Membrane Technology for Chemicals

The chemical industry is very diverse and uses all of the major process technologies. However, the demand for higher product quality, shorter paybacks and reduced operating costs is increasing. As product separation becomes more complex the use of membrane technology is increasing. This is particularly the case in the fine chemical industry where the membranes are used in a variety of applications for example in the concentration and desalting of dyestuffs and optical brighteners.

PCI tubular membrane technology is developing to meet the demands of the chemical industry and new membranes are being produced which can operate in more extreme conditions such as high temperature, high/low pH and are more resistant to solvents.

New applications for tubular membrane are continually being found where they offer significant advantages over more conventional technologies and key applications are: 

• Lignosulphonate recovery and fractionation
• Silica sols concentration
• Dyestuff and pigment concentration, purification and desalting
• Optical brightener purification & concentration
• Recovery of cleaning chemicals (Reco-Cip)
• Surfactant desalting