Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

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Nanofiltration systems and applications in wastewater treatment:

Review article
Mona A. Abdel-Fatah
Chemical Engineering and Pilot Plant Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Nanofiltration membrane (NF) is one of the most important activities employed in wastewater treatment
Received 31 January 2018 field. It is a relatively recent development in membrane technology and it can be aqueous or non-
Revised 6 August 2018 aqueous. Characteristics of NF fall between UF and RO, and functions by both pore-size flow (convective)
Accepted 30 August 2018
and the solution-diffusion mechanisms. Membrane charges play an important role in membrane function
Available online 9 November 2018
and often NF membrane as have surface negative charges. NF technique is used in a variety of water and
wastewater treatment (WWT) in different industrial applications. The main job of NF is the selective
Keywords:
removal of ions and organic substances and it is used in some specified seawater desalination application.
Membrane
Nanofiltration
The main objective of this review is to illustrate the main applications of NF process in water reuse, WWT
NF applications as tertiary treatment, water softening and desalination fields. Comparison of basic economic analyses
Wastewater treatment with other alternative processes in profitability is also performed.
Ó 2018 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Existing situation of wastewater in Egypt
Egypt population has reached around 96 million according to
2017 census. Most of the inhabitants reside in the small area of
the Nile valley and delta. The available water resources are Nile
river 55
109 m3/y, rainfall 1.3
109 m3/y, fossil groundwater
extraction 2.2
109 m3/y, desalination 0.2
109 m3/y, extracting
groundwater from renewable resources 6.2
109 m3/y, wastewa-
ter 3
109 m3/y, and reuse of the drainage of agricultural water
13
109 m3/y. Egypt, with around 670 m3/year/capita in 2017, still
is a country under conditions of water stress (1000 m3/year/capita)
[1].
Villages and rural areas suffer from low or almost disappear-
ance of effective wastewater management system, it is important
to expand the system of wastewater management throughout
Egypt especially in villages and rural areas. Different systems and
networks have been installed over the last decade throughout
E-mail address: monamamin7@yahoo.com
Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University.
Production and hosting by Elsevier
Egypt, a comparison of the different networks used in Egypt are
shown in Tables 1–4 [2].
In Tables 1–4, a list of developed projects; the currently ongo-
ing projects is shown below. The following projects are funded by
international donations or funded by the Egyptian government
[3]:
 To improve the access to clean water, wastewater management,
and health services for around 1 M Egyptians at the Nile delta,
the World Bank has funded a program to improve the life qual-
ity by a $550 M.
 The Sinai Peninsula has attracted interest to find more water
resources through drilling wells; Arab Fund for Economic and
Social Development (AFESD) has funded this project, $200 M
has been given as a loan to the Egyptian Government.
 Two projects are currently taking place in southern Egypt.
Two irrigation projects are funded by The OPEC Fund for
International Development (OFID) and a drinking water sani-
tation project is funded by the French Development Agency
(AFD).
 Amount of $110 M is provided by the Islamic Development
Bank to improve the water and irrigation treatment in Egypt.
 Upper Egypt drinking water and wastewater management are
under development by the support of Switzerland and German
development bank KFW through a $250 M grant which repre-
sents the second phase of an extended project.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2018.08.001
2090-4479/Ó 2018 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
3078 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

Nomenclature

A membrane surface area, m2 Pm average pressure gradient, bar

AFD agency of French development Pp permeate pressure, bar
AFESD arab fund for economic and social development PPM parts per million
AOX absorbable organic halides Ps membrane permeability with respect to dominant salt,
B solute permeability coefficient m/s
Cc the concentration in concentrate, mg/l Pw water permeability’s and reflection coefficients
CF concentration factor Q volumetric flow rate, m3/s
Cf feed solution concentration, mg/l Qc concentrate flow rate, L/h
CFCR cross-flow with concentrate recycle Qf feed flow rate, L/h
CIP clean-in-place Qp permeate flow rate, L/h
Cm mean salt concentration = [Cf + Cc]/2, mol/l R system recovery, %
COD chemical oxygen demand RBC rotating biological contactor
CP concentration polarization RO reverse osmosis
Cp salt concentration in the permeate, mg/l SBR sequential batch reactor
Cv volumetric concentration factor SDM solution-diffusion model
Cwm water concentration in the membrane SEM scanning electron microscope
DOC dissolved organic carbon SP salt Passage, %
EDR electrodialysis reversal SPM semi-permeable membrane
IDB islamic development bank SR salt rejection, %
IWRM integrated water resources management SW spiral-wound
IWWTP industrial wastewater treatment plant T temperature, K
Js salt flux, mol/m2 h TCF temperature correction factor
Jv permeated fluid volumetric flux, m s1 TDS total dissolved solids
Jw permeate flux, L/m2 h TFM thin film membrane
KFW Switzerland and German development bank THM total heavy metals
Kw solvent mass transfer coefficient, L/m2h bar TOC total organic carbon
M million TMP trans-membrane pressure
MED multiple-effect distillation UASB up-flow aerobic sludge blanket
MF microfiltration UE upper Egypt
MSF multi-stage flash distillation UF ultrafiltration
Mw molecular weight, kg/kmol USAID American funded
MWCO molecular weight cutoff VC vapor compression
n number of moles VCF volumetric concentration factor
NDP net driving pressure WB world bank
NF nanofiltration WR water resources
NP national plan WWT wastewater treatment
NSDM national strategy for the development and management y recovery fraction
NWRP national water resources plan a dimensionless parameter, [aC0Rr/DP]
OFID OPEC fund for international development b concentration polarization factor
PA polyamide d concentration boundary layer thickness, m
PAA polyacrylic acid d film thickness
PAC powdered activated carbon DC concentration gradient, mol/l
PAN poly-acrylonitrile DCm solute concentration difference across the membrane
Pc concentrate pressure, bar DP applied pressure difference across the membrane, bar
PDP pressure-driven process Dp osmotic pressure difference across membrane, bar
PES polyethersulfone Dpm average osmotic pressure, bar
PET polyester pc concentrate osmotic pressure, bar
Pew dimensionless permeate flux, [vwR/D] pf feed osmotic pressure, bar
Pf feed pressure, bar pm average osmotic pressure, bar
Pm solvent permeability constant pp permeate osmotic pressure, bar

 USAID funded a project to improve water infrastructure in WWT and recycle, agricultural expansion, national growth, secu-
northern Sinai governorate in 2017 by $50 M. rity of the water supply etc. Regarding the national strategy for
 Improving infrastructure throughout Egypt was funded by a water, the document for the ‘‘2050 National Strategy for the Devel-
loan from Germany by $225 M; a $65.5 M is directed to Assuit opment and Management of Water Resources” has considered six
Barrage irrigation project. political pillars of this strategy [1]:
 Amount of $2 Billion projects is undergoing to improve sanita-
tion in rural areas funded in Egypt.
i. Development of water resources
The NWRP project started in 1998 (Framework and Guideli- ii. Water usage justification
nes Egypt State of the Water Reporting). The NWRP technique iii. Pollution control of existing water resources
applicable in Egypt, that is currently applicable, has a time- iv. Water irrigation and resource systems restoration
frame till the end of 2017. This NP is employed as an outline for v. Weather changes adaptation
the sectarian tactics and plans on resources and supply of water, vi. Better management of water
 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092 3079

