ABSTRACT

The experiment is carried out to study on four different types of membranes by using Membrane Test Unit
model TR14.The experiment is conducted to study characteristics based on 4 different types of membrane
which are AFC99(polyamide film),AFC 40 (polyamide film),CA 202 (cellulose acetate) and FP 100
(PVDF),by using Membrane Test Unit model TR14. This aim of this experiment was to determine the
characteristics of 4 types of membranes which different in term of pore size by separation driving force is
namely as reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF)
membranes. The experiment was run using approximately sodium chloride solution. The pressure supply
for each membrane is different at maximum pressure for at which is 18 bar, 12 bar, 10 bar and 8.5 bar for
membrane 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. This experiment was run for 10 minutes and for every 1 minute, the
permeate sample is collected and its weight was recorded for each type of membrane use. As the experiment
goes, the solution will permeate through the membrane leaving only macromolecules behind. The sample
of permeates were taken too made up the weight of permeates per time. The highest amount of permeate
during 10 minutes is 1739.33 g that is for membrane 4 and the lowest is about 326.40 g that is membrane
1. The graph of permeate weight versus time then is plotted. From the graph, when the time increase, the
permeate weight also increases. For the membrane 4, the line increases gradually. For the membrane 1, 2
and 3 the lines show sloppier with increase in the percentage of composition of salt at product. The
experiment was completely and successfully conducted.

INTRODUCTION

Membrane processes cover a group of separation processes in which the characteristics of a

membrane (porosity, selectivity, electric charge) are used to separate the components of a solution or a
suspension. In these processes the feed stream is separated into two: the fraction that permeates through
the membrane, called the permeate, and the fraction containing the components that have not been
transported through the membrane, usually called the retentate. The size of the components to be
separated and the nature and magnitude of the driving force provide criteria for a classification of the
membrane separation processes, as shown in the table. It should be noted that the boundaries between
some of the processes, such as reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration, are arbitrary..

Depending on the type of membrane, the selective separation of certain individual substances or
substance mixtures is possible. Important technical applications include drinking water by Reverse

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Osmosis (RO), filtrations in the food industry, the recovery of organic vapors such as gasoline vapor
recovery and the electrolysis for chlorine production. But also in wastewater treatment, the
membrane technology is becoming increasingly important.

In this experiment, we use the SOLTEQ Membrane Test Unit (Model : TR 14) as the device to
run this experiment. This apparatus has to be desingn to demonstrate the techinuque of membrane
separations which has become hinghly popular as they provide effective separation without the use of the
heating energy in distilation process. Heat sensitive materials, such as fruit juices can be separated or
concentrated by virtue of their molecular weights. The unit consits of a test module supplied with four
different membranes, namely Reverse Osmosis (RO), nano filtiration (NF), and microfiltration (MF)
membranes.

Microfiltration removes particles higher than 0,08-2 µm and operates within a range of 7-100 kPa.[4]
Microfiltration is used to remove residual suspended solids (SS), to remove bacteria in order to condition
the water for effective disinfection and as a pre-treatment step for reverse osmosis.Relatively recent
developments are membrane bioreactors (MBR) which combine microfiltration and a bioreactor for
biological treatment.

Ultrafiltration removes particles higher than 0,005-2 µm and operates within a range of 70-
700kPa.Ultrafiltration is used for many of the same applications as microfiltration. Some ultrafiltration
membranes have also been used to remove dissolved compounds with high molecular weight, such as
proteins and carbohydrates. In addition, they are able to remove viruses and some endotoxins.

Nanofiltration is also known as “loose” RO and can reject particles smaller than 0,002 µm. Nanofiltration
is used for the removal of selected dissolved constituents from wastewater. NF is primarily developed as a
membrane softening process which offers an alternative to chemical softening. Likewise, nanofiltration
can be used as a pre-treatment before directed reverse osmosis. The main objectives of NF pre-treatment
are minimize particulate and microbial fouling of the RO membranes by removal of turbidity and
bacteria, prevent scaling by removal of the hardness ions, lower the operating pressure of the RO process
by reducing the feed-water total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration.

