FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DAA2612 ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

SESSION 2021/2022 SEMESTER 1
TECHNICAL ARTICLE

GROUP 6: MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY FOR WATER

TREATMENT AND PURIFICATION

PREPARED BY:

NO NAME STUDENT SIGNATURE

ID
1 MOHAMAD FAKHRUL IQBAL BIN NORZIN ASNUDI AB20141

2 SYAM MOHD UMAIR BAHINI BIN YASIR BAHINI AB20145

3 NUR FARZANA BINTI MAMAT SOLLEH AB20148

4 NURUL AINUL MARDHIAH BINTI MAZLAN AB20079

PREPARED FOR:
PN. ROZIAH BINTI ZAILAN
TABLE OF CONTENT

NO CONTENT PAGE

1. Introduction 1

2. Problems / Challenges 2

Benefit and Strength

3. 3

4. Methodology 4

5. Data and Calculation 5

6. Process flow 6

7. Suggestion / Future works 7

8. Conclusion 8

9. References 9
INTRODUCTION

The demand for clean water has increased as the population and industry have
grown at a rapid pace. Despite the fact that water surrounds 70% of the earth, just 2.5%
of it is fresh, and only 1% of freshwater is accessible, which is shared among the 7.6
billion people. According to a United Nations study, the world's population will
exceed 8 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050. Currently, over two billion people
do not have access to safe drinking water in their homes. Water contamination is also
causing an increase in fatalities and diseases around the planet. Therefore, two-thirds
of the world's population will soon be living in water-stressed areas shortly.

Therefore, the demand for better water treatment technology is growing and
expanding due to the effects of environmental degradation on the economy. Moreover,
the growth in demand increases the overall demand for membrane technology for
water treatment and purification. The main focus of membrane technology nowadays
is pressure-driven membrane processes which are divided into four main processes
such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis.

Furthermore, membrane technology, a phrase that refers to numerous different

techniques that use synthetic membranes to separate chemical substances, has also
been acknowledged as a major technology for filtering contaminants from polluted
sources and purifying wastewaters. Membranes are also selective barriers that
separate two phases, allowing certain components to flow while others are retained.
Membrane processes rely on a physical separation, usually with no addition of
chemicals in the feed stream and no phase change, thus standing out as alternatives to
conventional processes such as distillation, precipitation, coagulation and flocculation.
PROBLEM / CHALLENGES

When compared to alternative techniques such as activated carbon filtration and

soil aquifer treatment, membranes technology specifically in reverse osmosis provide
a better assurance for safe drinking water production, because they can be used to
simultaneously remove a wide range of contaminants such as pathogens and dissolved
chemical substances. For this reason, modern water treatment plants make significant
use of membrane processes such as pressure-driven membrane processes including
reverse osmosis, with an increasingly frequent application of micro-and ultrafiltration
processes as pre-treatment. Despite these developments, membrane technology still
faces several challenges such as high energy consumption, membrane fouling and
removal of small micropollutants. In the context of technical points of view, there are
at least two major issues in terms of its process and productivity which are fouling
and concentration polarisation as discussed below:

i. Fouling

Though the improvements of reverse osmosis membranes have been tremendous in

recent years, their performances and economics are still far from perfect. Membrane
lifetime and permeate fluxes are primarily affected by fouling. Fouling itself is the
most crucial problem that retards the widespread use of membrane filtration processes
as it could cause lower productivity and required high operational and maintenance
costs. Membrane fouling is defined as the accumulation and deposition of unwanted
soluble and particulate materials onto the surface of the membrane and into the
membrane pores which results in deterioration of membrane performance
during water treatment and purification process.

ii. Concentration polarisation

One important issue in membrane fouling is due to concentration polarisation and

cake formation on the surface of the membrane which can clog the membrane pores.
Concentration polarisation is a phenomenon where the concentration of particles in a
thin layer adjacent to the membrane has the effect of reducing the flow through the
membrane surface while cake formation is the accumulation of particulate matter on
the membrane surface whereas pore blockage is due to the deposition of foulant in the
membrane pores that restrict water flow through the membrane, resulting in several
consequences such as greater energy consumption, and even damage to the membrane
and other system components during the entire process of water treatment.
BENEFIT AND STRENGTH

