ABSTRACT
The process intensification theory, devoted to the development of new systems of production able to work, with respect to conventional operations, with higher efficiency and flexibility, lower energy consumption and waste production, higher capacity=size ratio, is well satisfied by membrane engineering. Beside the well-known membrane operations such as micro= ultra=nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, also membrane contactors (MC) that are gaining particular attention during the past years, as promising alternative systems to be used for the rationalization of industrial cycles, well satisfy the process intensification approach. Membrane contactors are a relatively new class of membrane operations particularly interesting for performing mass transfer between phases. The field of application covers many unit operations such as scrubbing, stripping, extractions, and concentration processes [1]. Membrane contactors are able to efficiently treat diluted streams and this aspect makes them very interesting for the purification of streams containing traces of pollutants that sometimes are difficult to remove up to the desired levels by conventional operations. This contribution would like to point out the potentialities and the drawbacks of membrane contactors, particularly for the treatment of gaseous streams, by presenting and discussing all research efforts made in this field. The role of the membrane properties and of the module design on the membrane contactors performance is underlined.
