Mass Transfer Mechanisms and Transport Resistances in Membrane Separation Process

One of the major obstacles preventing a more widespread application of membrane technology is the fact that the filtration performance inevitably decreases with filtration time. The understanding of causes of flux decline and the ability of predicting the flux performance is crucial for more extensive membrane applications. Therefore, this review focused on the analysis of the interrelated dynamics of membrane fouling and mass transport in the filtration/separation process. Furthermore, findings from various studies undertaken by many researchers to investigate various aspects of these complex phenomena, were analyzed and discussed. These previous studies form the foundation essential for the alleviation of adverse effect of membrane fouling and emphasize the fact that the development of a complex overlapping approach is needed. Investigations of the mechanisms of mass transfer in low and high pressure membranes, analyses of diffusion mechanisms in the membrane pore together with identifications of transport resistances resulting from membrane fouling will allow for a comprehensive understanding and in-depth knowledge of the fouling phenom‐ enon and applicable mass transfer mechanisms.