Advanced Functional Membranes for Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration

In the era of freshwater scarcity, the world seeks to limit overexploitation of all accessible resource of freshwater and also to recover potable water by treating wastewater. Various domestic, agricultural and industrial activities lead in generating high amount of wastewater from which water can be recovered for human needs. Over many years, conventional filtration process has gained success to some extent in effluents treatment for disposal. Yet, improvement in filtration process is necessary for advanced wastewater treatment in order to make the whole process handy and cost-effective. The functionality of membrane can be enhanced by incorporating polymers with novel functions in advanced membrane separation methods like microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) for reclaiming potable water from wastewaters, catalysis and biomedical applications. This book chapter mostly focuses on the use of different polymeric substances for MF and UF membrane preparation and their application in various sectors. Basic principle, novel manufacturing techniques for polymeric membrane, process design i.e., synthesis of polymers as designed membrane feedstock, surface modifications, synergistic fabrication of different polymers for advanced functionality, antifouling and antibacterial properties of membrane are also discussed.