Membrane Process in Water

Treatment
 Membrane Processes
 A membrane is a thin layer of semi-permeable material that
separates substances when driving force is applied across the
membrane.
 A membrane is a thin layer of material that allow only certain
compounds to pass through it. Which material will pass through the
membrane is determined by the size and the chemical
characteristics of the membrane and the material being filtered.
 It permits the separation of certain impurities/constituents in a fluid
by combination of sieving and diffusion mechanisms.
 Membranes can separate particles and molecules and over a wide
particle size range and molecular weights.
 Membrane Processes include a broad range of seperation
processes from filtration to ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis.
 Types of Membrane processes

• Microfiltration (MF) Pressure driven membrane processes

– Low-pressure membranes
• Ultrafiltration (UF)
• Microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF)
• Nanofiltration (NF) – High-pressure membranes
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) • Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration
(NF)
• Dialysis / Electrodialysis
- Current driven membrane processes –
(ED)
Electrodialysis (ED) and electrodialysis
reversal (EDR)

Classified into two broad categories:

 Used to separate suspended particles from water: MF and UF
 Used to separate ions from solution: RO and NF
 Examples for Applications of Membrane Processes

• Desalting seawater
(desalinization)

• Holding back seawater

intrusion

• Treating brackish groundwater

• Water softening

• Waste water recovery

• Removing color, odor, and

other organic contaminants.
 Membrane Types

ED MF UF NF RO
Water,
TSS, Higher
Larger Larger almost
Retained microbes charged
particles molecules everything
uncharged ions
molecules
Dissolved Mono-
Small Very small
Transported Dissolved salts, valent ions,
molecules uncharged
salts small small
and ions molecules
particles molecules
 Membrane Filter Technology
Filter type Symbol Pore Size, Operating Types of Materials
m Pressure, Removed
psi
Microfilter MF 1.0-0.01 <30 Clay, bacteria, large
viruses, suspended solids
Ultrafilter UF 0.01-0.001 20-100 Viruses, proteins, starches,
colloids, silica, organics,
dye, fat
Nanofilter NF 0.001-0.0001 50-300 Sugar, pesticides,
herbicides, divalent anions
Reverse RO < 0.0001 225-1,000 Monovalent salts
Osmosis
Schematic comparison of selected separation processes.
 Process Configuration

Influent to the Liquid that passes through the

membrane module: semi-permeable membrane:
Feed water / feed stream permeate / product stream /
permeating stream

Semi-permeable membrane Product

Feed

Flux
Rate at which the permeate flows Concentrate
through the membrane
Units: kg /m2 d, gal/ft2d Liquid containing the retained constituents:
Concentrate / retentate / reject / retained phase
/ waste stream
Schematic of separation process through
semipermeable membrane.
 Microfiltration (MF)
 Membrane separation process using membranes with a pore size
of approximately 0.03 to 10 microns (1 micron = 0.0001
millimeter), a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of greater than
10,00,000 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 is not an absolute barrier to viruses. However, when used in
combination with disinfection, MF appears to control these
microorganisms in water.
 Can remove NOM to reduce fouling potential.
 MF can be used as a pretreatment to RO or NF to reduce fouling
potential.
 Microfiltration
• Typical pore size: 0.1
microns (10-7m)
• Very low pressure
• Removes bacteria, some
large viruses
• Does not filter Microfiltration water plant, Petrolia, PA
– small viruses, protein
molecules, sugar, and salts

14 A microfilter membrane
 Ultrafiltration (UF)
 Ultrafiltration 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.
 UF removes larger organics, colloids, bacteria
while allowing most ions and small organics to
permeate the porous structure.
 Disinfection can provide a second barrier to
contamination and is therefore recommended.
 Excellent pretreatment for RO or Post treatment for
ED.
UF can replace several conventional processes
 Nano-filtration
 NF 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 DBP
formation.
 Also remove alkalinity, product water can be corrosive, and
measures, such as blending raw water and product water or adding
alkalinity, may be needed to reduce corrosivity.
 NF also removes hardness from water (softening membranes). Hard
water treated by NF will need pretreatment to avoid precipitation of
hardness ions on the membrane. However, more energy is required
for NF than MF or UF.
 Mechanisms of Filtration

Three mechanisms:
 Screening
 Adsorption
 Cake formation
Models for Membrane Filtration
Time-dependent membrane flux equations
Example
Determine the number of modules per rack and the number of racks to
provide uninterrupted flow for the following design conditions:
Qmax = 10,000 m3/day, J= 0.10 m3 /h.m2
Membrane area per module = 50 m2, Backwash interval = 60 min,
Backwash time = 8 min
 Nanofiltration (NF)

• Typical pore size: 0.001

micron (10-9m)
• Moderate pressure
• Removes toxic or unwanted
bivalent ions (ions with 2 or
more charges), such as
– Lead
– Iron
– Nickel Nanofiltration water cleaning
serving Mery-sur-Oise, a suburb
– Mercury (II) of Paris, France
24
 Reverse Osmosis (RO)

Mostly used for demineralization in industrial water supply or for desalinization of

seawater in drinking water supply.
 Reverse Osmosis (RO)
o RO can effectively remove nearly all inorganic contaminants from water.
o RO can also effectively remove radium, natural organic substances,
pesticides, cysts, bacteria and viruses.
o RO is particularly effective when used in series with multiple units.
Disinfection is also recommended to ensure the safety of water.