Table 1 Pillars of I, iii and vi have a direct effect on the wastewater

Networks of Wastewater Management in Egypt, 2015. Source: Holding company for
water and wastewater in Egypt, 2015.
reuse, considering the following important objectives:

Year 2005 2015  Increasing water awareness through media and

Service region 12 governorates 27 governorates communication
Subsidiary companies 14 companies 25 companies  Controlling the main drains pollution source
Water service coverage – 2.5 No coverage 98%
millions 7.5 Rotation system
 Spreading the benefits of better water management
15 Unacceptable  Water legalization and IWRM techniques enhancement
Service  Developing national plans to be applied on governorate level
Wastewater service coverage 40% 50%  Imposing the industrial buildings to develop wastewater treat-
85% Urban
ment units
10% Rural
Water production – annual 18 m m3/day 27 million m3/day  Spreading the units of water treatment in villages
average
Water treatment plants 1005 plants 2845 plants Before membrane filtration process, wastewater was pretreated
Wastewater treatment plants 149 plants 395 plants by suitable techniques to remove most of the suspended or un-
Water distribution networks 74,000 km 167,000 km
Wastewater collection 28,000 km 48,000 km
dissolved ingredients like suspended solid, inorganic and organic
networks compounds to protect the membrane from damage due to its high
cost (recommendation all of the manufacturing membranes).
Residual contaminants are mainly dissolved heavy metals salts,
Table 2 so in the treatment technique, we try to increase the molecular size
Basic figures of water/wastewater services in Egypt 2016. of the pollutants then selected the suitable membrane filtration
Item Data procedure for pollutants separation.
There are a plethora of very effective technologies available to
Current Population 92.5 million capita
No of WWTP 412 reduce the conc. of contaminants capable of fouling NF membrane.
No of affiliated companies 25 They include filters, coagulation and precipitation processes, oil/
Total produced water (million m3/day) 24.9 water separators, adsorbing resins and many others. Two relatively
Average water coverage % 97%
new entrants in the field of pretreatment technologies are MF and
Average water capita/person/day 277 L
Total treated wastewater (million m3/day) Design capacity :14.1
UF; MF designed for removal of suspended solids, while UF is
Actual discharge:10.5 designed to remove dissolved macromolecules (organic). These
Average Wastewater Coverage % in urban cities 83% technologies are available in a wide variety of pore sizes and mate-
Average Wastewater Coverage % in rural villages 15% rials of construction, as described earlier [4].
Average Wastewater Coverage % 56%
The basic science of the membrane processes can be explained
by the heavy metals formation of cationic forms which are initially
complexes by a bonding agent which will increase the molecular
weight of the bonded cations and to increase the size of the mole-
Table 3
WWTP classification and technologies. cule to a size greater than the pores of the membrane which is used
for separation. The membrane filtration is distinguished by the fol-
Treatment technologies No
lowing advantages compared to the other conventional separation
Activated sludge 99 technologies: low-energy requirements, high selectivity of separa-
Extended Aeration 122
tion, and very fast reaction kinetics [3–7].
Up-flow Aerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) 5
Trickling filter 29
Rotating biological contactor (RBC) 24
Sequential batch reactor (SBR) 13 2. Overview of membrane separation technology
Oxidation ponds 85
Primary treatment 2
Tertiary treatment (by UF membrane) 4
The membrane filtration has two aspects which discriminate
Wetland 3 membrane filtration compared to other conventional filtration
Aerated Lagoon 3 techniques. The first aspect is, membranes are asymmetric and
Others 12 the feed is faced by the pore small side which reduces the pressure
Total 412
drop across the membrane and eliminates membrane plugging
tendency. The second aspect is, a strong cross flow over the mem-
brane surface is necessary to operate membrane systems. The
Table 4 cross-flow eliminates the possibility of filter cake build-up. Usu-
Number and distribution of WWTP in each governorate. ally, the filter cake or the concentration polarization in membranes
Governorate No of WWTP Governorate No of WWTP is limited to few microns [4].
Assiut 5 Matrouh 2
Behira 24 Menufya 19
Cairo 12 Minia 19 2.1. Brief history of membrane filtration
Damietta 27 New Valley 8
Garbia 34 Port Said 6 At the beginning of the twentieth century, the recent membrane
Ismailia 6 Qalubiya 13 filtration technology was considered, the membrane was fabri-
Alexandria 17 Qena 5
cated similarly to the artificial polymeric membrane which is well
Aswan 15 Red Sea 1
Beni-Suef 15 Sharqya 29 known today, after the Second World War, the need for membrane
Dakahelya 44 Sinai 12 filtration has increased and played a crucial role in the drug indus-
Fayoum 25 Sohag 6 try, medical applications, and microbiology field. Later on, the
Giza 7 Suez 1
reverse osmosis membrane has been developed and applied
Kafr El-Sheikh 22 Luxor 5
through different stages: considered and produced initially in the
3080 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

1950s, research, and development in the 1960s, and finally, the RO
was used on a commercial level in the 1970s.
The RO was developed initially considering desalination of sea-
water and brackish water for a rural area to get drinking water.
After that, the UF has been established and industrialized to cover
the gap between reverse osmosis depending on salt rejection and
MF based on particle retaining and salt passing technique. To
approach an economical operating mode, the cross-flow mode
should be employed for RO and UF. The cross-flow mode may
results in a processing obligation in the certain operating situation;
however, the RO and UF technologies represent a major
improvement.
of the semi-permeable membrane. As a result desalted water pass
through membrane pores. Fig. 1 represents the filtration spectrum
for each type and the applicable range for each type. Correlation of
membrane features with ranges of separation is illustrated in
Table 5.
2.2.1. Nanofiltration: the up-and-coming membrane process
After the comparison mentioned in the above section, it was
found that NF has the special attraction in different applications
such as water reuse, industrial wastewater treatment, and drinking
water sectors. So the nanofiltration process through historical
development is shown in Table 6.

2.2. Types of membrane separation and scope of application
According to the pressure gradient across the membrane, mem-
brane techniques can be divided into MF, UF, NF, and RO. Both RO
and NF are classified under the main umbrella of membrane sepa-
ration by which treated water is pressurized and forced at the face
2.2.2. Why nanofiltration technology is needed?
RO membranes have been developed and a class of membranes
has been fabricated to be able for retaining all dissolved salt ions
and even the organic solutes with no charges. In addition, UF mem-
branes with special pore size can reject any molecular weight
higher than 10,000 gm-moles and can be used efficiently for

Fig. 1. Filtration spectrum.

Table 5
Correlation of membrane features with ranges of separation.

