A

Report on

NANOFILTRATI
ON
 Submitted by :
Shohita Choudhry
S.R. No. : 42/08
Roll no. :0804551048
Branch : 3rd B.Tech
Chemical engg.

Index
What is nanofiltration ?

Nanofiltration is a relatively recent membrane filtration process used most

often with low total dissolved solids water such as surface water and fresh
groundwater, with the purpose of softening (polyvalent cation removal) and
removal of disinfection by-product precursors such as natural organic matter
and synthetic organic matter.
Modern crossflow filtration technology has principally evolved during the
last thirty years, following the significant advancements in polymer
chemistry over the same time. Today, a vast majority of crossflow filtration
installations utilize polymeric membranes. Virtually all commercial
nanofiltration membranes are polymeric.
Nanofiltration (NF) is a crossflow, pressure driven process that is
characterized by amembrane pore size corresponding to molecular weight
cutoff of approximately 200 –1000 dalton, and operating pressures of 150–
500 psi (10 –34 bar). NF is primarily used to separate lowmolecular weight
organics and multivalent salts from monovalent salts and water. Starting in
the late 1970s, NF membrane processes gradually found their way into
industrial applications, and serve as a viable alternative to more traditional
separation processes like extraction, evaporation and distillation.
The first industrial systems using nanofiltration membranes were installed
in 1978 using tubular membranes for desalination of dyes and brighteners.

Nanofiltration is mainly utilized for producing softened water for industry or

potable water from a brackish source. This type of semi permeable
membrane has high rejection of multi valent ions such as Calcium and
moderate rejection of single valent ions such as Sodium. These properties
allow this type of membrane to operate at greatly reduced operating
pressures as compared to Reverse Osmosis.
Development of nanofiltration

In the early 1960s, the phase-inversion process for the manufacture of

polymeric membranes was developing fast. Followed the development,
filtration and filtration-related activity was of a burst. All of those led to the
establishment of three membrane separation processes: reverse osmosis,
ultrafiltration and microfiltration. The separation spectrum before these
processes was the traditional cut point limit of standard filtration of around
0.01 mm.And after that, the separation spectrum become the very finest
distinct solids, a few nanometers in size, and enabled the separation of large
molecules from solution. Thought the actual size ranges vary somewhat
from source to source, there is general agreement that microfiltration covers
the range 10μm down to 0.1μm and ultrafiltration covered 0.1μm down to
0.005μm. Reverse osmosis was designed to retain the very small sodium
chloride molecule. in reverse osmosis processes, nothing can pass but water.
The burst of filtration and filtration-related activity that followed the
development of the phase-inversion process for the manufacture of
polymeric membranes, in the early 1960s, led to the establishment of three
membrane separation processes: reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and, more
recently, microfiltration. These processes took the separation spectrum from
the traditional cut point limit of standard filtration of around 0.01mm to the
very finest distinct solids, a few nanometers in size, and enabled the
separation of large molecules from solution. The actual size ranges vary
somewhat from source to source, but there is general agreement that
microfiltration covers the range 10μm down to 0.1μm, while ultrafiltration
covered 0.1μm down to 0.005μm,in terms of discrete particles or Molecular
Weight Cut-Off (MWCO) figures of 300,000 down to around 300 Daltons
for dissolved materials. Reverse osmosis, of course, was designed to retain
the very small sodium chloride molecule, which meant passing nothing else
but water. During the 1970s and 1980s, membrane development was fairly
rapid. At the end of the 1980s, “nanofiltration” was used to name the
membrane development.
Since that, nanofiltration is a fairly recent development in the range of
membrane separation processes. Nanofiltration deals with not the distinct
particles suspended in the liquid but also materials that are dissolved in a
liquid. Reverse osmosis retains monovalent salts, while nanofiltration allows
them to pass, and then retains divalent salts such as sodium sulphate.This is
the key different between nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.

