Membrane Technologies for the Water Treatment. Part 1: Basic Principles

Membrane technologies have become a key player among technologies for the treatment and purification of water streams. Common applications are (i) filtration for drinking water polishing; (ii) filtration as tertiary treatment in wastewater treatment plants; (iii) reverse osmosis for freshwater production via desalination of brackish and seawater, etc. All membrane technologies are based on the use of selective membranes packed into membrane modules arranged into module racks, eventually constituting a plant. The features of membrane materials, module geometry, and plant configuration are fundamental to understanding the behaviour and operational performance of the membrane separation process. In this chapter, an overview of the fundamentals of membrane technologies is provided, spanning from basic definitions, membrane materials, and fabrication techniques to module development and transport phenomena governing the most important type of applications for water treatment.