Types Reverse Osmosis Nanofiltration Ultrafiltration Microfiltration

Membrane Asymmetrical Asymmetrical Asymmetrical Asymmetrical
Asymmetrical
Thickness Surface film 150 mm 150 mm 150–250 mm 10–150 mm
1 mm 1 mm 1 mm
Pore Size <0.002 mm <0.002 mm 0.02 – 0.2 mm 0.2 – 5 mm
Rejects HMWC, LMWC, sodium HMWC, mono, di – and oligo – saccharides, Macromoie, cutes, proteins, Particulates, clay,
chloride, polyvatent anions polysac – charides, viruses bacteria
glucose, amino acids, proteins
Membrane material CA: thin film CA: thin film Ceramic, PSO, CA, PVDF, thin Ceramic, PP, PSO, PVDF
(s) film
Membrane Module Tubular, spiral – wound, Tubular, spiral – wound, Tubular, hollow, fiber, spiral, Tubular, hollow fiber,
plate and frame plate and frame wound, plate and frame plate and frame
Pressure 15–150 bars 5–35 bars 1–10 bar 2 bars<
*
CA-cellulose, acetate; PSO-polyaulfone; PVDF, polyvinylidene fluoride; PP-polypropylene; HMWC (high molecular weight compounds): 100.000–1 millions mole/g, LMWC
(low molecular-weight compounds): 1.000 – 100.000 mol/gm, macromolecules: 1 million mole/gm.
 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092 3081

Table 6 ducing different chemicals using NF, a recovery of fine chemicals

A general overview of historical development of nanofiltration membranes. from outlet streams is widely used in industrial applications like
Membrane Persons/Manufacturer Year in medical applications and feed additives. With all such applica-
Porous CA membranes (integrally Reid, Breton, Leob- 1959 tions, NF is a major player in the separation technology in current
asymmetric) Sourirajan commercial applications. Also, NF membranes are used now to
CA NF membranes (integrally asymmetric) Leob-Sourirajan, Cohen 1970 replace RO in different applications like drinking water and
Composite RO membranes Rozelle, Cadotte, Riley 1970 extracting fine and expensive materials to gain profits and reduce
Composite NF membranes Rozelle, Cadotte 1976
Polypiperazineamide NF membranes Cadotte, Steuck, 1981
energy expenses.
(99% MgSO4 < 60% NaCl rejection) Petersen
Fully aromatic cross linked polyamide NF Filmtec Co. 1985 2.2.5. Future of nanofiltration
membranes RO and UF have been used widely for different applications but
Polyethyleneimine NF membranes Linder, Aviv, Perry, 1988
Katraro
their applications are still limited and hard to be extended further,
Acid/base stable NF membranes Linder, Perry, Aviv 1988 NF applications are expanding and replacing other membrane fil-
Chlorine resistant NF membrane MeCray, Petersen 1989 tration techniques. NF membrane is composed of different materi-
NF membrane modified from RO Strantz, Brehrn, 1989 als and its preparation is flexible either by employing RO
membranes Cadotte
membrane polymers such as cellulose acetate and polyamide poly-
by acid, base, oxidant treatment
Solvent resistant NF membrane Black, Shavit 1990 mers in addition to other chemically resistant polymers. Currently,
Perry, Yacubowiez, NF membranes are also made of ceramic materials to withstand
Linder high temperature. The flexibility of preparation and the variety of
raw materials for NF preparation will increase and spread its appli-
cation in different processes. With such flexible raw material selec-
various industrial purposes. What is really needed to separate the
tion and easiness to be modified for different applications, NF will
solute from the solution for molecular weight range from 500 to
be soon the major and most used membrane filtration technology
10,000 gm-moles?
which requires that research community should focus more on NF
development.
2.2.3. The start of new technology and membrane classification
Dr. Peter Eriksson named the new class of membranes in mar- 2.3. Types of nanofiltration membrane
ket application NF membranes at 1984. The term NF is related to
the estimated pore size in a membrane characterized by MW Types of the membrane are classified according to the mem-
removal. The new membrane technology has initiated hat we can brane structure and pore shape into isotropic micro-porous, non-
call the fourth class of membranes operating under pressure driven porous, dense, electrically charged, asymmetric, ceramic, and
operation. NF is distinguished by the ability to separate small liquid membranes [8–11].
solutes from solution by two mechanisms. The first mechanism,
which is well admitted in the science community, is separating 2.3.1. Typical flow configurations
molecules based on their charge in water which is known ionic Usually, two flow configurations are distinguished in mem-
separation of NF. The second mechanism is sieving according to brane systems as shown in Fig. 2:
the molecular weight of uncharged solutes.
 Cross-flow with concentrate recycle (CFCR); and
2.2.4. Current situation on nanofiltration  Flow system with a dead-end.
While RO and UF usage in water and wastewater treatment is
increasing gradually, NF applications are increasing exponentially Cross-flow (also defined as tangential flow) filtration is con-
in water and wastewater treatment, other applications in the ducted by employing a high-pressure feed water flow across the
industry like separation of solute or chemical from solution, pro- membrane. The solution is divided into two parts, a part passes
ducing bio-materials, drug industry, and flavors. In addition to pro- through the membrane or filtered which is called permeate and

Fig. 2. Membrane flow configurations.

3082 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

the remaining just flow marginally with the membrane surface  Plate and frame module [60–300 m2/m3];
without separation or filtration which is called the reject or con-  Tubular membrane module [60–200 m2/m3];
centrate. The concentrate composed of all rejected salts and it is  Spiral wound module [300–800 m2/m3]; and
usually concentrated with all undesired materials.  Hollow fiber membrane module [20 000–30 000 m2/m3].
The flow system that contains dead-end unit is operated by
accumulating reject until backwashing is required. The backwash-
ing process flushes and disposes of all the accumulated concentrate
using a washing liquid volume of 2–5% of the total inlet solution. 2.3.3.1. Spirally wound membrane elements. Industrially the mem-
The cross-flow helps to preserve the uniform flow rate of permeate brane is used as spirally wound membrane element, each element
and help to keep a longer membrane life by eliminating irre- contains several spirally wound sections connected in series. The
versible membrane fouling. inlet solution is introduced at one end of the spirally wound mem-
brane element, the feed will flow through the membrane gap and
permeate is produced by cross-flow through flow channels inside
2.3.2. Nanofiltration membrane material and configurations the support material which is usually made of special fabrics.
The NF membranes are characterized essentially by chemical The permeate then flows through the perforated tube at the central
and physical compatibility with process liquors, pore size distribu- part of the element. The concentrate enters through remaining
tion, surface chemistry, porosity, and cost. The membrane func-
tionality depends on three layers: an active layer, porous
supporting layer, and macroporous structure underneath. The
active layer properties determine the permeability of a certain
component and hence the selectivity of a certain membrane for a
separation process. The supporting layer helps to modify the
mechanical properties. And the last layer is a macroporous layer
below the medium layer.