Reverse osmosis is commonly used for desalination. As well, RO is commonly used for the removal of
dissolved constituents from wastewater remaining after advanced treatment with microfiltration. RO
excludes ions but requires high pressures to produce deionized water (850-7000 kPa).

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AIM
 To study the characteristics of membrane by performing a characteristic study on 4 different types
of membranes.
 To calculate the composition of solid salt at product.

THEORY
There are several types of equipment for membrane processes. The membrane acts as a
semipermeable barrier and separation occurs by the membrane controlling the rate of movement of various
molecules between two liquid phases. The two fluid phases are usually miscible and the membrane barrier
prevents actual, ordinary hydrodynamic flow. First is flat membrane is usually to characterize the
permeability of the membrane. The modules are easy to fabricate and use and the areas of the membranes
are well defined. Next, spiral wound membranes and this configuration retains the simplicity of fabricating
flat membranes while increasing markedly the membrane area per unit separator volume. Third is hallow
fibre membranes and the membranes are in the shape at very small diameter hollow fibres.

The graph of permeate weight versus time that should we get is increase in permeate weight as time
increase. But at certain time, the curve shape will be seen as time of separation increase. This is due to the
fouling effect that occurs inside the membrane and will cause increases pressure drop, increases energy
expenditure, reduce flux, membrane failure.

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Figure 4.1 :The figure above shown that ,the filtration range for every each type of membrane.

Figure 4.2 : The figure shown that type of membrane use to separate components.

Membrane separation can be classified by pore size and by the separation driving force for example
Microfiltration (MF), Ultrafiltration (UF), Nanofiltration (NF), Ion-Exchange (IE) and Reverse Osmosis
(RO).

The membrane separation techniques utilized in the dairy industry serve different purposes:

 RO –mostly it used for dehydration of whey, UF permeate and condensate.

 NF –mostly it used when partial desalination of whey, UF permeates or retentate is required.

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  UF -typically used for concentration of milk proteins in milk and whey and for protein
standardization of milk intended for cheese, yoghurt and some other products.
 MF -basically used for reduction of bacteria in skim milk, whey and brine, but also for defatting
whey intended for whey protein concentrate (WPC) and for protein fractionation.

Membrane processes are characterized by the fact that a feed stream is divided into 2 streams: retentate
and permeate. The retentate is that part of the feed that does not pass through the membrane, while
the permeate is that part of the feed that does pass through the membrane. The optional "sweep" is a gas or
liquid that is used to help remove the permeate. The component(s) of interest in membrane separation is
known as the solute. The solute can be retained on the membrane and removed in the retentate or passed
through the membrane in the permeate.

Figure 4.4 : This figure is process of membrane technology

Some components are allowed passage by the membrane into a permeate stream, whereas others
are retained by it and accumulate in the retentate stream. Some advantages of membrane separation are less
energy-intensive, since they do not require major phase changes, do not demand adsorbents or solvents,
which may be expensive or difficult to handle and the equipment simplicity and modularity, which
facilitates the incorporation of more efficient membranes. The particular advantage of membrane separation
processes is that it operate without heating and thus are energetically usually lower than conventional
thermal separation processes (distillation, Sublimation or crystallization).

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APPARATUS
1) TR 14 model (membrane test unit)
2) Digital weighing balance
3) Jars
4) Stopwatch
5) 20 L of tap water
6) Sodium chloride solution
7) water

PROCEDURE
General Start-Up Procedures
1. All valves are initially closed.

2. A sodium chloride solution was prepared by adding 100 gram of sodium chloride into 20 liter of
water.

3. The feed tank was filled up with the salt solution prepared in step 2. The feed shall always be
maintained at room temperature.

4. The power for the control panel was turned on. All sensors and indicators were checked for functioning
properly.

5. Thermostat was switched on and the thermo oil level was make sure above the coil inside thermostat.

Thermostat connections were checked properly fitted.

Note: The temperature at the thermostat was adjusted to maintain feed temperature.

