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Membranes
A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Biological membranes include cell membranes (outer coverings of cells or organelles that allow passage of certain constituents); nuclear membranes, which cover a cell nucleus; and tissue membranes, such as mucous membrane, mucosae and serous membrane, serosae. Synthetic membranes are made by humans for use in laboratory, laboratories and industry (such as chemical plants). This concept of a membrane has been known since the eighteenth century but was used little outside of the laboratory until the end of World War II. Drinking water supplies in Europe had been compromised by the war and membrane filters were used to test for water safety. However, due to the lack of reliability, slow operation, reduced selectivity and elevated costs, membra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell Membrane
The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment (the extracellular space). The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols (a lipid component) interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures. The membrane also contains membrane proteins, including integral proteins that span the membrane and serve as membrane transporters, and peripheral proteins that loosely attach to the outer (peripheral) side of the cell membrane, acting as enzymes to facilitate interaction with the cell's environment. Glycolipids embedded in the outer lipid layer serve a similar purpose. The cell membrane controls the movement of substances in and out of cells and organelles, being selectively permeable to ions a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synthetic Membrane
An artificial membrane, or synthetic membrane, is a synthetically created membrane which is usually intended for separation purposes in laboratory or in industry. Synthetic membranes have been successfully used for small and large-scale industrial processes since the middle of twentieth century.Pinnau, I., Freeman, B.D., ''Membrane Formation and Modification'', ACS, 1999. A wide variety of synthetic membranes is known.Osada, Y., Nakagawa, T., ''Membrane Science and Technology'', New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc,1992. They can be produced from organic materials such as polymers and liquids, as well as inorganic materials. The most of commercially utilized synthetic membranes in separation industry are made of polymeric structures. They can be classified based on their surface chemistry, bulk structure, morphology, and production method. The chemical and physical properties of synthetic membranes and separated particles as well as a choice of driving force define a particular membrane se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microfiltration
Microfiltration is a type of physical filtration process where a contaminated fluid is passed through a special pore-sized membrane filter to separate microorganisms and suspended particles from process liquid. It is commonly used in conjunction with various other separation processes such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis to provide a product stream which is free of undesired contaminants. General principles Microfiltration usually serves as a pre-treatment for other separation processes such as ultrafiltration, and a post-treatment for granular media filtration. The typical particle size used for microfiltration ranges from about 0.1 to 10 μm.Baker, R 2012, ''Microfiltration, in Membrane Technology and Applications'', 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, California. p. 303 In terms of approximate molecular weight these membranes can separate macromolecules of molecular weights generally less than 100,000 g/mol.Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration, 2008, Hyflux Membranes, accesse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Membrane
A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another. Biological membranes, in the form of eukaryotic cell membranes, consist of a phospholipid bilayer with embedded, integral and peripheral proteins used in communication and transportation of chemicals and ions. The bulk of lipids in a cell membrane provides a fluid matrix for proteins to rotate and laterally diffuse for physiological functioning. Proteins are adapted to high membrane fluidity environment of the lipid bilayer with the presence of an annular lipid shell, consisting of lipid molecules bound tightly to the surface of integral membrane proteins. The cell membranes are different from the isolating tissues formed by layers of cells, such as mucous membranes, basement membranes, and serous membranes. Composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Membrane Bioreactor
Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a combination of membrane processes like microfiltration or ultrafiltration with a biological wastewater treatment process, the activated sludge process. It is now widely used for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.S. Judd, The MBR book (2006) Principles and applications of membrane bioreactors in water and wastewater treatment, Elsevier, Oxford In general, there are two different MBR configurations: the first, called a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR), and the second, which is known as a side stream membrane bioreactor. In the first configuration, the membrane is located inside the biological reactor, submerged in the wastewater, while in the latter configuration, the membrane is located outside the reactor, as an additional step after biological treatment. Overview Water scarcity implies the need to reuse it once it has been properly treated, thus guaranteeing environmental protection. Among the treatment technologies available to r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanofiltration
