Membrane Engineering and Process Intensification

Sustainable industrial growth is one of the current global challenges. Process intensification (PI) has been found to be a design approach that offers a solution that leads to substantial shrinking of the process's equipment size, energy saving, cost reduction, increased safety, and reduced environmental impact. PI is based on four principles: 1) maximizing the effectiveness of intra- & intermolecular events, 2) giving each molecule the same processing experience, 3) optimizing the driving forces/resistances at every scale and maximizing the specific surface areas to which these forces /resistances apply, and 4) maximizing the synergistic effect from partial processes. PI can be achieved through the functional, spatial, thermodynamics, and temporal domains. Membranes are one of the engineering technologies that can be used to fulfill the goals of PI.

The use of innovative technologies such as membranes in achieving the goals of PI has been attracting more attention in recent years. Membrane technology can substantially reduce the energy consumption of many industrial processes, as well as reduce waste, making separation processes more cost-effective, safer, and more sustainable. This technology has been investigated worldwide because it is well-aligned with PI practices. It is therefore important to have reference material specifically targeting the roles and contributions of membrane separation techniques in PI. Such a reference will serve as a source of data that will enable investors and decision-makers to choose and adopt methods for more sustainable operation in industrial plants. The aim of this Research Topic is to serve as a knowledge hub for sharing updates on recent advances in research and development, on the various roles of membrane technologies in sustainable process design and development to achieve the goals of process intensification.

We welcome the submission of modeling, simulation, techno-economic analysis, and experimental work in the form of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles on topics including, but not limited to:
• Membrane gas separation
• Membrane distillation
• Reverse Osmosis
• Membrane filtration/ultra-filtration/nanofiltration
• Membrane dialysis
• Membrane Crystallization
• Membrane Reactor/Bioreactor
• Membrane pervaporation
• Membrane emulsification
• 3D Printing of membrane materials and modules.

Keywords: Membrane Engineering, Sustainable growth, membrane technology, process intensification, energy savings, process optimization

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.