Membrane science and membrane
engineering in the past years andtomorrow
Enrico Drioli
National Research Council - Institute on Membrane Technology (ITMCNR) c/o University of Calabria - Cubo 17C, 87036 Rende CS – Italy
Email: e.drioli@itm.cnr.it
Web: www.itm.cnr.itHistory 1
In the late fifties - early sixties, Membrane Science had avery small visibility and no large scale industrial applications
were present.
However its potentialities
increasing attention.

werealreadyattracting

anIn 1966, the first organized event on Membrane Scienceand Application was organized as a NATO Advanced StudyInstitute by Prof. H. Gregor (USA) and Prof. A.M. Liquori(Italy) on Membrane Transport Phenomena at Villa Cimbrone
in Ravello.

History 2Membrane Societies at the late seventies - early 80's:
1978 Foundation of

The Membrane Society of Japan
President: Masayuki Nakagaki
Vice Presidents: Terukatsu Miyauchi, Toshitsugu Oda
1982 Foundation ofEuropean Membrane Society and Technology
President: Enrico Drioli
Vice Presidents: Heiner Strathmann, Jean Neel, Gun Trägårdh,Gunnar Jonsson
Strategic actions:Internationalization
Advanced Researches
Development of Membrane Operations
High education

A breakthrough!
The first International Conference

Europe -Japan Congress on Membranes and Membrane
Processes, Stresa, June 18-22, 1984

Outcomes and domino effect
The large number of participants, of about 400, from 26
countries including USA, Australia, China and Brazil, the quality ofthe Plenary Lectures and Scientific Communications made theStresa Conference a significant international success.
As a result, the decision to organize the Japan - Europe
Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes in Tokyo,
in 1987.

Prof. Elias Klein, USA participant at the Conference, promoted, in1985 the foundation ofNorth American Membrane
Society - NAMS

President: Elias Klein
Vice Presidents: Sun-Tak Hwang,Douglas LloydHistory of ICOMs

From the Europe -Japan Congress on Membranes andMembrane Processes, Italy, June 18-22, 1984
To

“ICOM - International Congress onMembranes and MembraneProcesses”
Tokyo 1987

1st ICOMInternational Congress onMembranes and Membrane
Processes (ICOM '87): Tokyo,
Japan, June 8-12, 1987
Chairmen, Organizing Committee:
Prof. Dr. Masayuki Nakagaki, President,
Membrane Society of Japan;
Prof. Dr. Enrico Drioli, President,
European Society of Membrane, Scienceand Technology
Secretary-General:
Prof. Dr. Shoji Kimura, Institute of Industrial
Science, University of Tokyo

700 participants
400 papers
28 countries

ICOM conferencesYearLocation

Organizer

Chair

Statistics

ICOM ‘87

Tokio, JapanThe Membrane
Society of Japan,

Masayuki Nakagaki

700 participants

Enrico Drioli

400 papers

June 8-12 1987

ICOM ‘90

EMS

28 countries

Chicago, USA

NAMS

Norman N. Li

500 Presentat.

Heidelberg,
Germany

EMS

R. Rautenbach

509 Presentat.

The Membrane
Society of Japan,
NAMS, andJ.J. Vier

Large n. ofpartic. from
Easter Europe;

August 20-24 1990
ICOM ’93
August 30 September 3, 1993

R.N. Lichtenthaler

The University ofHeidelberg
ICOM ‘96
August 18-23 1996
ICOM ‘99
June 12-18 1999
ICOM 2002
July 7-12, 2002

Yokohama,JapanThe MembraneSociety of Japan,EMS, NAMS

Toronto,CanadaNAMS

Toulouse,France

Université Paul
Sabatier

Naofumi Kimura

500 Presentat.

Takeo Shimizu

600 Partipants

Doug Lloyd

562 Presentat.

Jim Davis

629 Participants

John Howell,
Roger Ben Aïm
Pierre Aimar
Corinne Cabassud

365 Presentat.
302 Partecipants
Vol2 – Vol1

ICOM conferences
YearLocation

ICOM 2005
August 21-26,
2005

Seoul, Korea

ICOM 2008
July 12-18, 2008

Honolulu, Hawaii,
USA

ICOM 2011
July 23-29, 2011

Amsterdam,
The Netherlands

ICOM 2014
July 20-25, 2014

Suzhou, China

ICOM 2017
San Francisco, CA
29 July – 4 August USA
2017
ICOM 2020…..

