Process intensification in the fields to separate, recycle and reuse waste through membrane technology

Abstract

Recycling and reusing wastewater from diverse industries by adopting the simple dynamics of process intensification (PI) have emerged as a promising development route for the chemical process industry due to their potential to offer innovative and sustainable alternatives. This review summarizes the routes for recycling wastewater via various processes and separation techniques, which can be implemented at different scales, such as the phenomenon scale and task scale. Recent trends in process intensification have highlighted the importance of the widespread adoption of membrane-based processes owing to their low cost, compactness, energy efficiency, modularity and sustainable operation. Various intensifying approaches such as membrane-based, reactive, and hybrid separation and the intensification of various types of membrane systems, including liquid, vapor and gas separation steps such as pervaporation and vapor permeation while covering a wide range of operations and other processes for wastewater treatment are presented in this review. According to the literature, the advantages of PI for industrial application include cost reduction, increased safety, reduced emissions and environmental footprint, and improved resource efficiency using energy and water resources more efficiently. Overall, herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of recycling and reusing steps using the process intensification route from an engineering perspective, focusing on sustainable membrane-based techniques using hybrid and integrated technology.