When compared to conventional water treatment systems, one of the advantages

of membrane technology-based water treatment, such as pressure-driven membranes,
reverse osmosis, and filtration methods is the constant quality of the treated water.
Conventional methods rely primarily on the coagulation-flocculation process to create
dense flocs from fine, suspended particles. Following that, the flocs will be separated
in the clarifier and media filter via depth filtration. In these units' operations, failure to
follow an appropriate coagulation-flocculation process will result in poor solid
separation. As a result, consistent water quality is crucial, particularly in
manufacturing, where it can have a substantial impact on product quality. As a result,
various membrane purification and filtration systems are installed to maintain a high
level of consistency and quality control of the treated water for their production or
manufacturing process

Another distinctive feature of membrane-based water treatment systems is the

relatively small footprint required compared to the conventional sand or media
filtration system. The modular concept of the most pressurized membranes enables
fast and easy upgrades to increase the treated water output capacity. Population
growth of high-density urban cities is expected to be 1.9% from the year 2020 until
2030. This translate to roughly about 10% increase in water demand every five years
for domestic usage in the urban areas. Therefore, a membrane-based system seems to
be a feasible option to be considered.

Other strength characteristics of membrane technology for water treatment

are environmentally friendly, saving energy, and replacing traditional procedures like
filtration, distillation, ion exchange, and chemical treatment systems. Other benefits
include its capacity to generate high-quality outcomes and flexibility in system design.
There are numerous more benefits, including continuous separation under mild
conditions, adjustable membrane properties, easy upscaling and hybrid processing.
Also, purification and filtration processes can be carried out continuously under mild
conditions with relatively low energy consumption and without the need for additives.
Moreover, the technology can be combined with other separation processes, forming
hybrid processes.
METHODOLOGY

Membrane technology for water treatment and purification has been extensively
utilized since its invention, but the initial research and application of it are aimed at
the field of water and wastewater treatment. Microfiltration, ultrafiltration,
nanofiltration, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, liquid film, and pervaporation are
some of the most prevalent membrane technologies used today. Therefore, different
membrane-based technology has different filtration mechanism and application range.
The main focus of membrane filtration processes for purification nowadays are listed
below

i. Microfiltration
Microfiltration is a precise filtration process, as the same reverse osmosis and
ultrafiltration, are all driven by pressure. The separated components are 0.1 to
in diameter, mainly are nanoparticles, fine and sub microparticles. Also,
microfiltration is mainly used for the removal of large particulates, colloids, and
bacteria from feed streams. This is especially popular in the manufacturing industry
for treating wastewater before discharging it to a municipal sewer.

ii. Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration is a process that is similar to microfiltration, but with smaller pore sizes
ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 µm. Ultrafiltration membranes are used in rejecting viruses
and polypeptides and are widely used in protein concentration and wastewater
treatment.

iii. Nanofiltration
Nanofiltration is a pressure-driven membrane-based separation process in which
particles and dissolved molecules with molar masses between 350 and 1000 Da are
retained. Nanofiltration membranes can reject multivalent salts and uncharged solutes
while allowing some monovalent salts to pass through.

iv. Reverse osmosis

In high-pressure settings, the reverse osmosis membrane only enables water
molecules to flow through, unlike potassium, sodium, calcium, zinc ions, or
contaminants. Allowing us to acquire high-quality water. Moreover, reverse osmosis
membranes are even tighter than nanofiltration membranes, allowing water molecules
to flow through in aqueous solutions but rejecting all monovalent ions. They're also
capable of removing pathogens and contaminants from feed solutions. Reverse
osmosis is best known for purifying drinking water from seawater as well as for
industrial wastewater treatment processes
DATA AND CALCULATION

The membrane filtration method under ultrafiltration is one of the methods that is
being used in membrane technology for water treatment and purification. Besides,
membrane filters are extensively used in water engineering to analyse the quality of
water by the direct microbial count. The strategy is particularly effective when
dealing with huge sample quantities or many daily tests. Overall, this method is more
energy-efficient and can remove 90 100% pathogens from the water sample. In this
method, coliform colonies can be counted by using this formula,

Calculation related,
Five mL of bacterial culture is added to 45 mL of sterile diluent. From this suspension,
two serial, 1100 dilutions are made, and 0.1 mL is plated onto plate count agar from
the last dilution. After incubation, 137 colonies are counted on the plate. Calculate
CFU/mL of the original sample?