6. The unit was ready for experiments.

General Shut-Down Procedures

1. The plunger pump (P2) was switched off.
2. Valve V2 was closed.
3. All liquid in the feed tank and product tank were drained by opening valves V3 and V4.
4. All the piping was flushed with clean water. V3 and V4 were closed, the clean water was filled to feed
tank until 90% full.
5. The system was ran with the clean water until the feed tank is nearly empty.

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EXPERIMENT PROCEDURES
Procedures:

1. The general start-up procedures as described in Section 4.1 were performed.

2. The experiment for Membrane 1 started. Valves V2, V5, V7, V11 and V15 were opened.

3. To set the maximum working pressure at 20 bars, the plunger pump (P1) was switched on and valve V5
was slowly closed. Pressure value at pressure gauge was observed and the pressure regulator was adjusted
to 20 bars.

Note: Use a proper wrench to turn the adjusting screw at the pressure regulator (PR1) by turning
clockwise to increase pressure and counter-clockwise to reduce pressure.

4. Open valve V5. Then, set membrane maximum inlet pressure to 18 bars for Membrane 1 by adjusting
the retentate control valve (V15).

5. Allow the system to run for 5 minutes. Start collecting sample from permeate sampling port and weigh
the sample using digital weighing balance. Record the weight of permeates every 1 minute for 10
minutes.

Note: To collect sample, open valve V19 and simultaneously close valve V11.

6. Repeat the step 1 to 5 for Membrane 2, 3 and 4. Open and close the respective sets of valves and adjust
the membrane maximum inlet pressure for every membrane.

Membrane Open Valves Sampling Valves Retentive control Membrane

valve maximum inlet
pressure(bar)

1 V2, V5, V7, V11 Open V19 and V15 18

and V15 close V11

2 V2, V5, V8, V12 Open V20 and V16 12

and V16 close valve V12

3 V2, V5, V9, V13 Open V21 and V17 10

and V17 close valve V13

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 4 V2, V5, V10, Open V22 and V18 8.5
V14 and V18 close V14

7. Plot the graph of permeate weight versus time.

RESULT

Time (min) Weight of

Permeates (g)
Membrane 1 Membrane 2 Membrane 3 Membrane 4
Max P = 18 Max P= 12 bars Max P = 10 Max P= 8.5
bars bars
1 40.89 43.64 73.83 97.23
2 74.04 83.37 135.25 341.12
3 106.77 124.29 196.25 520.08
4 140.41 164.36 258.54 706.92
5 174.69 205.25 265.54 860.96
6 205.82 244.83 325.02 1011.98
7 238.68 247.98 352.59 1186.45
8 273.33 278.07 373.08 1375.99
9 304.22 340.31 470.20 1554.89
10 326.40 387.22 577.27 1739.33

2000

1800

1600
Weight of Permeates (g)

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MEMBRANE 1 MEMBRANE 2 MEMBRANE 3 MEMBRANE 4

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DISCUSSION

In this experiment, we were to characterize the differences between four types of membranes, which are
the reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), and microfiltration (MF). In doing this
experiment, the apparatus used to accomplish the objective is SOLTEQ Membrane Test Unit (Model:
TR14). This unit has been designed to demonstrate the technique of membrane separations which has
become highly popular as it provide separation in effective way without using heat energy as used in
distillation process. Heat sensitive materials, such as fruit juices can be separated or concentrated by virtue
of their molecular weight.Membrane separation is a process of which a solution sample and water is run
through a semi permeable membrane that allows them to separate. The separated water will equilibrate the
system, which is commonly known as osmotic pressure. When a mechanical force is applied to exceed the
osmotic pressure, the water is forced to move from low concentration to higher concentration. Permeates
designates the liquid passing through the membrane and retentate, or concentrate designates the fraction to
not pass through the membrane.

Thus, sodium chloride is used to pump from feed tank and pass through each membrane and the
weight of permeate collected was recorded. The weight of permeate collected shows the efficiency for of
each the membrane. The experiment is started with sodium chloride was passed through membrane 1 with
the pressure inlet of 18 bar. After 10 minutes, permeate collected is 326.40g. The pressure is decrease to 12
bar for the membrane 2 and permeate collected is 577.27 g after 10 minutes. Lowest pressure was set for
membrane 4 which is only 8.5 bar and highest permeate is recorded for about 1739.33 g. However, when
the pressure is 10 bar for the membrane 3, permeate collected is 387.22 g after 10 minutes.

