gallons go to drain. What is the
recovery?

 Feed Water = product + reject = 10 + 40 = 50

 Recovery = product/feed = 10/50 = 20%

 Note: at 50% recovery, reject water TDS is double

that of the feed water

Concentration Factor
vs. Percent Recovery
Membrane Process Transmembrane System Recovery (%)(a)
Pressure, ∆Ptot (kPa)

Microfiltration 10 to 100 90 to 99+

Ultrafiltration 50 to 300 85 to 95+

Nanofiltration 200 to 1500 75 to 90+

Reverse Osmosis 500 to 8000 60 to 90

(a) Defined as the ratio of permeate flow rate to feed flow rate

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Concentration profile at the membrane Boundary Layer

• thin layer of water at the surface of a semi-
permeable membrane containing the
rejected contaminants from the filtrate (i.e.,
permeate) flow in higher concentrations than
the bulk feed/brine stream (called
concentration polarization), affecting the
osmotic pressure and salt passage

Concentration Polarization
Concentration increase in bulk concentrate due to accumulation of solute near the membrane surface
due to selective water removal
 When a solution is brought to
a membrane surface, some
components will permeate
Concentration increase due to solute rejection the membrane under a given
and slow diffusion back to bulk solution driving force whilst others are
rejected.
 This leads to an accumulation
of retained material and to a
depletion of permeating
components in the boundary
Permeate layers adjacent to the
membrane surface.
 This phenomenon is known as
concentration polarisation.

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Effect of Concentration Polarization Membrane Selection

• Precipitation of CaCO3 or CaSO4
• Increasing Osmotic Pressure with a consequent
reduction in the transmembrane flux at constant
applied hydrostatic pressure
• Decreasing Water Flux
• Increasing Salt Flux.
• Decreasing RO Element Age
membrane Permeate
Feed Polarisation layer
membrane
Permeate

Membrane Technologies - Water Membrane

Applications in
Drinking water Production
Drinking Water
Treatment

Brackish and seawater desalination

Industrial wastewater Recovery

Sewage Treatment and Recycling

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Membrane applications in water

treatment
• MF can remove suspended solids, turbidity, crypto
and giardia. Not color, virus, or dissolved solids.
• UF can remove color and odor causing organics,
virus, and other microbiological pests. Not dissolved
salts.
• RO and NF systems should be used to remove only
dissolved solids - they need VERY clear feed water.
• ED removes IONS from water - it does NOT remove
crypto, giardia, uncharged molecules, suspended
solids etc.

What is the driving force in

Microfiltration?
a) Pressure difference
b) Pervaporation
c) Difference in fugacity
d) Concentration difference

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What is the driving force in How is the resistance to solvent flow

Microfiltration? determined?
a) Pressure difference • By measuring pore size distribution
b) Pervaporation • By measuring amount of air passing
c) Difference in fugacity • By measuring the volume of solvent passed
d) Concentration difference after a certain time
• By calculating water permeability

How is the resistance to solvent flow Which of the following is not true
determined? about membrane separations?
• By measuring pore size distribution • a) Components which are passed through the
• By measuring amount of air passing membrane is called permeate
• By measuring the volume of solvent passed b) Components which are not passed through
after a certain time are called retentate
c) Non-porous membrane is never used
• By calculating water permeability (water is d) Membrane separations require a driving
passed through the membrane at a given force
pressure gradient)

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Which of the following is not true Example Trans Membrane Pressure:

about membrane separations? P in P out

• a) Components which are passed through the

Feed flow
membrane is called permeate 2r=D=6mm

b) Components which are not passed through

are called retentate L = 3,65 m

c) Non-porous membrane is never used

d) Membrane separations require a driving • The inlet pressure in the membrane is 3,6 bar.
force The outlet pressure = 3,3 bar.
• The permeate outlet has a pressure 0,3 bar.
– What is the TMP over this membrane module?

118

Answer: Recovery (S) of membrane process

• TMP = Pfeed – Ppermeate Q feed = 12,5 m3/h
Q retentate = Q concetrate = 4,5 m3/h
• P feed = ( Pin + Pout ) / 2
• What is the overall recovery ?
Q permeate = 12,5 – 4,5 = 8 m3/h
• TMP = (3,6 + 3,3) /2 - 0,3 = 3,15 bar Recovery = 8 / 12,5 x 100 %
= 64 %

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Recovery (S) of membrane process

Retention / Selectivity example
with backwash
• Qf = 8,2 m3/h ; Qp =8 m3/h • The raw feed water of a UF membrane has a TS
• Permeate production time = 20 minutes concentration of 25 mg/l
• After every 20 minutes production there is a 30 seconds • The permeate has a TS concentration of 2,8 mg/l.
backwash with a flow of 24 m3/h. The Feed flow is going
on then and is not affected by the backwash. • The recovery is 80 %
• What is the overall recovery ?
-What is the TS retention ?
Recovery = (20,5 x 8) – (0,5 x 24) x 100%= 99,4 %
20,5 x 8 -What is the selectivity of TS for this
membrane ?

Cr = ? mg/l Retention Answer:

Cf =25 mg/l
• Total Solids Rentention [ R ]

R = (Cr – Cp) / Cr
Cp =2,8 mg/l

Mass balance: = (113.8 - 2.8) / 113.8 x 100%

Recovery S = 80% so Qp = 80 % of Q feed
= 97.5 %
100 x 25 mg/l = 80x2.8 mg/l + 20 . ? mg/l
Cr = (2500 – 224) / 20 = 113,8 mg/l
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Selectivity β for Total Solids Example. What is the average velocity of solution toward a
membrane, if the flux is 50 LMH?