2.3.3. Configuration of nanofiltration membrane elements

The membrane surface working area per unit of membrane ele-
ment volume range for different membrane configuration, Table 7
Characteristics of the principal module designs [12,13]:
Fig. 4. Cross-section of a spiral-wound module.

Table 7
Characteristics of the principal module designs.

Characteristics Spiral Wound Hollow Fiber Tubular Plate and Frame

2 3
Packing Density (m /m ) 800 6000 70 500
Required Feed Flow (m3/m2-s) 0.25–0.50 0.005 1.0–5.0 0.25–0.50
Feed Pressure (psi) 43–85 1.4–4.3 28–43 43–85
Membrane Fouling Propensity High High Low Moderate
Ease of Cleaning Poor to good Poor Excellent Good
Feed Stream Filtration Requires 10–25 m 5–10 m Not required 10–25 m
filtration filtration filtration

Fig. 3. Spirally wound membrane.

 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092 3083

Fig. 5. Principal of nanofiltration process.

membrane layers to undergo subsequent separation processes as
shown in Fig. 3 [14–16]. The design is shown in Fig. 3 is distin-
guished with a large surface area of membrane surface contained
in a small element volume, although the unused space might be
suspected to the formation of biological creatures.
Spirally wound elements are available in different element
diameter usually 5, 10, and 20 cm. A removal of suspended solids
is a necessary pretreatment step for the feed before filtration in
the spirally wound element. Spirally wound element is usually
employed in desalination of seawater and brackish water due to
a low price and compact nature. Fig. 4 explode view and cross-
section drawings of a spiral-wound module.
2.4. Nanofiltration process
NF is a process by which part of the feed passes through
semi-permeable membrane Fig. 5. The inlet stream is divided
into permeate which is the filtered portion of the stream and
the retentate or concentrate which is the rejected non-filtered
portion. NF has effectively shown efficient removal of organic
material. However, chlorine disinfection is important for
removal of microbial growth which has been reported in NF dis-
tribution systems. To reduce microbial growth, NF membranes
characterized by low inorganic material detention and high
removal of organic materials can produce water with an opti-
mum quality.
3. List of reverse osmosis and NF membrane manufactures
The membrane manufactures producing membranes for
domestic, industrial and desalination plant applications are shown
in Table 8.
3.1. Advantages and disadvantages
NF is distinguished with the removal of calcium and magne-
sium ions resulting in water softening, and no addition of sodium
ions during filtration [18–21] compared to ion exchange units.
NF does not require additional chemical treatment to reduce hard-
ness; so the water softening process is approached effectively
without realizing sodium resin in water which is the case for
50 years.
NF does not require heating or cooling of feed like distillation
for example which will reduce the cost of separation effectively.
In addition, no mechanical stirring is required which will maintain
gentle molecular separation. NF has the important benefit of han-
dling a high volume of feed in a continuous manner and a stable
flow rate of permeate.
However, NF has a limited application in the industry due to the
pore size of the membrane which is limited to nano-pore size. RO
and UF are preferred since they can cover the UF range effectively
without the cost limitation of NF due to high initial, operating and
maintenance cost [22]. Since replacement of NF membranes is a

Table 8
List of reverse osmosis & NF membrane manufactures [17].

Vendor Telephone Vendor Telephone

A/G Technologies, MA 617-449-5786 New Logic, CA 510-655-7305
Advanced Recovery Systems, CA 818-764-6441 Osmonics, MN 404-892-3175
Amicon Corp., MA 617-777-4550 Pall Corporation, NY 800-289-7255
Cer-Wat Corp., TN 615-588-8342 Prosys Corp., MA 508-250-4940
CeraMem Separations, MA 617-899-0467 Pureflow, GA 404-939-7717
Dedert Corporation, IL 708-747-7000 Refractron Technologies, NY 315-331-6222
Desalination Systems, CA 619-746-4995 Rhone-Poulenc Inc., NJ 609-860-3580
Dupont Separation Systems, DE 302-695-5234 Rochem Separation Systems, CA 310-370-3160
DynatecInc, NJ 609-387-0330 Separation Technology, SC 803-366-5050
Epoc Filtration Systems, CA 209-291-8144 Separation System Technologies, CA 619-581-3765
Fluid Systems, CA 619-695-3840 Seprotech Systems Inc., Canada 613-523-1641
Fycon Technologies, NC 704-529-4370 Spin Tek, CA 714-848-3060
Gaston County Dye Machine, NC 704-263-6000 The Dow Chemical Company, MI 517-636-6786
Graver Separation Systems, SC 302-731-3539 US Filter, PA 512-772-1319
Graver Water Inc., NJ 908-964-2400 WL Gore & Assoc., MA 410-392-3300
HC Warner Inc., NC 704-588-3388 Wheelabrator/Memtek, NJ 609-953-1788
Hoescht Celanese, NC 704-588-5310 Zenon Environmental, Canada 905-639-6320
Koch Membrane Systems, MA 508-657-4250 Zimpro Environmental, WI 608-838-6777
LCI Corporation, NC 704-394-8341 Millipore Corp., MA 617-275-9200
Membrex Corp., NJ 201-575-8388 National Environmental Tech., NC 704-529-5551
3084 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

Table 9
List of Some Commercially Nanofiltration Membranes [19].

Firm Membrane Material pH P T R Jp Conditions °C, g/L;

MPa °C % L/m2-h
Filmetc NF270 PA 3–10 4.1 40 40–60 CaCl2 > 97MgSO4 63 25;0.5;0.48
53 25;2;0.48
Filmetc NF90 PA 3–10 4.1 45 85–95 NaCl > 97 MgSO4 32 25;2;0.48
41
Filmetc NF200 PA 3–10 4.1 45 35–50 CaCl2 > 97MgSO4 34 25;0.5;0.48
29 25;2;0.48
Koch SR2 n.s 4–9 2.4 45 10-30NaCL > 97MgSO4 52 25;2;0.38
Koch SR3 n.s 4–10 3.45 50 30–50 NaCl 27 25;2;0.66
Koch MPS 36 n.s 1–13 3.5 70 10 NaCl 201 30;2;0.06
Koch MPS50 PPA 3–10 3.5 40 95 polymer in Butyl n.s 30;5;3
acetate/xylene
Nitto NTR 7450 HG n.s 2–11 5 90 50 NaCl n.s 30;2;3
Nitto NTR 70 HG PVA 2–8 5 60 93 NaCl n.s 25;2;1
Nitto NTR 7430HG PVA 2–11 3 90 30 NaCl n.s 25;1.5;1
Nitto NTR7410 n.s 2–11 3 40 10 NaCl n.s 25;2;0.5
Nitto NTR7410HG n.s 2–11 5 90 10 NaCl n.s 25;2;0.5
Nitto LES90 n.s 2–10 2 40 95 NaCl n.s 25;2;1
Trisep XN45 PA-urea 3–11 4.1 45 95 MgSO4 n.s 25;2;1
Trisep TSS0 PA 4–11 4.1 45 99 MgSO4 42 25;2;0.67
Hydranauties ESNA PA 3–10 4.1 45 87 CaCl2 37 25;2;0.76
Nadir N30F PES 0–14 n.s 95 25–35 NaCl 40–70 25;0.5;0.52
85–95 NaSO4
Nadir NF PES 10 PES 0–14 n.s 95 5–15 NaCl 200–400 20;n.s;4
30–60 NaSO4
Toray SU 620 PA 3–8 4.1 45 55 NaCl 27 20;n.s;4
Sepro NF 1 PA 3–10 8.3 50 80 NaCl 110 25;0.5;0.35
90 MgSO4
Sepro NF 2 PA 3–10 83 50 55 NaCl 135 25;2;1.03
97 MgSO4
Sepro NF 3 PA 3–10 8.3 50 40 NaCl 42 25;2;1.03
98 MgSO4
Sepro NF 4 PA 3–10 8.3 50 35 NaCl 110 25;2;1.03
98 MgSO4
Osmonies Desal 5 (DK) PA 4–11 6.8 90 50 NaCl 38 25;1;0.7
Osmonies Desal G10 (GH) PA 4–11 6.8 90 30 NaCl 38 25;1;0.7
Osmonies HL n.s 3–9 3.1 50 98 MgSO4 46 25;2;0.69
Osmonies CK CA 5–6.5 3.1 30 97 MgSO4 38 n.s
Osmonies Durasliek n.s 5.5–7 4.1 50 98.6 MgSO4 48 25;2;0.69
Osmonies Seasoft n.s 2–11 4.1 50 98 MgSO4 38 n.s
Osmonies HR 2–11 4.1 50 98 MgSO4 35 n.s