Second objective of this experiment is to determine the composition of solid salt at product. With
same amount of salt at the feed which is 0.02 m3, but due to the difference in pressure for each membrane
results in difference amount of permeate flowed. The composition of salt at product is not same for the each
type of membrane. This is because of the effectiveness of each membrane it has. For example, type of
material they use, the membrane may be thin layers of a rigid material such as porous glass or sintered
metal, but more often they are flexible films or synthetic polymers prepared to have a high permeability for
certain types of molecules

Overall, from all 4 membranes, membrane 1 has lowest amount of permeates which is only 326.40
g. While amount of permeate of membrane 4 is the highest with 1739.33 g. This is due to the difference in

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pressure supply to the system and the size of pore depends on the type of membrane used. Pressure inlet
for membrane 1 is the highest with 18 bar and membrane 4 is lowest with 8.5 bar. Also depending to the
flow rate, if the flow rate is slower, then the solution has more time to permeate. The solution will not react
thoroughly with the pore and it also caused the solution difficult to pass through the pore, size of pore in
membrane also can effect amount of permeate collected. If the size of pore is too small, the solution cannot
pass through the pore and amount of permeates also will less.

The graph plotted shows that the permeates weight is proportional with the time. When the time is
increases, the permeates weight also increasing. Besides that, the highest line from the graph is during the
membrane 4 and the lowest line is when the membrane 1 is using. While conducting this experiment, there
must be theoretical errors. General step up must be conducted as given to ensure that the experiment can be
run smoothly and are save to use. When taking the reading, the observer must be faster because the value
changes as fast as the flow of permeates. The jar used must be clean and dry to avoid inaccurate data.

CONCLUSION
Based on the theory, the weight of permeates collected from membrane 1 to 4 can be different due to
different maximum inlet pressure of each membrane. The highest amount of permeate at product is
1739.33 g and the lowest is about 326.40 g. It can be seen that the forth membrane carried the largest
value of weight of the collected. This shows that every membrane will give out the same pattern at the
outlet however, only the values of the weight were different from each other. Therefore, this shows that
the separation process was the fastest in the forth membrane and the first membrane was the slowest.
From the graph, the permeate weight increases while the time increases. For the membrane 4, the line
increases steadily. For the membrane 1, 2 and 3 the lines show sloppier with increase in the percentage of
composition of salt at product. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment are successfully achieved.

RECOMMENDATION
In carried out the experiment, there are a few steps of recommendation that can be considered in order to
get accurate data and smoothly in progressing the experiment. Firstly, general step-up must be conducted
as given then followed by the experiment procedures and end with the general shut-down procedures.
This is to ensure that the experiment can be progress successfully. During taking the reading of weight
permeates by using digital weighing balance, the reading of weight should be taking in more significant
figures so that to avoid any error and to get result more accurate in order word the true values could be
minimized. Moreover, the average weight of permeates should be calculated by taking weight of

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permeates in three or two times in order to get more accurate value of result. The system should run more
than 5 minutes so that the system can work more stabilized in order to get more accurate value of weight
of permeates. During collect the samples, the sampling valves should be open and close simultaneously
and immediately so that no occur in term of interruption during collecting samples. The amount of
permeates should be recorded at the approximate moment to avoid inaccuracy. Furthermore, used the
suitable size of jar based on the amount of permeate to avoid spillage and affect the permeate weight of
solution.

REFERENCES
1. Lee T, Amore TD (2011) Membrane Separation Theoretical and Applicable
Considerations for Optimum Industrial Bioprocessing. Retrieved from
https://www.omicsonline.org/membrane-separation-theoretical-and-applicable-
considerations-for-optimum-industrial-bioprocessing-2155-
9821.1000101e.php?aid=1668
2. Ortiz, E.L. (2011) Membrane Processes. Retrieved from
http://www.thermopedia.com/content/948/
3. Katalin, BB. (2011) Membrane Separation Process. Retrieved from
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-4269-8_1

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APPENDIX

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