Organizer
The AseanianMembrane
Society, TheMembrane Societyof Korea,NAMS, EMS
NAMS

ChairStatistics

Tae Moon Tak
Un Young Kim

793 Presentat.
>700 Particip.
40 countries

Ingo Pinnau,
Benny Freeman,
Yoram CohenMembrane Technol Kitty Nijmeijer
ogy Group of Univ Antoine
Kemperman
ersity of Twente
Matthias Wessling

827 Presentat.

The AseanianMembrane
Society, EMS,
NAMS
NAMS

1300 delegates of514 oralpresentations and662 posters

Congjie Gao
Juin-Yih Lai
Wanqin Jin
Xiaolin Wang

1064 Presentat.
1051 Particip.
(Asia 22%
America 13%
Europe 65%)

First Summer School in 1984

The 2016 EditionMajor Membrane Societies today#NamePresident

Link

1Membrane Society of Japan

Toshinori Tsuru

maku-jp.org/ index_e.html

2European MS

Bart van der Bruggen

3
4NAMS
Korean Membrane Society

Dibakar Bhattacharyya
Hong Sik BYUN

www.emsoc.eu/ems/site/home/index.php
www.membranes.org
www.membrane.or.kr

5

Liu Xianqin

www.membranes.com.cn

6Membrane Industry Association ofChina
Chinese Membrane Society

7

Aseanian Membrane Society

It was proposed in 2015 , and is waiting to be approved by
Chinese Government
Hideto Matsuyama
http://www.ams10.org

8

Russian Membrane SocietyAndrei Yaroslavtsev

www.memtech.ru/index.php/en

9Membrane Society of Australasia

Aaron Thornton

www.membrane-australasia.org

10

Indian Membrane Society

M. H. Mehta

indianmembranesociety.com

11

South Central Membrane AssociationAlain Richard

www.scmembrane.org

12

Mehul V. Patel

www.amtaorg.com

13

American Membrane Technology
Association
African Membrane Society

http://www.sam-ptf.com/

14

Membrane Society in Singapore

Abdoulaye Doucouré(board of directors)
WANG Rong

15

Sociedad Mexicana de Ciencia yTecnología de Membranas

http://www.memsis.org/
http://www.smcytm.org.mx

The Membrane Society of JapanMaku

European Membrane Society
Goal

To promote co-operation between European Scientists and Engineers
involved in research and development in the field of synthetic andartificial membranes and membrane processes

Objective

Organization ofperiodic
workshops andstudy groups on
various aspect ofmembranesciencePublication of aquarterly news
letter describing
developments andactivities ofdifferent
membrane groups

Stimulation ofexchange visits
of membranescientists andtechnologists indifferent countries

Organization of Summer Schools for theeducation of young researchers withdifferent backgrounds.
The first edition in 1984 ….
To the 2016 EMS Summer School onMembranes and Membrane
Processes Design near Bologna, Italy

Provision ofguidelines tonational andinternational
agencies topromote the mostefficient use ofresources

The North American Membrane SocietyAwardsNAMS is the only professional society in North America that promotes
all aspects of membrane science and technology. This ranges from fundamental
studies of membrane materials science to process application and development.

Missionto serve the synthetic
membranecommunity by
fostering thedevelopment anddissemination ofknowledge inmembrane scienceand technology

by promoting thecollaborative effortsof researchers,
technologists andend-usersNAMS promotes further development andunderstanding of membranes and membraneprocesses through:• Organization of national and international
meetings• Presentation of short courses and workshops• Support for student travel to NAMS Annual
Meeting• Publication of the Membrane QuarterlyAwards•to encourage and support
outstanding individuals at thestart of their professional
careers, and• to recognize those that havemade significant contributions
to the advancement ofmembrane technology

Education•provides a forum for thepresentation of new ideas,problems, and projects related tothe incorporation of membranescience and technology in bothundergraduate
andgraduate
education

Membrane Society of Australasia

VisionObjectiveMission

To be the nexus of membrane science and technology activity in the Australasia
region;To promote collaborative engagements across the community to disseminate
membrane technology to end users; andTo capture current research and industry involvement and highlight future trends.

open forum fortransferring andsharing technologies
and capabilities
within the members,industries and higheducation
organizations

supporting
multidisciplinary
networking events
promotingopportunities foryoung members

providing leadershipand mentorship inmembrane sciencefor the Australasian
membranecommunity

enabling wider
understanding of themembranetechnologies for
public interest

The MSA is to represent Membrane Science and Technology in Australasia
realising that this will be aligned with societal needs.

Indian Membrane SocietyAfrican Membrane Society

Objective
Experts on water andmembrane technologies
had the aim to create acontinental structure

Expectations

The African Membrane Society is the result of discussions initiated inAugust 2010 in Bamako at a workshop of the Mali Symposium on
Applied Sciences. AMS was officially created in August 2014.

form a critical mass of
African experts in thefield of membrane
filtration, water treatment
and renewable energy

have a pan-African
network where allcontinental cultures candiscuss scientific andtechnological issues

engage close partnerships
with global elites in thefield of filtrationencourage the emergenceof AMS as a scientificsocietypromote partnership with
the industry sector

African Membrane Society

Meeting scope Identify key advanced research in thefield of membrane and filtration
technologies for the treatment of water.
 Present innovative projects in Africa
that favor efficient water management.
 Stimulate economic growth bydeveloping sustainable water andenergy resources and technologies

Sfax 2016: International mobilization
The culturally diverse African Membrane Society(AMS) has mobilized all its members so that the 5geographic zones of Africa can be represented
during its congress.
Nearly 20 countries are expected including
representatives from Europe, India, North America
and many decision -makers from the industry.