PA = polymide, PVA = polyvinyl, CA = cellulose acetate, PES = polyethersulphone, n.s = not states, Manufacturer test results were based on spiral wound module except for
Nadir membranes, which were tested as flat samples.

function of TDS, NF membranes are replaced in a shorter time com-
pared to the actual filter lifetime which increases the NF cost. List
of some commercially available nanofiltration membrane shown in
Table 9.
Using NF systems has increased the energy requirements for
water treatment 60–150%, low energy systems are an important
requirement. Green energy may act as an efficient way to reduce
energy requirement as suggested by Sombekke [23], however,
the green energy price is higher than conventional energy. One
way to reduce energy requirements of NF is to use of more perme-
able NF which will reduce pressure and energy requirements
which may affect membrane operation. So, a balance is required
to optimize energy requirements and optimum operation.
should consider the elimination of feed leakage to permeate using
O-rings or glue, reducing energy requirements by minimizing pres-
sure losses [25,26].
4. Nanofiltration membrane transport models
Mathematical presentation or models can be used to describe
the RO/NF membranes performance and operation, and to predict
the response of the membrane system under operating conditions.
These models are crucial for the design of RO/NF systems. Models
that can well predict the membrane performance will reduce the
experimental work required for exploring a particular system
[27–31].

3.2. Design and operation 4.1. RO/NF models can be categorized into 3model types

An efficient packing method is essential for commercializing
membrane application especially in industry, effective membrane
application requires large area; so the membrane is used commer-
cially after using an economically and effective housing/packing
[24]. A support is important to operate the membranes; the sup-
port should be porous and able to withstand the high pressure
inside the module. The components inside the module permit
appropriate flow conditions by providing flow channels reducing
concentration polarization. The design of an effective module
(i) Irreversible thermodynamics models;
(ii) Non-pores or homogeneous membrane model [solution-
diffusion model];
(iii) Pore models for membranes.
Models such as Donnan exclusion and extended Nernst-Planck
can be used to represent nanofiltration membranes. Nanofiltration
membranes are often negatively charged, so NF includes
electrostatic effects. The top layer of composite or asymmetric
 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092 3085

membranes is the area studied in transport models since this layer
determine selectivity and flux. Models usually adopt equilibrium
condition or steady-state operation.
Also, most of the membrane models assume equilibrium [or
near equilibrium] or steady-state conditions in the membrane.
Below, a brief discussion of the solution-diffusion method is pre-
sented. The solution-diffusion method considers process variables
on membrane performance, concentration polarization, and water-
solute-membrane interactions.
4.2. Solution-diffusion model
The solution-diffusion model (SDM), this model is developed
assuming solute and solvent diffusion within the membrane. They
proposed a model with the following assumptions [27–33]:
(1) The membrane is composed of a surface layer that is non-
porous and homogenous;
(2) Solvent and solute dissolve in the surface layer;
(3) The chemical potential gradient controls the transportation
of matters; and
(4) The chemical potential gradients of solvent and solute are
affected by concentration and pressure differences across
the membrane.
4.3. Summary of equations of spiral-wound NF by SDM [27–33]


Cf þ Cc
Concentration average; C m ¼
2
Concentration polarization factor; b ¼ ek
y ¼ e0:7y eky ¼ e0:7y
Concentration gradient; DC ¼ bðC m  C P Þ
Osmotic pressure; Dp ¼ p  pP


J
TCF
Mass transfer coefficient ½Ks ¼ c ð14Þ
DC
5. Applications of nanofiltration membranes [34]
Nanofiltration membranes are a relatively recent development,
filling a void between two well-established technologies: reverse
osmosis and ultrafiltration separation processes. One of the most
exciting characteristics of Nanofiltration membranes is their ability
to permeate mono-valent ions, such as sodium chloride, through
the membrane, while rejecting divalent and multivalent ions, such
as sodium sulfate. This flexibility opens up many possibilities in
the development of specialty process applications across multiple
industries. Filtration is primarily focused on process applications,
and so it was a natural fit to develop Nanofiltration membranes
to add to an already diverse product offering of ultrafiltration
and microfiltration membranes.
Nanofiltration membrane processes are commonly used by a
number of industrial processes, including Chemical industry, food,
textiles, metal finishing, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical and
biotechnology applications, and power generation. The reported
applications include mainly:
 Application in the chemical industry,
 Desalination of food industries [dairy, juice processing, soft
drinks, sugar industry, fish meal, beverage products, meat pro-
cessing, baker’s yeast, and olive processing],
ð1Þ  Whey partial desalination,
 Textile dyes desalination and brighteners of optical,
 Removals of Metal, Nickel, and Chrome plating from metal fin-
ishing industries and leather industry,
ð2Þ  Pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications, and
 Purification spent clean-in-place (CIP) chemicals.
ð3Þ
5.1. NF applications by industry
ð4Þ

Net driving pressure ½NDP ¼ DP  Dpm ð5Þ Food, Dairy, Beverage  Concentration and demineraliza-
! and Plant Extracts tion of lactose:
Qp Nanofiltration membranes can
Recovery; R% ¼
100 ð6Þ concentrate and demineralized
Qf
lactose at the same time, to vari-
! ous degrees of purification as
Qp required by the process
Y; fraction recovery ¼ ð7Þ
Qf  Maple syrup concentration:
As opposed to conventional boil-


