Journal of Membrane Science, 40 (1989) 351 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

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Book Review

Membrane Filtration - The Technology of Pressure-Driven Crossflow Pro- cesses, by R.G. Gutman, Adam Hilger (IOP Publishing Ltd. ), Techno House, Redcliffe Way, Bristol BSl 6NX, England, 1987,210 pages, 235 (U.K. ).

Membrane Filtration provides a simplified overview of membrane technol- ogy. Although aimed at graduate students, the book would be more useful at the undergraduate level. The essential elements of membrane filtration are covered, however, the book is not organized well for use as a course text.

The first chapter introduces membrane processes and crossflow filtration. This chapter sets the stage for what is included in the remainder of the book.

The second chapter presents an overview of crossflow membranes. The top- ics in order of presentation are (1) transport mechanisms, (2 ) membrane per- formance, and (3) manufacture of membranes. Unfortunately, the order of presentation could confuse a reader who is unfamiliar with membrane tech- nology. If used as a course text, the chapter could be taught back-to-front - i.e., first discuss what types of membranes are made (e.g., asymmetric, thin- film-composite, track-etched, etc.) and how they are made; next, explain what types of species the membranes are capable of separating and the typical per- formance of commercially available membranes; and finally, present some of the more popular transport models used to describe the observed performance.

The third chapter is well organized and gives an overview of the types of membrane modules available. All commercially available membrane modules are described and the various advantages and disadvantages of the modules are discussed.

Chapter 4 describes plant design and operation. Models for predicting the performance of a membrane module under various conditions are presented. A brief discussion of fouling is included, as is a section on methods to prevent or minimize fouling. Finally, the various types of plant designs are presented.

A discussion of the current applications of crossflow filtration is presented in Chapter 5. Numerous applications of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and microfiltration are described.

The book also contains three appendices. The first briefly describes ‘other’ membrane processes such as liquid membranes, pervaporation, electrodialysis, and membrane distillation. The second appendix gives a comprehensive list of commercial membrane manufacturers. The third is a glossary of terms.

Membrane Filtration contains all of the elements of a membrane textbook. However, adjusting the order in which some subjects are presented would make the book more useful for teaching the fundamentals of membrane technology.

SCOTT B. McCRAY Bend Research, Znc.

Bend, Oregon, U.S.A.