Membranes for water treatment have always been a viable component of water purification. In recent years, various high-performance synthetic membranes have emerged. Implementation of different types of membranes advanced with new configurations and materials. An elevating scarcity of freshwater sources has forced us to use alternative water resources like sea and ocean. Sea and ocean water is salty and that is why high rejection water membranes are used for desalination purposes. Read this post to explore a lot about water membranes.
Why are membranes used for water treatment technology?
Membrane water treatment is the process which eliminates contaminants and unwanted constituents from water. Membranes act as the barrier which permits some substances to pass through and block others. Water treatment helps in the facilitation of several types of membranes and procedures to clean wastewater, surface water, and groundwater to produce reusable water for industries or drinking purposes. Water filtration is a necessary industry due to the elevating concerns about water contaminants and the need for clean and safe water. You can find varied types of water membranes which can be used for treating water. It depends on the containment which is required to be eliminated along with desired water quality for end-users. High rejection water membranes are proving to become stringent but still, these membranes can perform effectively.
A snippet about membranes in water treatment and purification:
Let us dig into more details about water membranes. Water membranes are thin plates made from synthetic plastic with the finest pores. The size of these pores depends on the kind of membrane used for purification. Water membranes used in water filtration can be classified into:
a) microfiltration membrane MF
b) ultrafiltration membrane UF
c) nano-filtration membrane NF
d) reverse osmosis RO membrane
These are divided into four types based on the pore sizes of water membranes. The kind of water membrane used for the reverse osmosis process contains the smallest pores. The pores are a little bit larger than water molecules’ size so that the pure water molecules can easily pass through them. Water membranes are one of the best filter mediums for water filtration, Membranes for purification are pore-sized to offer the maximum amount of efficiency. Let us take an example: For river water purification, the smallest pores are not required but in the case of reverse osmosis membranes. When we talk about low salinity water like river water it eliminates dirt and bacteria, so the best members of this application are ultrafiltration membranes. They use little energy and eliminate even the smallest amount of viruses along with dirt particles. You can reach out to a reliable provider of the best quality high rejection membranes in the Middle East and GCC region.
According to structure, different types of water membranes:
When it comes to structuring, two common kinds of reverse osmosis membranes are cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes and thin-film composite (TFC or TFM) membranes. What are the main differences? The difference between them is – chlorine resistance and filtration capacity. Cellulose triacetate membranes are highly chlorine resistant but are susceptible to bacterial contamination and eliminate around 93 per cent of standard contaminants. TFM or TCM membranes can remove approximately 98 per cent of the standard contaminants and are not so susceptible to organic pollution and are ideal for treating chlorine-free water. While cleaning chlorinated tap water, TFC or TFM membrane with carbon pretreatment filters can be used. You can use brackish water, brine and salt water membranes can also be efficiently used for marine, industrial and desalination projects.
What are different types of water membranes according to their shape?
The configuration of membranes varies but mostly spirally wound hollow fiber water membranes are used. Have a glance at the types:
a) Plates
These types of membranes are installed inside the carrier plate which collects solid particles. These membranes have a very low packing density and are less efficient and effective than any other filtration process but are easy to clean and use. These membranes are available at a low cost.
b) For liquids and low solids
They are constructed of thousands of hollow fibres which seem like spaghetti. These types of membranes are quite efficiently kept clean with intermittent CIP and backwash techniques.
c) Spiral wound water membranes
The most common water membranes used are spiral wound membranes and are made of flat sheets of membrane placed between mesh which are wound around the central tube and are located within the casing. These types of water membranes are compact and are used even in high-volume applications.
d) Tube-like water membranes
Tube-like membranes are usually placed within a shell or pipe and when the steam passes through these tubes, it conveys the permeate to the shell side. They are used for streams like TSS, TDS, fatty ones etc.
So, in short, water membranes are one of the vital components for filtration. You can use different types of water membranes according to applications. Water membranes work just like the cell walls in our bodies. You can contact the leading supplier of high rejection water membranes in Dubai.