Advantages of RO
 Removes nearly all contaminant ions and most dissolved non-ions,
 Relatively insensitive to flow and 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,
 Operational simplicity and automation allow for less operator attention
and make RO suitable for small system applications.
 Reverse Osmosis (RO)
• Typical pore size: 0.0001 micron (10-10 m)
• Very high pressure
• Only economically feasible large-scale
method to remove salt from water
– Salty water cannot support life
– People can’t drink it, and plants can’t
use it to grow

Reverse osmosis (or desalination) water

treatment plants, like this one, are often
located close to the ocean
27
Limitations of RO
 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,
 Produces the most wastewater at between 25-50 percent of the feed.

RO membrane is semi-permeable with thin layer of annealed/hardened

material supported on a more porous sub-structure.
The skin is about 0.25 micron thick and has pore size in 5 to 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.
 Principles of RO

Osmosis Equilibrium Reverse Osmosis

Water flows from low Osmotic Pressure is the By applying pressure greater
concentration of salts to pressure required to stop than Osmotic pressure, flow
higher concentration water flow and reach of water is reversed; water
equilibrium flows from higher
concentration solution to
lower.
 Membrane Modules/Configurations

 Hollow fibre: inside out / outside in flow

 Spiral wound: Flexible permeate spacer between 2 flat membrane

sheets

 Tubular : either single or in a bundle, inside – outside

 Plates and frame: Series of flat membrane sheets and support plates

 Pleated cartridge filters: Microfiltration applications (e.g. Concentrate

virus from treated water)
Hollow fiber:
MF, UF
Outside Dia: 0.5-2 mm
Inside Dia: 0.3-1.0 mm
Fiber wall thickness:
0.1-0.6 mm
Fiber length: 1-2 m
Operational Mode:
Inside-out or Outside-
inside.
Spiral wound NF, RO
Fw = liquid flux
Fs = salt flux
Spiral UF system
Applications of Micro and Ultrafiltration:

 Conventional water treatment (replace all processes except

disinfection).
 Pretreat water for RO and nano-filtration.
 Iron/Manganese removal (after oxidation).
 Removal of DBP precursors.
Applications for RO and nano-filtration:
 R.O. application mostly desalination.
 Nanofiltration to remove hardness.
 Nanofiltration can be used to remove DBP precursors
Operating pressure ranges:

R.O./NF: 80 – 600 psi

MF/UF: 5 – 60 psi
Membrane Fouling
 Fouling is caused by accumulation of various deposits on the
membrane surface, external and Internal. Fouling results in irreversible
drop in performance due to increased hydraulic resistance and
fouling enhanced polarization.
 Mechanisms of fouling, especially in porous membranes, are very
diverse. Fouling may be colloidal, inorganic (scaling by sparingly
soluble salts, silica) and organic (e.g., by NOM or DOM). In many
cases all types of fouling occur simultaneously, producing a synergistic
effect. The main approaches to deal with fouling are technological
(imposing flux limits, pretreatment, antiscalants, cleaning), but
development of low fouling membranes is gaining popularity.
 Hydrophobic membranes are in general more stable but also more
prone to fouling than hydrophilic ones. This motivates attempts to
modify membrane surface, which may improve anti fouling properties
without impairing other beneficial characteristics.
Fouling issue
 Traditional membrane technology is generally affected by fouling. This
long-term loss in throughput capacity is due primarily to the formation
of a boundary layer that builds up naturally on the membrane surface
during the filtration process.
 Lack of pretreatment of feed water or adequate cleaning of membrane
can cause membrane fouling and reduced water productivity

Five types of fouling:

1. Membrane scaling
2. Fouling by metal oxides
3. Plugging
4. Colloidal fouling
5. Biological fouling
Fouling
Ways to reduce membrane fouling:
 Periodic pulsing of feed
 Periodic pulsing filtrate (backwashing)
 Increasing shear at by rotating membrane
 Vibrating membrane (VSEP technology)
Biological fouling: Various
microorganisms can deposit on
membrane surface.
• Controlled by disinfection of
ww.
• Chlorination, UV application
in upstream of the embrane
Vibrating shear • Avoid damage of the
to prevent fouling membrane by the
disinfectant.
A common method to clean the membrane system is to just
reverse the flow pattern:
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Design consideration
 Plant capacity
 Salinity of raw water
 Pretreatment needs
 Product-recovery rate
 Rejection rate
 Applied pressure
 Feed water temperature and method of brine disposal.
 Electrodialysis (ED)
• In ED process, a semi-permeable barrier allows passage of either
positively charged ions (cations) or negatively charged ions (anions)
while excluding passage of ions of the opposite charge.
• These semi-permeable barriers are commonly known as ion-
exchange, ion-selective or electrodialysis membranes.
• Electric energy is used to transfer ionized salts from feedwater
through selective membranes, leaving behind purified product water.
 Widely used in water and wastewater treatment
 Huge application in industrial water and effluent treatment
 New membrane filters
 Large scale setup: based on requirements
 Green Technology