Cp ing reduction methods for thick
Salt passage ½SP% ¼
100 ð8Þ
Cf maple syrup, nanofiltration can
be employed to reduce both costs
Salt rejection ½SR ¼ 100  ½SP % ð9Þ and processing time
 Gibberellins [plant/pharma]:



Cc 1 Gibberellins are plant hormones
Concentration factor ½CF ¼ ¼ ð10Þ used to promote plant growth
Cf 1y
and other developmental pro-

 cesses. Nanofiltration is a reliable
Qp
Permeate flux; Jw ¼ ð11Þ method to increase total product
A
yields by concentrating plant

 hormones such as gibberellins
J w
TCF
Membrane permeability ½Kw ¼ ½FF ¼ 1newmembrane Textile and Dyes  Dye desalting and concentration:
NDP
Dye desalting and concentration
ð12Þ
using nanofiltration are an effec-

 tive means of improving dye
Qc
Salt flux; Js ¼ ¼ K s
DC
TCF ð13Þ strength, purity, and value. The
A
(continued on next page)
3086 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

concentration capacity of nanofil- 5.2. Recent NF applications

tration membranes also plays an
important role in textile wastew- 5.2.1. Systems water softening
ater treatment by increasing both Hardness is caused by ions of Calcium [Ca2+], Magnesium [Mg2+]
product recovery and reuse and Bicarbonate [HCO 3 ]. The hardness ions or minerals cause scale

 Dye concentration: By allowing formation in pipes and equipment in potable water and systems
salts and water to pass through uses water process like the heat exchanger. Water can be purified
an NF membrane, nanofiltration using softening units to remove scale-forming ions [35].
can be a practical alternative for
the concentration and desalina-
tion of dyes used in the textile 5.2.2. Municipal wastewater treatment
industry An advanced treatment combination for polishing municipal
 Dye penetrate removal: Nanofil- wastewater with the purpose of a safe groundwater recharge was
tration is widely applied in the investigated. The results indicated that NF is appropriate to treat
recovery of dye in order to meet the tertiary effluent to reject DOC and AOX to a concentration less
discharge regulations after pene- than 2–3 mg/l and 20 lg/l. Bio-fouling on the NF membrane (Desal
trating testing with fluorescent DK5); the surface can be controlled by higher cross-flow velocity of
dyes about 1 m/s. A suitable pretreatment like slow sand filtration is
 Optical brightening agent con- required. Ozonation experiments with the concentrate to confirm
centration and desalination: Opti- an enhanced bio-degradability of refractory DOC [36].
cal brightening agents are able to A combination of RO and NF with controlled crystallization was
enhance colors appearance. To implemented to treat landfill Leachate to reduce its volume of con-
reduce operating costs, nanofil- centrate for further processing, by 75–80% [35]. Also, in another
tration can be employed to study, NF was able to remove COD from refractory, permeate
increase the agent brightening shows a COD less than required for the discharge [37–39]. Table 10
concentration to be reused shows the benefits of NF application in wastewater treatment.
Industrial Processes  Seawater sulfate removal:
and Wastewater Nanofiltration membranes have
the ability to selectively remove 5.2.3. Water treatment
sulfate found in seawater, impor- Membrane Processing Technology is used widely in food indus-
tant in preventing scaling in oil- try and treatment of food industry effluents. Fouling rate and
field waterflood operations membrane layer rapid concentration are caused by wastewater
 Dissolved natural organic matter from the food industry especially when operating under high pres-
removal from surface water: Nat- sure. Instead of RO/UF, a single NF stage can reduce the COD; for
ural organic matter [NOM] can be example in whey production; a stream with COD of 100,000 mg
removed from surface water O2L-1 is filtered to reduce permeate with COD of 2787 mg O2L-1.
using nanofiltration to aid in the The rejected proteins stream is concentrated to around 88%
production of NOM-enriched [40–43].
water or for industrial process
water Table 10
 Landfill leachate treatment: As a The benefits of NF application in wastewater treatment.
lower energy alternative, nanofil-
Application Permeate Concentrate Benefits of NF
tration can be used to treat
Whey/Whey Salty Desalted whey Allows the recovery of
certain landfill Leachate by
permeate wastewater concentrate lactose and whey protein
removing pollutants, decreasing concentrate with reduced
TOC and COD levels, and lowering salt content
turbidity Textile Dyes Water, salts, NF is used to desalt dyes
 Brine recovery: NF membranes BOD, COD and resulting in a higher
color value product
can reject high amounts of sulfate Caustic cleaning Caustic BOD, COD, Allows caustic cleaning
and allow sodium chloride ions to solutions cleaning suspended solution to be recycled
pass through the membrane, solution solids, caustic resulting in reduced
offering a viable solution for brine cleaner cleaning chemical costs
Recycle of acid Acid BOD, COD, Allows acid solution to be
recovery in industrial processes
solutions solution calcium, recycled resulting in
Biotech/  Antibiotics production: Nanofil- suspended reduced cleaning
Pharmaceutical tration membranes have been an solids, acidic chemical costs
attractive separation process water
technology employed in separa- Water Softened Hard water Potable water
water production. Softened
tion, concentration, and produc- water reduces scaling on
tion of hormones and antibiotics equipment and heat
 Blood serum: Once blood serum exchange surfaces
and blood plasma have been Antibiotics Salty waste Desalted, NF produces high value
product concentrated pharmaceutical products
separated, nanofiltration can be
Antibiotics
used to capture fibrinogen and Pharmaceutical Drug Salty waste Increases value of
other clotting compounds Industry Industry product pharmaceutical product
 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092 3087

Small-scale food and beverages industrial units develop eco- Table 12

nomical processes to recover water from effluents due to the high Recent NF Applications in Industries [48].

