Gravity-driven membrane as a low-cost process for sustainable water treatment: Principle, performance, and energy consumption

초록

The world's need for freshwater has gradually grown over the past century as a result of population expansion and an uptick in economic activity. In the previous four to five decades, using membrane techniques has been seen as a solid way to improve water purification, especially from unconventional sources. Due to the low energy needs for filtering operation, gravity-driven membrane (GDM) techniques have recently been suggested as a sustainable option for water treatment for over 10years. The technology is characterized not only by relatively lower transmembrane pressures which can be achieved by gravity (extremely low energy consumption) but also by the economic benefits in several aspects. In this chapter, the authors propose a review of the GDM process with a focus on energy consumption as well as economic assessment in consideration of the technological aspects. Firstly, the fundamental of GDM is comprehensively described. The factors affecting the performance of GDM are presented and discussed. Besides, the current energy consumption of the GDM process is critically reviewed to enlighten the benefits of this technology compared to the other original pressure-driven membrane processes. Finally, system evaluation and economic assessment of GDM based on the capital expenditure and operational expenditure indices are thoroughly exhibited. © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

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