Membrane Technology: Past, Present and Future

Membrane science and technology have experienced a long historical development in laboratory study before realizing their first significant industrial application in the 1960s. With nearly 50 years of rapid advancement, today, membrane-based processes enjoy numerous industrial applications and have brought great benefits to improve human life. In this chapter a general introduction is given to membrane technology in terms of the historical development, current status and future prospects. It begins with a description of the basic terms such as membrane, membrane structures, membrane classifications and membrane configurations. Membrane processes based on the different driving forces applied, the operation modes for filtration and membrane fouling are also briefly introduced. Section 2 is an overview of the historical development of membranes and membrane processes, including reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, microfiltration, gas separation, pervaporation and membrane bioreactors. Section 3 describes major applications and commercial relevance of the above-mentioned processes. In Sect. 4, future market development trends for membrane technology are indicated and critical technical challenges for further growth of the membrane industry are addressed. In addition, some promising novel applications of membrane technology are pointed out in the final section.