Abstract

The science and technology of membranes is a current topic with many projections for industrial applications (drinking water and wastewater treatment, separation and purification of pharmaceutical substances, concentration of proteins and other solutes). In this chapter, the principles and fundamentals of membrane separation are shown, including basic parameters, membrane transport mechanisms (size exclusion model and solution-diffusion model), and fouling mechanisms (concentration polarization, cake filtration, adsorption of solutes and blocking models). In addition, different types of membrane processes (pressuredriven membrane methods and liquid membranes) and chemical and physical methods for membrane modification are described. In addition to describing membrane-based methods, this chapter can serve as an introduction to the fundamental aspects of membrane theory and an illustration of the state of the art of membrane theory. It is clear that fouling is the main problem for the application of this technology and that the efforts of researchers are being directed towards membrane modification.