Thought nanofiltration is a liquid-phase separation removing dissolved

solids with a relatively high transmembrane pressure carried out by means of
membranes, the progress of much of the filtration business is being driven
by demands for finer and finer cutpoints, in both liquid and gas filtration.
And now the demands are being met by the use of correspondingly finer
fibres to make the filter media. The fine filtration is taking the separation
process that is effectively microfiltration to much lower cutpoints. The
materials are also being referred to as membranes. It is hoped that the
nanofiltration and filtration with nanofibres which are sufficiently different
so as to avoid their confusion covered in the rest of this article. The very fine
filtration that can be achieved with these nanoweb media is taking the
separation process that is effectively microfiltration to much lower cutpoints.
The materials are also being referred to as membranes, even though they are
very different in format from the semipermeable plastic sheet still most
commonly thought of when membranes are mentioned. Recent
developments of membranes for NF have greatly extended their capabilities
in very high or low pH environments, and in their application to non-
aqueous liquids. The plastic media are highly cross-linked, to give long-term
stability and a practical lifetime in more aggressive environments. NF
membranes tend to have a slightly charged surface, with a negative charge at
neutral pH. This surface charge plays an important role in the transportation
mechanism and separation properties of the membrane.
During the 1970s and 1980s, membrane development was fairly rapid. At
the end of the 1980s, “nanofiltration” was used to name the membrane
development.
 Since that, nanofiltration is a fairly recent development in the range of
membrane separation processes. Nanofiltration deals with not the distinct
particles suspended in the liquid but also materials that are dissolved in a
liquid. Reverse osmosis retains monovalent salts, while nanofiltration allows
them to pass, and then retains divalent salts such as sodium sulphate.This is
the key different between nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.

Principle of nanofiltration

Nanofiltration (NF) is a cross-flow filtration technology which ranges

somewhere between ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO). The
nominal pore size of the membrane is typically about 1 nanometre.
Nanofilter membranes are typically rated by molecular weight cut-off
(MWCO) rather than nominal pore size. The MWCO is typically less than
1000 atomic mass units (daltons). The transmembrane pressure (pressure
drop across the membrane) required is lower (up to 3 MPa) than the one
used for RO, reducing the operating cost significantly. However, NF
membranes are still subject to scaling and fouling and often modifiers such
as anti-scalants are required for use.
The fundamental principle of Nanofiltration membrane technology
is the use of pressure to separate soluble ions from water through
a semi permeable material. The membrane, unlike a dead end
filter, operates under a different hydraulic profile which is known
as cross flow filtration.
Most Nanofiltration membranes are composite materials that are
supported by a polymer substrate and manufactured in a spiral
configuration as opposed to a flat sheet or tube geometry. The
predominant model used today for industrial applications is the
spiral configuration.

Transport Mechanism in Nanofiltration

Nanofiltrationmembranes are often categorized as “loose” reverse osmosis

(RO) membranes. The differences between the two, however, are significant.
The most notable difference is the ability of NF membranes to selectively
reject divalent ions, while passing monovalent ions. It is a common belief
that NF and RO membranes do not have distinct pores, as in ultrafiltration
and microfiltration membranes. Although recent studies using Atomic Force
Microscopy (AFM) suggest that pores of NFmembranes can be viewed,
most membrane scientists choose to describe the pores as the distances
between the polymer chains of the membrane building material.
The mechanism of transport and rejection of NF membrane is quite complex
and is still a point of debate between scientists.Many models have been
developed to identify the effect of different parameters
on the transport mechanism and to predict the NF membrane performance.
Solution diffusion theory describes the membrane as a porous film into
which both water and solute (ion) dissolve.The solute moves in the
membrane mainly under concentration gradient forces, while the water
transport is dependent on the hydraulic pressure gradient. The transport of
the solute through themembrane depends on hindered diffusion and
convection. The transportation of a non-charged solute through an NF
membrane is considered to be determined by a steric exclusion mechanism.
Steric exclusion applies to NF membranes as well as ultrafiltration and
microfiltration membranes. A separation between two different non-charged
solutes is determined predominantly by the difference in their size and
shape.
Nanofiltration membranes and their properties

When designing a nanofiltration process, one should consider several

operating parameters. The most important operating parameters affecting the
performance of nanofiltration membranes are similar to those for most
crossflow filtration processes:

• Pressure. Pressure difference is the driving force responsible for a

nanofiltration process. The effective driving pressure is the supplied
hydraulic pressure less the osmotic pressure applied on the membrane by the
solutes. Nanofiltration provides good separation at net pressures of 150 psi
(10 bar) or higher.
• Temperature. Increasing the process temperature increases the NF
membrane flux due to viscosity reduction. The rejection of NF membranes is
not dependent significantly on the process temperature.

