Advances in Membrane Technology Used in the Wastewater Treatment Process

Abstract

Water is the most precious and essential requirement for all living beings. Different types of pollutants such as organic and inorganic (heavy metals, dyes, etc.) discharges from industries, agriculture, and households result in high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD), degrading water quality and leading to contaminant growth above the permissible limits converting freshwater to wastewater. Conventional water treatment techniques like coagulation, flocculation, adsorption, and distillation are not very efficient because of more chemical usage, large energy consumption, sludge formation, and a huge footprint requirement, and these processes will also lead to the release of secondary pollutants into the environment. One such alternative method with added advantages overcoming the above-mentioned limitations is wastewater treatment using membrane technology. Pressure-driven membrane processes like microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) are being widely used for wastewater treatment applications with high effectiveness and efficiency. Besides known advantages, these technologies also suffer from minor limitations like fouling, permeability, durability, etc., which causes a decline in flux and separation efficiency and reduces the life of the membrane. Modern-day research on membranes is inclined toward the synthesis and development of membranes and membrane-based technologies with superior antifouling, thermal resistance, chemical resistance, permeability, and durability, along with low energy and low cost. In this chapter, the focus is on elucidating pressure-driven membrane technologies being used for wastewater treatment and their recent advancement using various nanomaterials. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.