Nanofiltration is a membrane filtration process using membranes with pores on the order of one to ten nanometers, placing it between ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis in the range of particle sizes it can separate. Originally developed to soften water by removing scale-forming ions, nanofiltration membranes are also used to disinfect water supplies and to purify pharmaceuticals and food products such as milk and juice; the membranes are typically thin polymer films, sometimes track-etched by bombarding a polymer sheet with high-energy particles and then chemically developing the resulting tracks into pores. Newer applications include petroleum refining, natural-product extraction, and medical uses such as extracting amino acids from biological material. The cost and maintenance of the membranes themselves remain the technology's principal drawback, and no single clean origin date or inventor is established in the source consulted.
Facts
SignificanceNanofiltration was originally developed for water treatment, particularly water softening by retaining scale-forming divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium, and has since extended to milk, juice, pharmaceutical, fine chemical and flavor and fragrance production. 1 Connections
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Source Nanofiltration - Wikipedia
Sources
1. Nanofiltration - Wikipedia
Range of applications section
The original uses for nanofiltration were water treatment and in particular water softening.
- In Group: Chemical Separation and Purification Techniques, lead paragraph states nanofiltration is a membrane process using nanometer sized pores to pass particles smaller than about 1 to 10 nanometers
In Field: Chemical Engineering, Introduction
Nanofiltration is a membrane filtration process that uses nanometer sized pores through which particles smaller than about 1-10 nanometers pass through the membrane.
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