cost of water. One common process is to use a bioreactor in com- Industry Applications Future
bination with NF unit to fully disinfect and recover water. The Water Water softening
bioreactor reduces around 95% of wastewater COD. The produced Removal of NOM from surface waters +
water has a quality similar to potable water according to German Removal of EDC/PPCPs from natural water and +
Drinking Water. The recovered water can be used to cover a por- wastewater
Removal of DOC and pesticides from surface water +
tion of the industry needs [44]. and wastewater
In addition to water and wastewater treatment, NF can be Removal of nitrate ion from natural water +
employed in water softening and low MW salt recovery. So, NF Removal of heavy metals from industrial +
can be employed in sulfate retention during seawater filtration wastewater
Sulphate removal
and treatment of petroleum products [45].
Seawater pre-treatment
According to Song et al. [46], ‘‘the H2O2/UV oxidation of source Desalination by dual stage +
water prior to NF showed potential for the following: [i] mitigation Partial demineralization of seawater to prepare +
of flux decline due to membrane fouling, [ii] removal of the pesti- Personal body washing solution (salinity near 9 g/L)
cide and hydrogen sulfide, and [iii] improvement in membrane Food Concentration and demineralization of whey/UF
whey
clean-ability.” According to Wang et al. [47], membrane fouling is
Treatment of vapor condensate in milk processing
mostly occurred through natural organic matter [NOM]. Several Concentration of dairy matter
problems arise during NF applications in wastewater treatment Recycle of process waters in dairy industry +
and recovery of valuable materials; however, the most serious Recovery of cleaning agent from CIP discharge in
dairy industry
problem for NF operation is the foulants accumulation.
Purification of dextrose syrup
Decolonization of sugar solutions
Demineralization of colored brine from anion
5.2.4. Separation processes exchange resin elution
NF can play a major role in separating valuable chemicals or Concentration of glycoside sweeteners from stevial +
removal of a hazardous or undesirable substance from liquid leaves
streams which can save cost and improve the environmental Concentration of xylose reaction liquor for +
manufacturing xylitol sweetener
impact of industry. NF can be used for solvent exchange [45]. pH
Beverage Grape juice concentration for win processing
and concentration of substance are main parameters which may Textile Removal of organics, color, turbidity in wastewater
affect the process efficiency. NF membrane systems [PES10, Pulp and paper Treatment of effluences to reuse water
N30F, and MPF36], produced using organic materials, are used to Leather Recovery and recycle of tannins in the leather
recover the valuable lactic acid. Optimum results were achieved industry
Removal of sulphate and chromium from
using PES10 with a flow rate of 6.5 Lm2 h1. NF can be employed wastewater
for separating different substance in the food industry; however, Pharmaceutical Recovery and concentration of antibiothics
further research is needed to improve efficiency and to overcome Diverse Sulfate removal from brine feed to the electrolyzers
expected problems [46]. in chloralkali plants
Dewaxing organic solvent by solvent resistant NF +
Similar problems are encountered in gas/vapor separations, the
membranes
limitation of operating range and less diversity of membranes is a In production processes of organic acids +
major challenge. The membrane selectivity cannot be preserved Removal of caustic in aggressive wastewater +
using such membrane fabricating materials. Tables 11 and 12 are streams
recent in NF application in industries and dye removals. Recovery of precious metals such as gold and silver +
Catalyst recovery by solvent resistant NF membrane +
Dye industry is a series source for different pollutants before In tissue engineering and orthopaedics +
discharge dye industry effluent should be treated to reduce the DNA and protein separation +
negative effect on human and aquatic life. The conventional old
methods for dyes removal are oxidation, adsorption, biological

Table 11
Dye removal through ultrafiltration/nanofiltration.

Membrane Dyes Removal (%) Conditions

NF 200 Everzol Black >90 Initial dye
NF270 Everzol Blue Concentration: 600 mg/L, pressure: 3–12 bars
Everzol Red
PMIA Eriochrome Black T 99> Initial dye
Concentration: 1 mg/L, pressure: 0.4 MPa, 1 g/L
Acrylic grafted 9 dyes of textile 86–99 Initial dye
Poly sulfone Concentration: 50
CMC – Na/PP Sunset Yellow 82.2 Initial dye
Thin – film composite (700 Da) Methyl blue 99.7 Concentration: 100 mg/L, Ph: 6.8, pressure: 6.2 – 6.9 l/m2 h
Congo Red 99.9
Poly – sulfone polymide – thin film Reactive Black 5 60–97 Initial dye
Concentration: 0
0.4–2 g/L, pressure:
5–25 psi
CMC – Na/PP thin film composite (700 Da) Congo Red 99.9 Initial dye
Methyl blue Concentration: 100 mg/L, pressure: 0.8 bar, flux; 6.2–6.9 l/m2 h
UV garfring on PPSU (1627–1674) Safranine O 99.98, 86.76 Initial dye conc
Orang II 50 mg/L, 30 min, pressure: 5 bars
3088 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092
treatment, and coagulation. The reverse micelle extraction is a rel-
atively new technique for dyes removal. However, old methods
have shown more effective removal. Combination of different
removal technologies should be employed to reach a reasonable
removal rate of dyes considering their negative impact on all spe-
cies. The research community is entitled to develop more effective
and economical removal methods to improve the quality of
wastewater and hence reduce the pollutant sources affecting water
resources on the planet.
6. Fouling of nanofiltration membranes
Membrane Fouling Phenomena: colloidal fouling, microbiologi-
cal fouling, and chemical fouling; Fig. 6 illustrates substance poten-
tially harmed to membranes.
Pretreatment is an essential and economical step to decrease
occurs in cleaning and extend membrane life. The following steps
represent effective methods for pretreatment [49–51]:
1. Pretreatment system monitoring.
2. Process technicians should be aware of how trace contami-
nants; e.g., trace oils and solvents can affect membranes.
3. The following parameters should be controlled to decrease
membrane fouling:
o pH of feed.
o The flow rate of permeate and concentrate.
o Feed temperature.
Organic and inorganic compounds, suspended particles, and
micro-organisms may cause membrane fouling; however organic
materials have shown the major role [52–55]. Such effect attribu-
ted to organic matter was found to vary depending on the applica-
tion. The findings of [56] showed that NF fouling and permeate flux
declination is mostly related to bio-fouling. Organic matter adsorp-
tion is affected by molecule nature and membrane properties. The
NOM molecule with a high MW causing NF membrane fouling
since the hydrophobic fractions of NOM adsorb on the membrane
[57–60] unfortunately hydrophilic NOM is important in many
application and cannot be removed [61].
6.1. Cleaning of nanofiltration membranes
Membrane proper selection and operating conditions may delay
the fouling process, a higher pressure can maintain a steady flux of
permeate but in some cases, cleaning is necessary to keep mem-
brane optimum performance. The cleaning process should be con-
ducted if: a permeate flux falls more than 10% or the salt content in
permeate increases by 10%, or when the NDP rises by 15% consid-
Fig. 6. Substances potentially harmed to membranes.
ering the optimum conditions. The cleaning intervals vary from
days to months depending on the application. However, it is rec-
ommended to clean the membrane on a regular basis even before
the above conditions are encountered [62].
Chemical cleaning is widely used but the process should be
effective in cleaning and also maintain membrane characteristics.
The membrane composition and thermal stability determine the
cleaning agent and conditions of cleaning process [63]. Tempera-
ture, concentration, and pH of the cleaning solution, pressure, flow
and cleaning time are an important factor in cleaning process
[64,65].
6.2. Cleaning agents
To remove bio-films and organic matters, alkaline cleaners are
recommended while acidic cleaners are recommended for inor-
ganic foulants [66,67]. Other cleaning agents such as detergents
and chelating agents may be used to reduce adsorption forces
and surface tension of foulants, in addition, to disturb metals and
calcium aggregates [68,69]. While for lipids and proteins, enzy-
matic cleaners should be used [70,71]. As shown in Table 13.
For complex layer, various chemicals are used. The composition
of cleaning solution and cleaning protocols change can achieve bet-
ter cleaning, a typical cleaning experiment is shown in Fig. 7. Mem-
brane cleaning is conducted by employing two processes namely,
rinsing and chemical cleaning. Clean water replaces the feed water
to reduce the deposited layer [66]. Then the cleaning agent is used.
After cleaning, clean water is used again to rinse the system. High-
quality water is supposed to be used during the rinsing process,
Table 13
Cleaning agents.
Type of foulant Cleaning agents
Mineral Deposits/Precip. Salts Acids
Organic Foulants Alkalis
Micro-organisms Enzymes
Oils, Fat and Grease Detergents
All Foulants in Tubular System Sponge Balls
Fig. 7. Flow diagram of chemical cleaning experiment.
 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092
since any contaminants entrained in cleaning water may result in
further blocking the membrane pores.
6.3. Membrane analyses
The membrane can be characterized using contact angle mea-
surement by the drop method [46]. Fourier Transform Infrared
(FTIR) spectroscopy can be used to determine membrane func-
tional groups. SEM can be used to study the surface appearance.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) can be used for elemen-
tary composition.
6.4. Foulant analysis
NF fouled membranes is characterized by precipitates of alu-
minum, calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, and silica and an
Fig. 8. Phases of NF process treating coagulated surface water.
Fig. 9. Distribution of operation and maintenance costs of NF process.
3089
increase in the oxygen and CAO and CAN bonds which indicates
organic fouling existence. Silicates are believed to have a major
role in fouling, even if the feed with low silicates [47] since silicates
form a tightly adsorbed layer on the membrane surface. Formation
of a silicate and organic matter complex is another suggested
mechanism for fouling [48]. In addition to silicates, polysaccha-
rides and amides were found to cause fouling either for treating
river water and lake water. Other authors have also found similar
organic foulants on the NOM fouled membranes [50]. Fig. 8 Phases
of NF process treating coagulated surface water at shows.
7. Cost of Nanofiltration
Due to the high cost associated with NF operation, NF is not yet
commercially used in water treatment. Since there are no operat-
ing NF plants, cost data are collected based on studies conducted
over real operating plants [72,73], and on pilot-scale data with cal-
culated cost according to the experimental results [74–76].
Both Wiesner and Chellam [71] found that the cost of NF was
particularly sensitive to the flux, but the recovery had a relatively
small effect on the total cost of NF. However, in industrial plants,
other investment parameters have an effect on the total cost. The
proportion of the membrane-related investment costs has been
reported to be 20–30% of the total investment costs at smaller
plants (plant capacity 4000–8000 m3/d), and the proportion
increases to near 50% as the plant size increases (plant capacity
53,000–125,000 m3/d). To conclude, the membrane module cost
becomes a more important factor of cost and smaller economy of
scale is realized at larger plants [73].
Other important items of the cost are the operating and main-
tenance cost which include fixed cost like labor and general main-
tenance cost and viable cost like replacement costs, chemicals, and
energy [71]. Higher operation rate is important to reduce the cost
of membrane operation and maintenance. NF can compete well
with other treatment methods for low capacity water treatment
units [75]. The cost estimates for different NF units are presented
in Fig. 9. Since 42–61% of NF systems is attributed to energy and
materials especially membrane, changes in material cost, mem-
brane lifetime, and energy will have a remarkable effect on process
viability. So it is expected that the total cost would increase by 4–
6% if the electricity price has increased by 29% [73–80].
Membrane processes have increasingly attracted more applica-
tions in different life aspects. Due to the high demand for water, it
is expected that membrane applications will grow exponentially to
3090 M.A. Abdel-Fatah / Ain Shams Engineering Journal 9 (2018) 3077–3092