Nanofiltration is a membrane filtration process used most often to soften and disinfect water. Overview Nanofiltration is a Membrane technology, membrane filtration-based method that uses nanometer sized pores through which particles smaller than 10 nanometers pass through the membrane. Nanofiltration membranes have pore sizes from 1-10 nanometers, smaller than that used in microfiltration and ultrafiltration, but a little bit bigger than that in reverse osmosis. Membranes used are predominantly created from polymer thin films. Materials that are commonly used include polyethylene terephthalate or metals such as aluminum. Pore dimensions are controlled by pH, temperature and time during development with pore densities ranging from 1 to 106 pores per cm2. Membranes made from polyethylene terephthalate and other similar materials, are referred to as "track-etch" membranes, named after the way the pores on the membranes are made. "Tracking" involves bombarding the polymer thin fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanotube Membrane
Nanotube membranes are either a single, open-ended nanotube(CNT) or a film composed of an array of nanotubes that are oriented perpendicularly to the surface of an impermeable film matrix like the cells of a honeycomb. 'Impermeable' is essential here to distinguish nanotube membrane with traditional, well known porous membranes. Fluids and gas molecules may pass through the membrane en masse but only through the nanotubes. For instance, water molecules form ordered hydrogen bonds that act like chains as they pass through the CNTs. This results in an almost frictionless or atomically smooth interface between the nanotubes and water which relate to a "slip length" of the hydrophobic interface. Properties like the slip length that describe the non-continuum behavior of the water within the pore walls are disregarded in simple hydrodynamic systems and absent from the Hagen–Poiseuille equation. Molecular dynamic simulations better characterize the flow of water molecules through the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative property that is driven by chemical potential differences of the solvent, a thermodynamic parameter. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended chemical species as well as biological ones (principally bacteria) from water, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be "selective", this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the wiktionary:pore, pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as solvent molecules, e.g., water, H2O) to pass freely. In the normal osmosis process, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollow Fiber Membrane
Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) are a class of artificial membranes containing a semi-permeable barrier in the form of a hollow fiber. Originally developed in the 1960s for reverse osmosis applications, hollow fiber membranes have since become prevalent in water treatment, desalination, cell culture, medicine, and tissue engineering. Most commercial hollow fiber membranes are packed into cartridges which can be used for a variety of liquid and gaseous separations. Manufacturing HFMs are commonly produced using artificial polymers. The specific production methods involved are heavily dependent on the type of polymer used as well as its molecular weight. HFM production, commonly referred to as "spinning," can be divided into four general types: * Melt Spinning, in which a thermoplastic polymer is melted and extruded through a spinneret into air and subsequently cooled. * Dry Spinning, in which a polymer is dissolved in an appropriate solvent and extruded through a spinneret i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Membrane
The nuclear envelope, also known as the nuclear membrane, is made up of two lipid bilayer membranes that in eukaryotic cells surround the nucleus, which encloses the genetic material. The nuclear envelope consists of two lipid bilayer membranes: an inner nuclear membrane and an outer nuclear membrane. The space between the membranes is called the perinuclear space. It is usually about 10–50 nm wide. The outer nuclear membrane is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The nuclear envelope has many nuclear pores that allow materials to move between the cytosol and the nucleus. Intermediate filament proteins called lamins form a structure called the nuclear lamina on the inner aspect of the inner nuclear membrane and give structural support to the nucleus. Structure The nuclear envelope is made up of two lipid bilayer membranes, an inner nuclear membrane and an outer nuclear membrane. These membranes are connected to each other by nuclear pores. Two sets of in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serous Membrane
The serous membrane (or serosa) is a smooth tissue membrane of mesothelium lining the contents and inner walls of body cavities, which secrete serous fluid to allow lubricated sliding movements between opposing surfaces. The serous membrane that covers internal organs is called a ''visceral'' membrane; while the one that covers the cavity wall is called the ''parietal'' membrane. Between the two opposing serosal surfaces is often a potential space, mostly empty except for the small amount of serous fluid. The Latin anatomical name is '' tunica serosa''. Serous membranes line and enclose several body cavities, also known as serous cavities, where they secrete a lubricating fluid which reduces friction from movements. Serosa is entirely different from the adventitia, a connective tissue layer which binds together structures rather than reducing friction between them. The serous membrane covering the heart and lining the mediastinum is referred to as the pericardium, the sero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a variety of membrane filtration in which forces such as pressure or concentration gradients lead to a separation through a semipermeable membrane. Suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight are retained in the so-called retentate, while water and low molecular weight solutes pass through the membrane in the permeate (filtrate). This separation process is used in industry and research for purifying and concentrating macromolecular (103–106 Da) solutions, especially protein solutions. Ultrafiltration is not fundamentally different from microfiltration. Both of these separate based on size exclusion or particle capture. It is fundamentally different from membrane gas separation, which separate based on different amounts of absorption and different rates of diffusion. Ultrafiltration membranes are defined by the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the membrane used. Ultrafiltration is applied in cross-flow or dead-end mode. Applications Ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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