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The MBR Book: Principles and Applications of Membrane

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22 <strong>The</strong> <strong>MBR</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />

2.1 <strong>Membrane</strong> technology<br />

2.1.1 <strong>Membrane</strong>s <strong>and</strong> membrane separation processes<br />

A membrane as applied to water <strong>and</strong> wastewater treatment is simply a material that<br />

allows some physical or chemical components to pass more readily through it than<br />

others. It is thus perm-selective, since it is more permeable to those constituents<br />

passing through it (which then become the permeate) than those which are rejected<br />

by it (which form the retentate). <strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> selectivity depends on the membrane<br />

pore size. <strong>The</strong> coarsest membrane, associated with micr<strong>of</strong>iltration (MF), can reject<br />

particulate matter. <strong>The</strong> most selective membrane, associated with reverse osmosis (RO),<br />

can reject singly charged (i.e. monovalent) ions, such as sodium (Na � ) <strong>and</strong> chloride<br />

(Cl � ). Given that the hydraulic diameter <strong>of</strong> these ions is less than 1 nm, it st<strong>and</strong>s to<br />

reason that the pores in an RO membrane are very small. Indeed, they are only visible<br />

using the most powerful <strong>of</strong> microscopes.<br />

<strong>The</strong> four key membrane separation processes in which water forms the permeate<br />

product are RO, nan<strong>of</strong>iltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF) <strong>and</strong> MF (Fig. 2.1). <strong>Membrane</strong>s<br />

themselves can thus be defined according to the type <strong>of</strong> separation duty to which<br />

Scale in metres<br />

10 �10 10 �9 10 �8 10 �7 10 �6 10 �5<br />

Free<br />

atoms<br />

200 20 000 500 000<br />

Small<br />

organic<br />

monomers<br />

Sugars<br />

Herbicides<br />

Pesticides<br />

Dissolved<br />

salts<br />

Approximate molecular weight in daltons<br />

Endotoxins/<br />

pyrogens<br />

Colloids:<br />

albumen protein<br />

colloidal silica<br />

Viruses<br />

Reverse osmosis Nan<strong>of</strong>iltration Ultrafiltration<br />

Increasing pumping energy<br />

Bacteria (to �40 µm)<br />

Micr<strong>of</strong>iltration<br />

Cryptosporidia<br />

Red<br />

blood<br />

cells<br />

Depth<br />

filtration<br />

(to >1 mm)<br />

Figure 2.1 <strong>Membrane</strong> separation processes overview (Judd <strong>and</strong> Jefferson, 2003)

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