Preparation Methods of Membranes

Abstract

Polymer membranes prepared by the wet and dry method have been applied to a variety of industrial applications, such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, gas separation and pervaporation fields. This chapter discusses some of the processes for membrane formation through phase separations that induced from polymer solutions. Inorganic membranes are made from ceramic, carbon, silica, zeolite, various oxides such as alumina, titania, zirconia, and metals such as palladium, silver and their alloys. The advantages of inorganic membranes are their long stability at high temperature and under high pressure, microbiological inertness, resistance to harsh environments, ease of cleaning for fouling and catalytic activity. The liquid membrane system consists of a feed phase, liquid membrane and permeation phase, and a desired material in the feed phase can be permeated and concentrated to the permeation phase. The liquid membrane is composed of the carrier, solvent, emulsion and porous support.