Applied Membrane Technology

The separation of substance mixtures using membranes is relevant in all areas of the economy and the use of membrane separation processes is increasing worldwide. Fraunhofer IKTS develops ceramic membranes for membrane-based processes such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), organophilic nanofiltration (oNF), vapor permeation (VP), pervaporation (PV), gas separation (GS), membrane distillation (MD), membrane extraction using membrane contactors and membrane adsorption. To this end, we conduct research in the area of material processing, shaping and specific coatings, as well as the characterization of these novel membrane types.

The “Applied Membrane Technology” working group sees itself as a technology and needs analyst between science and industry. One focus is the qualification of newly developed membranes. To this end, they are first integrated into an appropriate housing (or module) and then characterized in terms of their performance and tested in specific applications, taking into account aspects of both module construction and plant engineering. The group is actively involved in the “Ceramic membranes” working group (DKG/DGM joint committee - high-performance ceramics) and is therefore always contributing to ongoing research activities.

In addition to the accompanying development of new types of membranes, a further focus is on the use of existing prototypes in new fields of application. Fraunhofer IKTS maintains the “Membrane Technology Application Center” for practical implementation in the area of liquid phase filtration. In addition to ceramic or mixed-matrix membranes, polymer membranes are also used for process development in order to achieve the required quality parameters. For example, polymeric membranes from the reverse osmosis (RO) area are used. In addition to its process engineering know-how, Fraunhofer IKTS has extensive expertise in the fields of electromembrane processes, water and wastewater technologies, biomass conversion and nutrient recycling. This creates the basis for the development of individual concepts and the implementation of integrable membrane processes in numerous branches of industry.