INTRODUCTION

In this experiment, we use the SOLTEQ Membrane Test Unit (Model : TR 14) as the
device to run this experiment. This apparatus has to be design to demonstrate the techinuque
of membrane separations which has become hinghly popular as they provide effective
separation without the use of the heating energy in distilation process. Heat sensitive
materials, such as fruit juices can be separated or concentrated by virtue of their molecular
weights. The unit consits of a test module supplied with four different membranes, namely
Reverse Osmosis (RO), nano filtiration (NF), and microfiltration (MF) membranes
Membrane separation processes have very important role in separation industry. This
Membrane Separation Unit has been designed to demonstrate the techniques of membrane
separations which are becoming highly popular as they provide effective separation without
the use of heating energy as in distillation processes. For the mass transfer at the membrane,
two basic models can be distinguished: the solution-diffusion model and the hydrodynamic
model. In real membranes, these two transport mechanisms certainly occur side by side,
especially during the ultra-filtration. Depending on the type of membrane, the selective
separation of certain individual substances or substance mixtures is possible. Important
technical applications include drinking water by Reverse Osmosis (RO), filtrations in
the food industry, the recovery of organic vapors such as gasoline vapor recovery and the
electrolysis for chlorine production. But also in wastewater treatment, the membrane
technology is becoming increasingly important.
Separation by the use of membranes are becoming increasingly important in the
process industries. In this relatively new separation process, the membrane acts as a
semipermeable barrier and separation occurs by the membrane controling the rate of the
movement of various molecules between two liquid phase, two gas phases, or a liquid and a
gas phase. The two fluid phases are usually miscible and the membrane barrier prevents
actual, ordinary hydrodynamic flow. A classification of the main types of membrane
separation follows.
This self-contained unit on a mobile epoxy coated steel framework, requires only
connection to a suitable electricity supply and a normal cold water supply to be fully
operational. It consists of a feed tank, a product tank, a feed pump, a pressure regulator, a
water bath, and a membrane test module. All parts in contact with the process fluid are
stainless steel, PTFE, silicone rubber or nitrile rubber.

The unit comes with a high pressure feed pump for delivering the feed to the
membrane unit at the desired flow rate and pressure. The retentate line can be either returned
to the feed tank or straight to the drain. Appropriate sensors for flow, pressure and
temperature are installed at strategic locations for process monitoring and data acquisitions.
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a membrane-technology filtration method that 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. The result is that thesolute is retained on the
pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To
be "selective," this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through
the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to
pass freely.
Nanofiltration describes a process of water purification that remove contaminats from
the water to produce clean, clear and pure water. Nanofiltrition is a form a reverse osmosis,
that will remove bivalent hardness, calcium, and magnesium plus sulphate but leave in most
of the single valent sodium ion.
Ultrafiltration is a separation process using membranes with pore sizes in the range of
0.1 to 0.001 micron. Typically, ultrafiltration will remove high molecular-weight substances,
colloidal materials, and organic and inorganic polymeric molecules. Low molecular-weight
organics and ions such as sodium, calcium, magnesium chloride, and sulfate are not
removed. Because only high-molecular weight species are removed, the osmotic pressure
differential across the membrane surface is negligible. Low applied pressures are therefore
sufficient to achieve high flux rates from an ultrafiltration membrane. Flux of a membrane is
defined as the amount of permeate produced per unit area of membrane surface per unit time.
Generally flux is expressed as gallons per square foot per day (GFD) or as cubic meters per
square meters per day.
Microfiltration is a membrane technical filtration process which removes
contaminants from a fluid (liquid and gas) by passage through a microporos membrane. A
typical microfiltration membrane pore size range is 0.1 to 10 micrometers (m).
Microfiltration is fundamentally diffrenent from reverse osmosis and nanofiltration because

those systems use a pressure as a meaans of forcing water to go from low pressure to high
pressure.Microfiltration can use a pressurized system but it does not need to include pressure.
AIM/OBJECTIVE
To study the characteristics of 4 different types of membrane silicon in terms of separation
process.
THEORY
A membrane is a selective barrier that permits the separation of certain species in a
fluid by combination of sieving and sorption diffusion mechanism. Separation is achieved
by selectively passing (permeating) one or more components of a stream through the
membrane while retarding the passage of one or more other components
The term membrane most commonly refers to a thin, film-like structure that separates
two fluids. It acts as a selective barrier, allowing some particles or chemicals to pass through,
but not others. In some cases, especially in anatomy, membrane may refer to a thin film that
is primarily a separating structure rather than a selective barrier.
Membrane processes are characterized by the fact that a feed stream is divided into 2
streams: retentate and permeate. The retentate is that part of the feed that does not pass
through the membrane, while the permeate is that part of the feed that does pass through the
membrane. The optional "sweep" is a gas or liquid that is used to help remove the permeate.
The component(s) of interest in membrane separation is known as the solute. The solute can
be retained on the membrane and removed in the retentate or passed through the membrane in
the permeate.

Figure 1.0 process of membrane technology

The concept of a membrane has been known since the eighteenth century, but it
remained as only a tool for physical or chemical theories development until the end of World
War II, when drinking water supplies in Europe were compromised and membrane filters
were used to test for water safety. However, due to the lack of reliability, slow operation,
reduced selectivity and elevated costs, membranes were not widely exploited. The first use of
membranes on a large scale was with microfiltration and ultra-filtration technologies. Since
the 1980s, these separation processes, along with electrodialysis, are employed in large
plants and, today, a number of experienced companies serve the market.
A membrane is a layer of material which 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. Some components are allowed passage by the
membrane into a permeate stream, whereas others are retained by it and accumulate in the
retentate stream.
Membrane separation processes operate without heating and therefore use less energy
than conventional thermal separation processes such as distillation, sublimation or
crystallization. The separation process is purely physical and both fractions (permeate and
retentate) can be used. Cold separation using membrane technology is widely used in the
food technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Furthermore, using
membranes enables separations to take place that would be impossible using thermal
separation methods. For example, it is impossible to separate the constituents of azeotropic
liquids or solutes which form isomorphic crystals by distillation or recrystallization but such
separations can be achieved using membrane technology. Depending on the type of
membrane, the selective separation of certain individual substances or substance mixtures is
possible. Important technical applications include the production of drinking water by reverse
osmosis (worldwide approximately 7 million cubic metres annually), filtrations in the food
industry, the recovery of organic vapours such as petro-chemical vapour recovery and the
electrolysis for chlorine production.
In waste water treatment, membrane technology is becoming increasingly important.
With the help of ultra/microfiltration it is possible to remove particles, colloids and
macromolecules, so that waste-water can be disinfected in this way. This is needed if wastewater is discharged into sensitive waters especially those designated for contact water-sports
and recreation.

Some advantages of membrane separation are less energy-intensive, since they do not
require major phase changes, do not demand adsorbents or solvents, which may be expensive
or difficult to handle and the equipment simplicity and modularity, which facilitates the
incorporation of more efficient membranes. The particular advantage of membrane separation
processes is that it operate without heating and thus are energetically usually lower than
conventional thermal separation processes (distillation, Sublimation or crystallization). This
separation process is purely physical and, thanks to its gentle separation, the use of both
fractions (permeate and retentate) is possible. The importance of membrane technology is
growing in the field of environmental protection (NanoMemPro IPPC Database). Even in
modern energy recovery techniques membranes are increasingly used, for example in fuel
cells and in osmotic power plants.