Membranes are thin films that act as separation barriers and are used to separate fluids. When used in a broad range of applications, membranes control the rate at which a chemical species permeates the membrane. For industrial wastewater and other acid flows, membranes are used to treat and separate the streams for either re-use or disposal/removal.
Synthetically fabricated membranes are typically intended for separation purposes in laboratories or in a variety of industries. These membranes have been successfully used for small and large-scale industrial processes since mid 20th century, and may be produced from organic materials such as polymers or inorganic materials. Synthetic membranes are often classified based on their surface chemistry, bulk structure, morphology, and production methods. The chemical and physical properties of synthetic membranes (where components are retained or permeated), as well as the “driving force” mechanism define a particular membranes separation process. The most common of these driving forces are pressure and concentration gradients. Synthetic membranes can also be categorized by application and by separation regime. The most common synthetic membrane separation processes include water purification, reverse osmosis, dehydrogenation of natural gas, the removal of cell particles by microfiltration and ultra-filtration and the removal of micro-organisms from dairy products and dialysis.
While polymeric membranes are the most common membranes used for separation, the choice of which membrane polymer to use is complex and requires technological expertise to ensure the polymer has the appropriate characteristics for its intended application. For example: The polymer must withstand harsh cleaning conditions and must be compatible with the specific membrane fabrication technology. Many membrane polymers are grafted, custom-modified or produced as copolymers to improve their properties.
AMS membranes are based on proprietary chemistry and additional surface modification and manipulation chemistry.