β = Cr / Cp = 113.8 / 2.8

L  1 m3   cm  cm
= 40.6 % JV  50 2   100   5.0
m -h  1000 L   m h

If retention R = 0 % then β = 1
If R = 100 % then β = ∞

Estimate quantity and quality of the waste stream, and the total quantity of
water that must be processed, from a RO facility that is to produce 4000
Combined Eq. 1 and 3; then calculate Qc = 4000 [1-0.9]/(0.9) = 444 m3/day
m 3/day of water to be used for industrial cooling operations. Assume
recovery and rejection are equal to 90%.
concentration of feed stream is 400 g/m3
Calculate Qf from eq (1) = 4000 + 444 = 4444 m3/day

QF = QP + Qc (1)
Calculate Cp from eq (4) = 400 (1-0.9) = 40 g/m3
QF*CF = QP*CP + Qc*Cc (2)
Recovery = (QP/QF)*100 [%] (3)
Calculate Cc from (2) = 3643 g/m3
Rejection = (1-CP/CF)*100 [%] (4)

QF = QP + Qc (1)
QF*CF = QP*CP + Qc*Cc (2)
Feed-water Permeate
QF P QP Recovery = (QP/QF)*100 [%] (3)
CF CP
Rejection = (1-CP/CF)*100 [%] (4)

Concentrate
Qc
Cc

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Calculation of specific flux Calculation of specific flux

(membrane permeability) (membrane permeability)
• A membrane plant has a measured flux of 80 • Calculate the flux at a standard temperature
L/m2·h at 0.67 bar and 7◦C. of 20◦C
• Four months later, the measured flux is 85 • Js = J m (1.03) Ts−Tm
L/m2·h at 0.52 bar and 19◦C. where Tm, Ts = measured and standard
• Has a change in specific flux occurred? temperatures, ◦C
• What is the change in percent?
• Has fouling occurred?

Calculation of specific flux Match the Question items with

(membrane permeability) Answer items
Calculate the specific flux at a standard
temperature of 20◦C

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Draw arrows that show which among water, monovalent ions,

multivalent ions, virus, bacteria, suspended soilds will pass through
each membrane and which will not ???

• Draw arrows that show which among water,

monovalent ions, multivalent ions, virus,
bacteria, suspended soilds will pass through
each membrane and which will not ???

If reverse osmosis will remove all of the

target contaminants , why do we use
larger pore size membranes?
If reverse osmosis will remove
all of the target contaminants , • The answer is simple economics
– RO is most expensive to build and to operate
why do we use compared to other membrane filtration facility
larger pore size membranes? – Since a microfilter has much larger pores, the
system can operate at much higher flow rates and
at much lower feed pressures.
– More flow and less feed pressure mean smaller
facilities that use less energy to produce each unit
of water.

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It is cost efficient to use a series of membranes to Membrane Technology Comparison

filter increasingly smaller particles as microorganisms Feature Microfiltration Ultrafiltration Nanofiltration Reverse Osmosis
Polymers Ceramics, sintered Ceramics, sintered Thin film composites, Thin film composites,
metals, polypropylene, metals, cellulosics, cellulosics cellulosics
polysulfone, polysulfone,
polyethersulfone, polyethersulfone,
polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinylidene fluoride
polytetrafluoroethy-liene
Pore Size Range 0.01 - 1.0 0.001 - 0.01 0.0001 - 0.001 <0.0001
(micrometers)
Molecular Weight Cutoff >100,000 2,000 - 100,000 300 - 1,000 100 - 200
Range (Daltons)
Operating Pressure <30 20 - 100 50 - 300 225 - 1,000
Range
Suspended Solids Yes Yes Yes Yes
Removal
Dissolved Organics None Yes Yes Yes
Removal
Dissolved Inorganics None None 20-85% 95-99%
Removal
Microorganism Removal Protozoan cysts, algae, Protozoan cysts, algae, All* All*
bacteria* bacteria*
Osmotic Pressure Effects None Slight Moderate High

Concentration Capabilities High High Moderate Moderate

Permeate Purity High High Moderate-high High

Energy Usage Low Low Low-moderate Moderate

Membrane Stability High High Moderate Moderate

Examples of applications and separation processes

which compete with the respective membrane
separation process.
Alternative
Process Applications
Processes
Sedimentation,
Microfiltration Separation of bacteria and cells from solutions
Centrifugation
Separation of proteins and virus,
Ultrafiltration Centrifugation
concentration of oil-in-water emulsions
Separation of dye and sugar, Distillation,
Nanofiltration
water softening Evaporation
Distillation,
Desalination of sea and brackish water,
Reverse Osmosis Evaporation,
process water purification
Dialysis
Dialysis Purification of blood (artificial kidney) Reverse osmosis
Crystallization,
Electrodialysis Separation of electrolytes from nonelectrolytes
Precipitation
Pervaporation Dehydration of ethanol and organic solvents Distillation
Absorption,
Hydrogen recovery from process gas streams,
Gas Permeation Adsorption,
dehydration and separation of air
Condensation
Membrane Distillation Water purification and desalination Distillation

Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 7th edition, pages 22-37 to 22-69.

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