Membrane Separations and Energy Savings

It is the purpose of this paper to review the recent developments and future trends in various membrane processes, which will result in energy savings. Historically, there was a long period of academic curiosity in membrane research covering from gas separation to reverse osmosis. With advent of asymmetric membrane technology, many membrane processes proved to be energy efficient than the conventional separation methods. Thus, membrane technology has gained wide acceptance from many sectors of industry. The commercial sale of membranes is still modest compared to the major technologies, but it is one of the fastest growing industries. Recently the U.S.Department of Energy conducted a study (1) to evaluate and prioritize research needs in the membrane separation industry in order to foster and better support the deveolpment of energy-efficient new technologies. The National Science Foundation (U.S.A.) did also do a similar investigation. Both agencies have arrived neary at the same conclusion, that is, membrane separations can offer many new and alternative methods of separations that are more energy efficient than existing processes. This paper is largely based on these findings.