Principals of

Membrane Technology
SAN 327

Dr. Samia Abdelrahman

Lecture 3
Membrane
Materials
Membrane
The membrane, typically a synthetic material less
than 1 mm thick, is semipermeable—meaning
that it is highly permeable to some components
in the feed stream and less permeable (or
impermeable) to others. During operation,
permeable components pass through the
membrane and impermeable components are
retained on the feed side. As a result, the
product stream is relatively free of impermeable
constituents and the waste stream is
concentrated in impermeable constituents.
 Membranes
Materials
• The membrane material, to be made useful,
must then be formed (or configured) in
such a way as to allow water to pass
through it.
• Membrane material reflects the different
characteristics of a membrane such as
hydrophobicity, surface charge, roughness,
porosity and retention rate; which in turn
impacts membrane performance and
fouling behavior. (Removal efficiency,
fouling, the charge of surface, cleaning, the
lifetime of membranes)
Materials
Synthetic Organic
Polymers
Organic
membranes
Natural Organic
polymers

Ceramic
membranes

Inorganic
Steel membranes
membranes

Glass membranes
 Several
factors First, membrane materials with the
contribute appropriate chemical, mechanical and
to the
successful permeation properties must be
fabrication selected; this choice is very process-
of a high-
performance specific.
membrane
module.
once the membrane material has been
selected, the technology required to
Materials fabricate this material into a robust, thin,
defect-free membrane

Package the membrane into an

efficient, economical, high surface-area
module, like all membrane processes.
Materials
Preparation techniques are organized by membrane structure:
isotropic membranes, anisotropic membranes, ceramic and metal
membranes, and liquid membranes.
Isotropic membranes have a uniform composition and structure
throughout; such membranes can be porous or dense. Anisotropic (or
asymmetric) membranes, on the other hand, consist of a number of
layers each with different structures and permeabilities. A typical
anisotropic membrane has a relatively dense, thin surface layer
supported on an open, much thicker microporous substrate. The
surface layer performs the separation and is the principal barrier to
flow through the membrane. The open support layer provides
mechanical strength. Ceramic and metal membranes can be either
isotropic or anisotropic.
Materials
Materials
Membranes generally comprise a thin surface layer that
provides the required perm-selectivity on top of a more
open, thicker porous support which provides mechanical
stability.
Membranes are usually fabricated both to have a high
surface porosity, or percent total surface pore cross-
sectional area, and narrow pore size distribution to provide
as high a throughput and selectivity as possible.
The membrane must also be mechanically strong. Lastly, the
material will normally have some resistance to thermal and
chemical attacks, that is, extremes of temperature, pH,
and/or oxidant concentrations that normally arise when the
membrane is chemically cleaned should ideally offer some
resistance to fouling.
Organic materials
Most industrial membranes consist of synthetic or
natural polymers; membranes with both types of
polymers are known as organic membranes.
Examples of synthetic polymers include
polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon PTFE), polyamide-
imide (PAI), and polyvinylidenedifluoride (PVDF)
while natural polymers include rubber, wool, and
cellulose.
Organic materials

• Cellulose Acetate (CA)

A cellulose acetate filtration membrane features a
particularly low capacity for protein binding. This
durable material is used in membrane filters for its
strength, heat resistance of up to 180°C, and ability
to undergo sterilization via all membrane filtration
methods. Its high-strength structure also prevents
any loss of integrity when used.
Organic materials
• Cellulose Acetate (CA)
CA is the most hydrophilic of common industrial-grade membrane materials, which helps to
minimize fouling and maintain high flux values. The material is easy to manufacture, inexpensive, and
available in a wide range of pore sizes. As a cellulosic derivative, however, it is more susceptible to
biological degradation than most other common materials. CA membranes are tolerant of
continuous exposure to free chlorine doses of 1 mg/L or lower, which can prevent biological
degradation. CA is not tolerant of continuous exposure to higher chlorine doses, but intermittent
doses as high as 50 mg/L are acceptable. CA tends to compact under pressure, causing a gradual
decline in the flux over its lifetime. CA membranes are not tolerant of pH conditions below 4 or
above 8.5, temperatures above 30°C, or aggressive chemicals. As a result, CA cannot be cleaned as
aggressively as some other membrane materials.
Organic materials
• Polyethersulphone (PES)
PES is a moderately hydrophobic membrane that wets out
quickly and completely resulting in fast filtration with superior
flow rates and high throughputs. PES membrane also has
extremely low protein binding minimizing the likelihood of
target analyte binding.
They are durable and have excellent chemical and biological
resistance. They can withstand free chlorine contact to 200
mg/L for short periods of time for cleaning, pH values between
1 and 13, and temperatures to 75°C. As a result, cleaning and
disinfecting can be aggressive without degrading the
membrane material.
Organic materials

• Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE)

Teflon filters form a 3D shape similar to a spider
web that consists of billions of microscopic pores.
Because of this porous structure, Teflon is ideal for
applications requiring non-stick and water-resistant
filters for removing particulate from membrane
surfaces. This material can collect some of the
smallest particles, and it allows for optimal airflow
and water entry for reliable filtration.
Organic materials

• Polyamide (Nylon)
Nylon is highly resistant to solvents and
hydrophilic, which makes it viable for filtering
water along with organic solvents. The material’s
larger pores make it useful for isolating single-
celled or certain multicellular organisms such as
bacteria and roundworms.
Organic materials
• Polyvinylidene fluoride
PVDF is moderately hydrophobic and has excellent durability, chemical
tolerance, and biological resistance. It can withstand continuous free
chlorine contact to any concentration, pH values between 2 and 10, and
temperatures to 75°C. As a result, cleaning and disinfecting can be
aggressive without degrading the membrane material.
Organic materials
• Polypropylene (PP)
PP is the most hydrophobic of common industrial-grade membrane materials.
Only MF membranes are available in PP; the material is too hydrophobic to
allow water to pass through the small pore spaces in UF membranes. It is
durable, chemically and biologically resistant, and tolerant of moderately high
temperatures and pH values between 1 and 13, which allows aggressive
cleaning regimes. However, PP is not tolerant to chlorine, which hinders the
ability to control biological growth in the membrane equipment.
Organic materials
• Cellulose Nitrate (Collodion)

Cellulose nitrate is often used for quality control in the form of sterile membrane
filters. These filters are available in various pore sizes and material blends, with the
ability to effectively control microbial growth. Some filters combine cellulose
nitrate with cellulose acetate, the latter of which can provide additional thermal
stability and higher flow rates. Depending on the color of the filter, it can also
provide sufficient contrast to make it easy to identify and qualify microbial
colonies.
 The primary materials used for inorganic
membranes are:
- aluminum oxide (Al2O3)
- zirconium oxide (ZrO2)
Also being tried as membranes are materials such
as:
- stainless steel (SUS)
- glass (Sirasu Porous Glass, SPG)

inorganic materials
Inorganic materials
• Metallic membranes
are made from sintering metal powders such as
tungsten, palladium or stainless steel and then
depositing them onto a porous substrate. The main use
of metallic membranes is for hydrogen separation with
palladium and its alloy being the primary choice of
material. One major disadvantage of metallic
membranes is the surface poisoning effect.
Inorganic materials

• Ceramic membranes consist of metal

(aluminum or titanium) and non-metal (oxides,
nitride, or carbide). They are generally used for
highly acidic or basic environments due to
inertness. The downside of ceramic membranes is
the high sensitivity to a temperature gradient,
which leads to membrane cracking
 Inorganic materials

• Zeolite membranes are used in highly-selective

gas separation due to highly uniform pore size.
This material also has a catalytic characteristic,
which is beneficial for catalytic membrane
reactor applications. A few downsides of zeolite
membranes include relatively low gas flux and
thicker layer requirements to prevent cracks and
pinholes.
 Some advantages that inorganic
membrane possesses are:

high thermal and chemical stability,

Ceramic versus
polymeric inertness to microbiological
degradation,
membrane
materials and ease of cleaning after fouling

• However, inorganic membranes tend to

have higher capital costs due to specific
thickness requirements needed to
withstand pressure drop differences.
Membrane Manufacturing

Application (Water treatment, Wastewater treatment, Gas separation,……..)

Membrane type (MF, UF, NF, RO, electrodialysis,…….)

Materials (organic, inorganic)

Module type (Hollow fiber, Spiral wound, tubular,……)

Membrane structure (symmetric, asymmetric)

Thanks