Hybrid membrane operations in water desalination and industrial process rationalization

Membrane science and technology are recognized today as powerful tools for contributing to resolve some important global problems, and developing newer industrial processes, needed from the imperative request of a sustainable industrial growth. In seawater desalination, for resolving the dramatic increase of fresh water demand in many regions of the world, membrane unitary operations or the combination of some of them in integrated systems, are already a real means for producing water from the sea, at lower costs and minimum environmental impact, with a very interesting prospective in particular for poor economy countries. However, membrane are used or are becoming in use in some important industrial fields, for developing more efficient productive cycles, with reduced waste of row-material, reducing the polluting charge by controlling he by-product generation, and reducing overall costs. In the present paper, other than for seawater desalination applications, some industrial application where membrane technology has leaded already to match the goal of process intensification, are discussed.