Environmental Engineering: Membrane Separation Water Filtration

This report provides an overview of water filtration using membrane separation technology, a process employed for water treatment due to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. It elucidates the mechanics of membrane filtration, which involves mechanical and chemical sieving of macromolecules and particles using specific membranes. The report distinguishes between high-pressure and low-pressure membrane systems and explains how particles are separated based on size, affinity, and charge. It also describes different types of membrane filters, including screen filters, and compares cross-flow and dead-end filtration methods. Concluding that membrane filtration is an effective method for water purification, the report highlights its engineering approaches for transporting substances between fractions using preamble membranes. Desklib offers a wealth of similar solved assignments and past papers for students seeking to deepen their understanding.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
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1ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Membrane separation
Introduction to the process of water filtration using membrane separation
A numerous number of technologies have been introduced or are under
development for the purpose of water treatment. This report focuses one of these technologies
that have been manufactured for water treatment (Padaki 199). The technology chosen for this
report is membrane filtration technology. This technology meets some criteria like it can be
scaled for large applications, it might cost competitive with various existing technologies at a
huge scale, the technology would be able to produce water which would meet regulatory
requirements and the technology has a very high degree of reliability. This report discusses
regarding the membrane technology that has been selected. It discusses the process by which
water is filtered and dirt is removed in order to make it drinkable.
Description of the process
Membrane filtration is a process that carries out separation with the help of
pressure. This process employs a specific membrane for mechanical as well as chemical sieving
of the macromolecules and particles (Richardson 379). The systems of membrane filtration are
preferred as unit operations in the application of various industries because of their mild
operating conditions. There are two types of membrane filtration systems, they are high pressure
membrane systems and low pressure membrane systems.
Application of process
The solid particles that are to be removed are large compared to the size of the
pore of membrane. The pores present in the membrane are not of similar shapes. The particles
are rejected on the basis of several factors. These factors affect transport through the pores to
channels that are tortuous in nature (Abraham 550). The separation of particles is based on the
exclusion discrimination with respect of physical size, affinity or charge or the merge of these
properties. The large particles that are present are not allowed to enter in the interior of the filter.
Some other categories of membrane filters include screen filters, in this kind of filters the pores
does not lead into the tortuous capillaries. In this the pore size are meant to be similar but their
distribution is very random on the surface of the filter (Ahmad 379). The filter is manufactured
with the help of bombarding a very thin polycarbonate film. These films contain neutrons in a
specific rector. After this the film is placed in a big container of etching solution. This solution
attacks the polymer in the track of neutrons. The size of the pores is regulated by choosing a
proper reagent, temperature and exposure time. Member filtration might be cross flow or dead
end. In the case of dead end filtration the entire solution is forced through membrane. The
retained substances are collected on the surface of membrane. In case of cross flow filtration, the
liquid is flown tangentially to the surface of membrane (Padaki 750). This prevents the
accumulation of cake on membrane. Both the types of filtration use same types of membranes.

2ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Figure 1: Membrane Filtration Technology
(Source: Padaki, p.199)
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that, the membrane filtration is a
method which can be used in order to purify water (Richardson 549). This technology covers all
the engineering approaches for the purpose of transporting substances between two provided
fractions. This process is carried out with the help of various preamble membranes.

3ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
References
Abraham, Jijo, et al. "Tunable sieving of ions using graphene oxide membranes." Nature
nanotechnology 12.6 (2017): 546.
Ahmad, Akil, et al. "Recent advances in new generation dye removal technologies: novel
search for approaches to reprocess wastewater." RSC Advances 5.39 (2015):
30801-30818.
Padaki, Mahesh, et al. "Membrane technology enhancement in oil–water separation. A
review." Desalination 357 (2015): 197-207.
Richardson, Joseph J., Mattias Björnmalm, and Frank Caruso. "Technology-driven layer-
by-layer assembly of nanofilms." Science 348.6233 (2015): aaa2491.