Process Intensification in Water Treatment Using Membrane Technology

Energy consumption, global warming, raw material depletion, water scarcity, and environmental pollution are among the challenges currently faced. Process intensification (PI) is a strategy that can help minimize these challenges. PI implies a set of principles whose application makes it possible to improve processes and products, reduce capital investments, environmental impact, energy and raw material consumption, and bring substantial benefits in terms of quality, waste, and process safety. Membrane engineering meets the requirements of PI because membrane processes have the potential to replace conventional energy-intensive separation techniques (such as distillation and evaporation), to accomplish the selective and efficient transport of specific components, to improve the performance of reactive processes, and, ultimately, to provide reliable options for sustainable industrial growth. This chapter aims to update on the contributions of membrane engineering to sustainable processes in water treatment. The authors present an overview of the membrane engineering approaches successfully employed in water treatment both on Earth and in space.