Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes

In recent years there is an increased interest in photocatalytic membrane reactors (PMRs) being hybrid systems coupling photocatalysis and membrane separation. There are two main configurations of PMRs, namely (I) reactors with photocatalyst suspended in feed solution and (II) reactors with photocatalyst supported in/on the membrane, i.e. reactors with Photocatalytic Membranes (PMs). The main directions of application of PMRs are water and wastewater treatment, however, the possibilities of utilization of these systems in chemical synthesis are also considered.

hotocatalytic Membranes and Photocatalytic Membrane Reactors offers a comprehensive review on the present state of the art in the area of PMs and PMRs. The book gives an overview of the basis of photocatalysis and membrane separation, basic aspects of photocatalytic membranes and photocatalytic membrane reactors as well as applications, modelling and economical aspects of PMs and PMRs. Although PMRs exhibit numerous advantages over the conventional photoreactors in case of water and wastewater treatment as well as organic synthesis, still further investigations are needed in order to improve the performance of these hybrid processes. The book addresses the main issues associated with PMRs design and tries to answer the question: how far is from the laboratory scale to the application of PMRs in industry?

• Reviews new hybrid separation techniques based on photocalysis and membranes
• Offers a detailed description of the various photocatalytic membrane reactors and their function
• Includes new membrane based separation techniques for removal of emerging contaminants from water such as pharmaceutical and personal care products
• Numerous reactor configurations are discussed and various membrane materials for photocatalytic membranes are presented
• Includes modelling and economical aspects of the various processes