Table 14
Detailed market study of 2017.

Global markets, title Subjects Ref.

& Technologies for Water Recycling & Reuse,
July 2017
Major RO System Components for Water
Treatment: The Global Market, May 2017
Membrane Technology for Liquid & Gas
Separations, November 2016
Ultrafiltration Membranes: Technologies &
Global Markets, June 2016
Seawater & Brackish Water Desalination,
March 2016
Membrane Technology for Food & Beverage
Processing: Global Markets, February 2016
The Global Market for Membrane
Microfiltration, January 2016
Membrane Bioreactors: Global Markets, June
2015
Advanced Technologies for Municipal Water
Treatment, August 2014
Water and Wastewater Treatment
Technologies: Global Markets, November
2013
Around $12.2 billion is the market of wastewater recycling around the globe in 2016. At 2021, [81]
it is expected to reach $22.3 Billion with a compound annual growth rate of 13.1%
$6.6 billion is the market of RO system components around the globe in 2016. At 2021, it is [82]
expected to reach $11 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 11% from 2016 to 2021
The combined US market for gas and liquid separation membranes reached nearly $3.4 billion [83]
in 2016. The market should reach over $4.6 billion by 2021, growing at a compound annual
growth rate of 6.2%
The UF membranes market has reached nearly $3.3 billion in 2016 around the globe. At 2021, [84]
it is expected to reach $4.6 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 6.9%
At 2015, the desalination plant cumulative investment reached $21.4 billion globally. At 2020, [85]
it will reach $48.2 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 17.6%
The food and beverage industry membranes market reached $ 4 billion in 2014 globally. At [86]
2015 and 2020, it will reach $4.2 and $5.8 billion respectively with a compound annual growth
rate of 6.7%
The microfiltration membrane market reached $1.9 billion globally at 2015. At 2020, it will [87]
reach $2.6 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%
At 2014, the bioreactor membrane systems market reached $425.7 million globally. At 2019, it [88]
is expected to reach $777.7 million with a compound annual growth rate of 12.8%
At 2014, the advanced treatment technologies for municipal water market in U.S. reached $2.3 [89]
billion. At 2019, the market is expected to reach $3.2 billion with a compound annual growth
rate of 7.4%
At 2014 in the 40 heights national markets, the water and wastewater treatment products are [90]
valued at $59.2 billion. At 2019, it is expected to reach $96.3 billion with a compound annual
growth rate of 10.2%

cover industrial and portable needs. A detailed market study is
shown in the Table 14 below [81–90]:
8. Conclusions
Membranes processes are among the best available techniques
for water and wastewater treatment [91–94]. Membrane technol-
ogy represents a viable alternative for conventional separation
technologies [95,96]. NF systems operated at a higher recovery rate
[83%] and had the advantages of lower cost operation and the least
environmental impact. The total and operation costs of NF can be
balanced to a minimum total cost at an optimum driving pressure
and the driving pressure has a direct linear relation with environ-
mental impact. The operating parameters reducing the NF cost
appeared to reduce the environmental impact of NF as well. Stud-
ies are mostly conducted on lab scale. Pilot scale studies will play a
better role in expecting the performance of industrial plants.
Fouling, low flux, instability, and poor durability are technical
barriers need to be overcome to ensure the viability of NF systems.
Different raw materials can be employed to produce membranes
for different application such as inorganic, organic and ceramic
membranes. Formation of large membrane modules is a major step
in improving economics and to incorporate the NF in different
industrial applications. Reducing energy consumption of NF sys-
tems is an important step to commercialize NF systems.
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