The membrane contactor: Environmental applications and possibilities

In a membrane contactor, separation is fully integrated with another separation technology, such as extraction or absorption, in order to fully exploit the benefits of both technologies. Membrane contactor applications can be found in both water and gas treatment. Several recently developed industrial applications-aromatics recovery from a process water, selective removal of heavy metals from a galvanic process bath, and ammonia recovery from an off gas stream-will be discussed from both technical and economic perspectives to show the wide scope of the technology.