REVIEWS Progress and New Perspectives on Integrated Membrane Operations for Sustainable Industrial Growth
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Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2001, 40, 1277-1300 1277 REVIEWS Progress and New Perspectives on Integrated Membrane Operations for Sustainable Industrial Growth Enrico Drioli* and Maria Romano Institute on Membranes and Modeling of Chemical Reactors, CNR, and Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials, University of Calabria, 87030 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy Membrane science and technology has led to significant innovation in both processes and products over the last few decades, offering interesting opportunities in the design, rationalization, and optimization of innovative productions. The most interesting developments for industrial membrane technologies are related to the possibility of integrating various of these membrane operations in the same industrial cycle, with overall important benefits in product quality, plant compactness, environmental impact, and energetic aspects. Possibilities for membrane engineer- ing might also be of importance in new areas. The case of transportation technologies is of particular interest. The purpose here is to present a summary review of the extent to which membrane processes have been integrated into industrial practice. Some of the most interesting results already achieved in membrane engineering will be presented, and predictions about future developments and the possible impact of new membrane science and technology on sustainable industrial growth will be analyzed. Introduction streams commercially feasible. Billions of cubic meters of pure gases are now produced via selective permeation Membrane science and technology has led to signifi- in polymeric membranes. cant innovation in both processes and products, par- ticularly appropriate for sustainable industrial growth, The combination of molecular separation with a over the past few decades. chemical reaction, or membrane reactors, offers impor- tant new opportunities for improving the production The purpose here is to present a summary review of efficiency in biotechnology and in the chemical industry. the extent to which membrane processes have been In 1997, five large petrochemical companies announced integrated into industrial practice. a research project devoted to the development of inor- The preparation of asymmetric cellulose acetate mem- ganic membranes to be used in syngas production. At branes in the early 1960s by Loeb and Sourirajan is about the same time, an $84 million project, partly generally recognized as a pivotal moment for membrane supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), technology. They discovered an effective method for that has Air Products and Chemical Inc. working significantly increasing the permeation flux of polymeric together on the same objective has been promoted. The membranes without significant changes in selectivity, availability of new high-temperature-resistant mem- which made possible the use of membranes in large- branes and of new membrane operations as membrane scale operations for desalting brackish water and sea- contactors offers an important tool for the design of water by reverse osmosis and for various other molec- alternative production systems appropriate for sustain- ular separations in different industrial areas. Today, able growth. reverse osmosis is a well-recognized basic unit opera- tion, together with ultrafiltration, cross-flow microfil- The basic properties of membrane operations make tration, and nanofiltration, all pressure-driven mem- them ideal for industrial production: they are generally brane processes. In 1999, the total capacity of reverse athermal and do not involve phase changes or chemical osmosis (RO) desalination plants was more than 10 additives, they are simple in concept and operation, they millions m3/day, which exceeds the amount produced by are modular and easy to scale-up, and they are low in the thermal method,1 and more than 250 000 m2 of energy consumption with a potential for more rational ultrafiltration membranes were installed for the treat- utilization of raw materials and recovery and reuse of ment of whey and milk. byproducts. Membrane technologies, compared to those Composite polymeric membranes developed in the commonly used today, respond efficiently to the require- 1970s made the separation of components from gas ments of so-called “process intensification”, because they permit drastic improvements in manufacturing and - processing, substantially decreasing the equipment-size/ * Corresponding author: IRMERC CNR c/o Department of production-capacity ratio, energy consumption, and/or Chemical Engineering and Materials, via Ponte P. Bucci, 87030 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy. Tel.: (39) 0984- waste production and resulting in cheaper, sustainable 2 492039/492025. Fax: (39) 0984-402103. E-mail: technical solutions. [email protected]. The possibilities of redesigning innovative integrated 10.1021/ie0006209 CCC: $20.00 © 2001 American Chemical Society Published on Web 02/13/2001 1278 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 40, No. 5, 2001 Table 1. Sales of Membranes and Modules in Various phenomena controlling the adsorption and desorption Membrane Processes5 of penetrants and other species at the membrane 1998 sales surfaces, with the correct flow-dynamic analysis of the (millions of growth tangential flow and concentration profile built up in the membrane process U.S. dollars) (%/year) bulk solutions upstream and in the membranes down- microfiltration 900 8 stream and with the reology of often concentrated non- ultrafiltration 500 10 Newtonian fluids, that permits the design of correct reverse osmosis 400 10 membrane separation units. gas separation 230 15 electrodialysis 110 5 Membrane operations show potential in molecular electrolysis 70 5 separations, clarifications, fractionations, concentra- pervaporation >10 ? tions, etc. in the liquid phase, in the gas phase, or in miscellaneous 30 10 suspensions. They cover practically all existing and requested unit membrane processes in various industrial sectors char- operations used in process engineering. All of the acterized by low environmental impacts, low energy operations are modular, easy to scale-up, and simple to consumption, and high quality of final products have design. Other important aspects are the lack of moving been studied and in some cases realized industrially. parts; ability to work totally unattended; lower cost; Interesting examples are in the dairy industry and operational flexibility; and, when necessary, portability. in the pharmaceutical industry. Research projects are Coupling of molecular separations with chemical in progress in the leather industry and in the agrofood reactions can be realized in a simple unit efficiently, industry based on the same concept. having ideal reaction surfaces where the products can In this review, some of the most interesting results be continuously removed and the reagents continuously already achieved in membrane engineering will be supplied at stoichiometric values. presented, and predictions about future developments These overall properties make membrane operations and the possible impact of new membrane science and ideal for the design of innovative processes where they technology on sustainable industrial growth will be will carry on the various necessary functions integrated analyzed. eventually with other traditional unit operations, opti- Actual possibilities and future perspectives of medical mizing their positive synergic effects. and biomedical applications of membrane technology are It is interesting to mention that statistical analysis not discussed in this work. This theme is the object of 3 carried out by Electricite´ de France on 174 different another recent paper. membrane installations in France using MF, UF, RO, The continuous interest and growth of the various and ED mainly in small- and medium-sized industries new industrial processes related to life sciences, as found a normal percentage of satisfaction between 70 evidenced also by the strategies and reorganization and 95%, one of the highest positive responses received adopted by large chemical groups worldwide in this area in this kind of analysis. This result is, in part, surprising (e.g., Aventis, Novartis, Vivendi Water, etc.) will also because of the high innovative content of the technology require significant contributions from membrane engi- and the lack of education still existing on their basic neering. We will, however, not concentrate our analysis properties. It is, however, consistent with the important on this subject in this review. contributions that membrane operations can make in terms of cost reduction, quality improvement, pollution Membrane Operations control, etc. Various membrane operations are available today for Several examples of successful applications of mem- a wide spectrum of industrial applications. Most of them brane technology as alternatives to traditional processes can be considered as basic unit operations, particularly can be mentioned. the pressure-driven processes such as microfiltration Ion-Exchange Membranes. The use of ion-ex- (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and RO; change membrane cells in chloro-soda production rep- electrodialysis (ED) is another example of a mature resents, for example, an interesting case study for technology.4 Their worldwide sales are reported in Table analyzing the possibilities of membrane operations and 1.5 one of the first successes in terms of their electrochemi- The significant variety of existing membrane opera- cal application in minimizing environmental impacts