ABSTRACT
In purifying waste water by liquid membrane processes, contaminants to be removed are usually at quite low concentration levels. A conceptual process scheme for liquid membrane water-treating (LMWT) process is described. Water-treating operations based on liquid membrane techniques variously resemble established separation processes such as flotation, solvent extraction, ion exchange, membrane permeation, and chemical precipitation. Broad Applicability in Water Treating Liquid membrane systems can be designed to remove one or more contaminants by the proper choice of membrane hydrocarbon surfactants and additives as well as encapsulated reagents. Fundamental studies of liquid membrane systems have been carried out to supplement exploratory process research work. Separation rates have been calculated from experimental data collected for a variety of systems and conditions. These in turn have been analyzed using empirical correlations and a limited amount of mathematical modeling. Several preliminary economic studies have shown that LMWT costs are tolerable for advanced water-treating applications, particularly for those cases where simpler conventional techniques are unsuitable.
