Membrane systems: up to date designs for drinking water facilities

Membrane filtration is a pressure driven process that uses a semi-permeable (porous) membrane to separate particulate matter from soluble components in the carrier fluid, such as water. Microfiltration or ultrafiltration membranes act much like a very fine sieve to retain particulate matter, while water and its soluble components pass through the membrane as filtrate, or filtered water. The retained solids are concentrated in a waste stream that is discharged from the membrane system.