Pervaporation, Vapour Permeation and Membrane Distillation: From Membrane Fabrication to Application

Pervaporation, vapour permeation and membrane distillation represent three membrane processes very well-studied at research level and with a great potential of exploitation in the different industrial sectors. These processes share the fact that the species to be removed are in the vapour phase during their permeation through the membrane and the driving force is represented by a chemical gradient (pressure, temperature). Their field of application is wide and ever-expanding including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food, chemical and petrochemical sectors, environmental protection, water treatment/desalination. In this Special Issue on "Pervaporation, vapour permeation and membrane distillation: from membrane fabrication to application" of the journal Membranes, researchers are invited to contribute original research papers, as well as review articles, related to the preparation, characterization and application of membranes in pervaporation, vapour permeation and membrane distillation processes. The topics include, but are not limited to, hydrophilic pervaporation, hydrophobic pervaporation, organic/organic pervaporation, vapour permeation, direct contact membrane distillation, air gap membrane distillation, vacuum membrane distillation, sweeping gas membrane distillation, hybrid processes, preparation and characterization of membranes, transport phenomena, module and reactor design, industrial exploitation.