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Lectuer 13

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8 views

Lectuer 13

Uploaded by

deekshupapareddy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Membrane Processes

• A membrane is a thin layer of semi-permeable


material that separates substances when a driving
force is applied across the membrane.
• Membranes can separate particles and molecules and
over a wide particle size range and molecular weights.
• Membrane processes are increasingly used for
removal of bacteria, microorganisms, particulates,
and natural organic material, which can impart color,
tastes, and odors to water and react with
disinfectants to form disinfection byproducts.
Membrane Processes

Four common types of membranes:


• Microfiltration
• Ultrafiltration
• Nanofiltration
• Reverse Osmosis
Operating pressure ranges:

Micro- and Ultrafiltration:


5 – 60 psig

R.O. and nanofiltration:


80 – 600 psig
Microfiltration
• Microfiltration (MF) is loosely defined as a membrane
separation process using:
 membranes with a pore size of approximately 0.03 to 10
micron,
 a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of greater than
1,000,000 daltons and
 a relatively low feed water operating pressure of
approximately 100 to 400 kPa (15 to 60 psi)
• Materials removed by MF include sand, silt, clays, Giardia
lamblia and Crypotosporidium cysts, algae, and some bacterial
species.
• MF can be used as a pretreatment to RO or NF to reduce
fouling potential.
Ultrafiltration
• Ultrafiltration (UF) has a pore size of approximately 0.002 to 0.1
microns, an MWCO of approximately 10,000 to 100,000 daltons,
and an operating pressure of approximately 200 to 700 kPa (30
to 100 psi).
• UF will remove all microbiological species removed by MF
(partial removal of bacteria), as well as some viruses (but not an
absolute barrier to viruses) and humic materials.
• Ultrafiltration can be used for removal of particulates and
macromolecules from raw water to produce potable water.
• It has been used to either replace existing secondary
(coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation) and tertiary filtration
(sand filtration and chlorination) systems employed in water-
treatment plants or as stand alone systems in isolated regions
with growing populations.
• Ultrafiltration processes are preferred over traditional
treatment methods for the following reasons:
1. No chemicals required (aside from cleaning)
2. Constant product quality regardless of feed quality
3. Compact plant size
4. Capable of exceeding regulatory standards of water
quality, achieving 90-100% pathogen removal.
• Ultrafiltration is frequently used to pretreat surface water,
seawater and biologically treated municipal water upstream
of the reverse osmosis unit.
Nanofiltration
• Nanofiltration membranes have a nominal pore size of
approximately 0.001 microns and an MWCO of 1,000 to
100,000 daltons.
• Pushing water through these smaller membrane pores requires
a higher operation pressure than either MF or UF. Operating
pressures are usually near 600 kPa (90 psi) and can be as high
as 1,000 kPa (150 psi).
• These systems can remove virtually all cysts, bacteria, viruses,
and humic materials.
• They provide excellent protection from disinfection byproduct
(DBP) formation if the disinfectant residual is added after the
membrane filtration step.
• NF also removes hardness from water, which accounts for NF
membranes sometimes being called “softening membranes.”
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
• It is a filtration method that removes many types of large
molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the
solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The
result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the
membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other
side.

• Applying an external
pressure to reverse
the natural flow of
pure solvent, thus, is
reverse osmosis.
• The R.O. membrane is semi-permeable with thin layer of
annealed material supported on a more porous sub-
structure.
• The thin skin is about 0.25 micron thick and has pore size in
the 5 – 10 Angstrom range. The porous sub-structure is
primarily to support the thin skin.
• The pore size of the skin limits transport to certain size
molecules. Dissolved ions such as Na and Cl are about the
same size as water molecules.
• However, the charged ions seem to be repelled by the active
portion of the membrane and water is attracted to it. So
adsorbed water will block the passage and exclude ions.
Under pressure attached water will be transferred through
the pores.
Advantages:
• Removes nearly all contaminant ions and most dissolved non-
ions,
• Relatively insensitive to flow and total dissolved solids (TDS) level
and suitable for small systems with a high degree of seasonal
fluctuation in water demand,
• RO operates immediately, without any minimum break-in period,
• Low effluent concentration possible,
• Bacteria and particles are also removed, and
• Operational simplicity and automation allow for less operator
attention and make RO suitable for small system applications.

Limitations:
• High capital and operating costs,
• Managing the wastewater (brine solution) is a potential problem,
• High level of pretreatment is required in some cases,
• Membranes are prone to fouling.
Applications:
• It is most commonly known for its use in drinking water
purification from seawater, removing the salt and other
substances from the water molecules.
• It is a more economical operation for concentrating food
liquids (such as fruit juices) than conventional heat-
treatment processes.
• It is extensively used in the dairy industry for the
production of whey protein powders and for the
concentration of milk to reduce shipping costs.
Membrane Materials
• Normally, membrane material is manufactured from a
synthetic polymer, although other forms, including ceramic and
metallic “membranes,” may be available.
• Almost all membranes manufactured for drinking water are
made of polymeric material, since they are significantly less
expensive than membranes constructed of other materials.
• MF and UF membranes may be constructed from a wide
variety of materials, including cellulose acetate, polyvinylidene
fluoride, polyacrylonitrile, polypropylene, polysulfone,
polyethersulfone, or other polymers.
• Each of these materials has different properties with respect
to the surface charge, degree of hydrophobicity, pH and
oxidant tolerance, strength and flexibility.
• NF and RO membranes are generally manufactured from
cellulose acetate or ployamide materials.
• Cellulose membranes are susceptible to biodegradation and
must be operated within a narrow pH range of 4 to 8, but they
do have some resistance to continuous low-level oxidants.
Crystallization
• Crystallization is the formation of solid particles within a
homogenous phase. It is a method of obtaining pure substances in
a stationary condition for packaging and storing.
• It operates at low temperature, which minimize thermal
degradation of heat sensitive materials.
• It is usually the last step in producing highly purified products such
as antibiotics.

Myoglobin in Myoglobin in Myoglobin


dilute buffer 3M (NH4)2SO4, pH 7 crystals
Steps of crystallization or recrystallization
• The impure material
• dissolved at or near the boiling point to form a near-
saturated solution.
• the hot solution is filtered to remove any insoluble particles
• allowed to cool
fast cooling generate many nuclei of small crystals
• the dissolved substance crystallizes out
• centrifuge or filter crystals from mother liquor
• washed free of mother liquor with a little fresh cold solvent
• dried

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