Answer:
The dilution factor, or how much the original sample is diluted, is the first thing we
need to know: 5 mL in 45 mL = Final volume/ Sample volume = 50/5 =10.
Then, two serial dilutions of 1/100.
Total dilution factor = 10* 100* 100 =105
CFU/mL = (137* 105) / 0.1
CFU/mL = 1.37* 108
So total colony forming units = 1.37* 108 CFU/mL

By using this method, we can evaluate the water quality by knowing the quantity of
microbial mass in the test sample passed through the membrane. Therefore, the
membrane filtration method is an efficient method to isolate and enumerate the
number of microorganisms from the microbiologically contaminated fluid sample in
the semi-permeable membrane that acts as a barrier that retains contaminated
organisms during the water treatment process and purification.
PROCESS FLOW
SUGGESTION / FUTURE WORKS

Early on, facilities will often see symptoms such as rising energy costs and
decreased membrane flux. As foulants continue to accumulate on the membrane
surface, even greater pressure is needed to force water through, which can ultimately
lead to irreparable damage to the membrane and other system components.
Therefore, there are some preventative measures to avoid membrane fouling and its
concentration polarisation in future works.

ii. System design

Preventing membrane fouling is best accomplished by good planning and design.

Many variables play a role in proper system function for membrane filtration and
purification system, each of which should be considered when replacing a membrane
or installing a new system. One of them is membrane pore size. Pore size is the key
factor to ensuring the efficient removal of targeted contaminants. Selection of the
proper membrane pore size can help to avoid membrane fouling in future works.

iii. Scheduled cleaning

A regular cleaning schedule can help keep foulants from accumulating on the
membrane. Cleaning cycles should be scheduled monthly or at other regular
intervals to provide the greatest benefit. Depending on the design of the membrane
filtration system and the types of contaminants involved, different maintenance
procedures may be used. We can also use one or more cleaning techniques, such as:

Mechanical cleaning involves the use of physical force to loosen

contaminants from the membrane and flush them out of the system. Typical
approaches such as vibration as well as backward or forward flushing, in
which water or a cleaning solution is pumped through the unit at a faster
speed or greater pressure than in a regular service cycle, creates turbulence
that eliminates foulants from the membrane

Chemical cleaning involves the application of detergents, acids, antiscalants,

or dispersants to loosen and remove foulants from the membrane surface.
Cleaning chemicals are selected based on the type of contaminants present,
with consideration also given to the membrane material to ensure that the
chemicals used do not damage it.
CONCLUSION

During the past years, the membrane process, as a promising technology, has been
greatly improved with significantly enhanced performance and commercial markets
have been spreading rapidly throughout the world. Among all types of membrane
technologies available today, pressure-driven membrane processes including reverse
osmosis is gaining worldwide acceptance in both water and wastewater treatment
which has been discussed in this article.

Over the years, a lot of work has been done in this field. However, there are still
many opportunities offered for development in a variety of aspects. As fouling and
high energy demand remain major issues in non-equilibrium pressure-driven
processes, continuous research to find a long-term solution, whether through the
introduction of rigorous but economical pre-treatment methods or the development of
fouling-resistant membranes. As a result, continuous studies are required to fully
comprehend the concepts and procedures associated with developing suitable
membranes will help make the process more viable for large scale application

Therefore, we can conclude that this article summarises the major processes that
are being used for water treatment and purification. It evaluates the challenges faced,
benefits and strength, methodology, process flow and calculation related. Hopefully,
this article is useful in providing good and relative information for further research of
membrane technology for water treatment and purification.
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A.W. Zularisam, A.F. Ismail and M. Sakinah. (2010). Application and Challenges of
Membrane in Surface Water Treatment. Journal of Applied Sciences, 10, 380-390.
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Bio, Sourav. (2020, Dec 14). Membrane Filtration Method, Types, Advantages,
Disadvantages, Applications. Retrieved from
https://microbiologynote.com/membrane-filtration-method-types-advantages-
disadvantages-applications/

Bottino et al. (2009). Membrane technologies for water treatment and agroindustrial
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Ezugbe and Rathilai. (2020). Membrane Technologies in Wastewater Treatment: A

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Nemeth-Harn, Julie. (2020, Aug 30). What is Membrane Water Treatment Technology
and Why Do We Specialize In It?. Retrieved from
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why-do-we-specialize-in-it