Desalination by Membrane Separation

Desalination is a process by which dissolved salts from the saline water is removed. Since ground water is depleting fast hence now alternate source for water is looked for. Sea or oceanic water is one of the major resource from where now large amount of water is being extracted for use in domestic household, irrigation municipal purposes etc. Many countries (especially the Gulf countries) rely heavily on this source to meet the demand of water.

The membrane separation technology helps in separating infeed water into two effluent streams called as the permeate and the concentrate. Permeate is that fluid passes through the semi-permeable membrane. On the other hand the concentrate stream consist of an elements rejected by the membrane.

Advantages
For desalination purpose membrane separation process is used widely because of following advantages:

• They save energy.
• Environmental friendly.
• Can be operated easily.
• The products obtained after the process are of high quality.
• Whole process don't require any Complex instrumentation.

Types
The membrane separation process that are used for desalination purpose are:

• Reverse Osmosis
• Electrodialysis or Ion Exchange Process