• Crossflow Velocity. Increasing the crossflow velocity in an NF membrane

process increases the average flux due to efficient removal of fouling layer
from the membrane surface. However, the mechanical strength of the
membrane, and construction of the element and system hardware will
determine the maximum crossflow velocity that can be applied. Running a
nanofiltration membrane at too high a crossflow velocity may cause
premature failure of membrane and modules.

• pH. pH affects performance of nanofiltration membranes in more than

one way. The charged sites on the NFmembrane surface (i.e. carboxylic
group, sulfonic group) are negatively charged at neutral pH or higher, but
lose their charge at acidic pH. It is well known that most NF and RO
membranes have lower rejection at low pH, or after acid rinse. It should be
noted, however, that since different membrane manufacturers use
differentchemistries to produce their thin film composite layer, the pH
dependency of a membrane should be determined for eachmembrane type.
In addition to the effect of pH on the membrane itself, pH can be responsible
for changes in the feed solution, causing changes in membrane performance.
Two examples are change of solubility of ions at different pH
regimes, causing different rejection rate; and change in the dissociation
state of ions at different pH ranges.

• Salinity. The effective pore radius of a charged pore will increase as the
ionic strength of the surrounding liquid increases. Therefore, the rejection of
monovalent ions will decrease as their concentration in the feed solution
increases. The rejection of divalent ions will be affected to a lower extent.
 • The global market for nanofiltration membranes increased from $89.1
million in 2006 to an estimated $97.5 million by the end of 2007. It
should reach $310.5 million by 2012, a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 26.1%.
• The water treatment sector is projected to account for 72.7% of total
revenues in 2007, worth an estimated $70.9 million in 2007 and
expected to reach $238.2 million by 2012, a CAGR of 27.4%.
• Continued growth in regulations aimed at protecting the environment
will positively affect the future expansion of the nanofiltration
membranes market.

Applications of nanofiltration

In much of the developing world, clean drinking water is hard to come by,
and nanotechnology provides one solution. While nanofiltration is used for
the removal of contaminants from a water source, it is also commonly used
for desalination. As seen in a recent study in South Africa, tests were run
using polymeric nanofiltration in conjunction with a reverse osmosis process
to treat brackish groundwater. These tests produced potable water, but as the
researchers expected, the reverse osmosis removed a large majority of
solutes. This left the water void of any essential nutrients (calcium,
magnesium ions, etc.), placing the nutrient levels below that of the required
World Health Organization standards. This process was probably a little too
much for the production of potable water, as researchers had to go back and
add nutrients to bring solute levels to the standard levels for drinking water
consumption
Providing nanofiltration methods to developing countries, to increase their
supply of clean water, is a very inexpensive method compared to
conventional treatment systems. However, there remain issues as to how
these developing countries will be able to incorporate this new technology
into their economy without creating a dependency on foreign assistance.

Nanotechnology is being used to develop solutions to three very different

problems in water quality.

One challenge is the removal of industrial water pollution, such as a cleaning

solvent called TCE, from ground water. Nanoparticles can be used to
convert the contaminating chemical through a chemical reaction to make it
harmless. Studies have shown that this method can be used successfully to
reach contaminates dispersed in underground ponds and at much lower cost
than methods which require pumping the water out of the ground for
treatment.

Another challenge is the removal of salt or metals from water. A

deionization method using electrodes composed of nano-sized fibers shows
promise for reducing the cost and energy requirements of turning salt water
into drinking water.

The third problem concerns the fact that standard filters do not work on virus
cells. A filter only a few nanometers in diameter is currently being
developed that should be capable of removing virus cells from water.