Membrane Separation Processes

Processes in which
separation is due to
differences in solubilities
and diffusion rates through
the membrane.
Membrane Separation Processes

• Gas diffusion in porous solid

• Gas permeation in a membrane
• Liquid permeation or dialysis
• Reverse osmosis
• Ultrafiltration membrane process
• Microfiltration membrane process
• Gel permeation chromotography
Gas diffusion in porous solid

a gas phase is present on both sides of the

membrane, which is microporous solid.
Gas permeation in a membrane

the membrane in this process is usually a polymer

such as rubber, polyamide, and so on , and is not a
porous solid.
 Dialysis

the small solutes in one liquid phase diffuse readily

because of concentration differences through the
porous membrane to the second liquid (or vapor)
phase.
 Reverse osmosis

a membrane which impedes the passage of a low

molecular-weight solute, is placed between a solute
solvent solution and a pure solvent.
 Ultrafiltration
membrane process

pressure is used to obtain a separation of molecules

by means of a semipermeable polymeric membrane
Microfiltration membrane
process

pressure-driven flow through the membrane is used

to separate the micron-size particles from fluids, the
particles are usually larger than those in
ultrafiltration.
Gel permeation chromotography

the porous gel retards diffusion of the high-

molecular-weight solutes.
 Membranes

A layer of material serves as a

selective barrier between
two phases and
remains impermeable to
specific particles, molecules,
or substances when exposed
to the action of a driving
force.
 Membranes

The proper choice of a

membrane should be
determined by the specific
application objective:
particulate or dissolved
solids removal
hardness reduction or
ultra pure water production
removal of specific
gases/chemicals
 Types of Membranes

• Microporous Membrane
• Homogeneous Membrane
• Asymmetric Membrane
• Electrically Charged Membrane
• Liquid Membranes
Microporous Membranes

This membrane behaves

almost like a fiber filter and
separates by a sieving
mechanism determined by
the pore diameter and
particle size. The pores in
the membrane may vary
between 1 nm-20 microns.
Homogeneous Membrane

This is a dense film

through which a mixture
of molecules is
transported by pressure,
concentration or electrical
potential gradient.
 Asymmetric Membrane

This comprises a very thin (0.1-

1.0 micron) skin layer on a
highly porous (100-200
microns) thick substructure. Its
separation characteristics are
determined by the nature of
membrane material or pore
size, and the mass transport
rate is determined mainly by
the skin thickness.
Electrically Charged Membrane

These are ion-exchange

membranes consisting of
highly swollen gels
carrying fixed positive or
negative charges. These
are mainly used in the
electrodialysis.
 Liquid Membranes

A liquid membrane utilizes

a carrier to selectively
transport components
such as metal ions at
relatively high rate across
the membrane interface.
 Gaseous Diffusion in
Porous Membranes

Separation of gaseous
components, and this is
achieved using the
selective properties of
membranes.
 Gaseous Diffusion in
Porous Membranes

When the pores are much

smaller than the mean free
path in the gas phase
(about 1000 Angstrom at
standard conditions), the
gases diffuse
independently by the
Knudsen Diffusion.
 Mean Free Path

Average distance a gas molecule travels before it

collides with another gas molecule
Mean Free Path
Application of Gaseous Diffusion
in Porous Membranes

Production of enriched
uranium by forcing
gaseous uranium
hexafluoride (UF6)
through semipermeable
membranes
Gas Permeation in Membrane

Process by which a gas

passes or diffuses through
a membrane without
physically or chemically
affecting it.
Application of Gas Permeation
in Membrane

• The permeation of H2
from gas mixtures
• The separation of
paraffin-olefin mixtures
• The separation of CO2
from gas mixtures
 Dialysis

Process for selectively

removing low-molecular-
weight solutes from a
solution by allowing them
to diffuse into a region of
lower concentration
 Applications of Dialysis

• Use of artificial kidneys to

remove waste products
from blood
• Recovery of caustic soda
from hemicellulose
solutions produced in
making rayon by the
viscose process
• Brackish water to potable
water
 Reverse Osmosis

Process of purification
which 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.
Applications of Reverse Osmosis

• Drinking water
production
• Process water
production
• Ultra pure water
production (electronic
industries)
• Concentration of
molecular solvents for
food and dairy
industries
 Microfiltration

A low-pressure cross-flow
membrane process for
separating colloidal and
suspended particles in the
range of 0.05-10 microns.
 Microfiltration

There are two techniques

used in microfiltration:
•Dead-end filtration
•Cross-flow filtration
 Ultrafiltration

A pressure-driven process
where the solvent and,
when present, small solute
molecules pass through the
membrane and are
collected as permeate.
Membrane Structure for
Gas Separation

The advantage of using

gas separation
membranes is that the
equipment is much
smaller and there is no
solvent involved
Membrane Structure for
Gas Separation

The rate at which a particular gas will move

through the membrane can be determined by
•size of the molecule
•the concentration of gas
•the pressure difference across the membrane
•affinity of the gas for the membrane material.
Membrane Structure for
Gas Separation

• Membrane devices for gas or vapour

separation usually operate under continuous
steady-state conditions with three streams.
• Synthetic membrane behaves as a thin
barrier between two phases through which
differential transport can occur.
• Gas separation process operate with pressure
difference of 1 to 20 atm
Membrane Structure for
Gas Separation

• The pore size should be comparable to the

thickness of the thin selective film that covers
the support.
• Provide fast flow, low pressure drops, and
highly consistent flow rates in applications
such as prefiltration and clarification.
• Asymmetric membranes are 50 to 200 micro
m thick with a 0.1 to 1 micro meters skin.
Membrane Structure for
Gas Separation

The rate at which a particular gas will move

through the membrane can be determined by
•size of the molecule
•the concentration of gas
•the pressure difference across the membrane
•affinity of the gas for the membrane material.
Membrane Separators

• Flat
• Tubular
• Spiral Wound
• Hollow Fiber
 Flat Membrane

These modules are easy to

fabricate and use, and the
areas of the membranes
are well defined.
 Tubular Membrane

These modules are known

for their sturdy
construction, long
membrane life, and high
flux rates
Spiral Wound Membrane

This module maintains the

simplicity of fabricating flat
membranes while
increasing markedly the
membrane area per unit
separator while decreasing
the pressure drops.
 Hollow Fiber Membrane

The module resembles a

shell-and-tube heat
exchanger and can
withstand very high
pressures from the outside,
but are limited on pressure
exerted from the inside of
the fiber
Flow Patterns

• Complete Mixing
• Cross Flow
• Countercurrent Flow
• Cocurrent Flow
Complete Mixing
Cross Flow
Countercurrent Flow
Cocurrent Flow