Major Other International Conferences 1
Aseanian Membrane Society Conference (AMS)Euromembrane
World Filtration Congress
International Membrane Science and Technology Conference (IMSTEC)
North American Membrane Society (NAMS) Meeting
International Conference on Inorganic Membranes (ICIM)International Water Association Events
International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors (ICCMR13)

Major Other International Conferences 2Gordon Conferences USA
Engineering Conferences International
European Congress of Chemical Engineering (ECCE)World Congress of Chemical Engineering (WECCE)
Aachener Membrane Colloquium
Ravello Conferences (from 1966 every 11 years)
Etc….

Some National Conferences…

Major International Journals onMembrane Science and Engineering - 1
JournalEditor(s)Publisher

Journal of Membrane Science

Ed.- in - Chief: A.L.
ZydneyFounded by Harry
Lonsdale in 1976

Elsevier

Membrane Technology

S. Atkinson

Elsevier

Membranes

Ed.-in-Chief: Spas D.
Kolev

MDPI AG, Basel,
Switzerland

Journal of Membrane andSeparation Technology(Japan)

Ed.itor-in-Chief:
Masakazu Yoshikawa

Lifescience Glob

Journal of Membrane Science &Technology

Hao Fong, Abdul Latif
Ahmad, Ruth Prassl

OMICS Publishing GroupMajor International Journals on
Membrane Science and Engineering - 2
JournalEditor(s)Publisher

The Journal of Membrane
BiologyEd.- in - Chief: Wolfgang
E. Trommer(TU Kaiserslautern)

Springer

Membrane (MAKU)

Ed.- in - Chief: Toshinori
Tsuru(Hiroshima University)

Membrane Society ofJapan

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta
(BBA) – Biomembranes

Ed.: Yechiel Shai, Hans
Vogel

Elsevier

Biochemistry (Moscow)
Supplement Series A: Membraneand Cell Biology

Ed.- in - Chief: Stanislav
S. Kolesnikov

SpringerMajor International Journals onMembrane Science and Engineering - 3
JournalEditor(s)Publisher

Journal of Membrane Science andTechnology (China)(A Bimonthly publication of theMembrane Industry Association ofChina)

Ed: Liu Xianqiu

Editorial Department ofMembrane Science andTechnology

Journal of Membrane Science andResearch (JMSR) (Iran)Ed.- in - Chief: Ali Kargari

Membrane Processes
Research Center (MPRC)

Molecular Membrane Biology

Ed.- in - Chief: Anthony IMageeTaylor & Francis

Newsletters, Bullettins,…

EUDIME - Erasmus Mundus Doctorate in Membrane
EngineeringErasmus Mundus is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field ofhigher education, promoted by the Executive Agency for Education,
Audiovisual & Culture (EACEA- European Union) that aims to enhance thequality of European higher education and to promote dialogue andunderstanding between people and cultures through cooperation with ThirdCountries.
EUDIME is designed to implement - at international level - excellence,innovation, mobility and multi-disciplinarity in investigation approaches
related to membrane science and technology.
http://eudime.unical.it/index.php

IV
67
237V
103
26
5

# ofnationalities
35
Fellowships
awarded918

I# ofapplicants
110

II
99
24
99III
90
28
963

150

21

180
China
Pakistan
Ethopia
Indonesia
India
Iran
BrazilNigeria
Nepal
LebananVietnam
Egypt
Tajikstan
Italy
Portugal
Thailand
Algeria
Syria
TurkeyCameroon
Sri Lanka
Macedonia
Bulgaria
Spain

Edition

China
Pakistan
Ethopia
Indonesia
India
Iran
Columbia
Nigeria
Nepal
JordianVietnamese
EgyptianSouth Korea
Iraq
IsraelTajikstan
GreeceItaly
Portugal
Bangladesh
PolandThailand
MaroccoAlgeria
Syria
ZambiaTurkeySadui Arabia
LibiyaCameroon
MaxicoRussiaSlovakia
Hungary
SwedenStatistics & Countrywise distribution
1st Edition

12Females

Males

3rd Edition
2nd Edition

15129Females

6Males3

Countrywise distribution2
4th Edition

121086420

N. Applications received

N. applications received1418
171615
14
13
12
11
10
98765432
105th Edition

PARTNER COUNTRYPROGRAMME COUNTRY

The EM3E Erasmus Mundus Master
The Master in Membrane Engineering EM3E offers an advanced education
programme related to membrane science and engineering at the interface
between material science and chemical engineering and focused on specificapplicative fields.
The EM3E Master is an Education Programme supported by the European
Commission, the European Membrane Society (EMS), the EuropeanMembrane/House (EMH), and a large international network of industrial
companies, research centres and universities.

http://eudime.unical.it/index.php/em3e-masterAs positive follow out:

The Master in Membrane Science
At the University of Abou Bekr Belkaid -Tlemcen, Algeria
Coordinator: Prof. Benamar DAHMANI
in collaboration with the University of Calabria and Institute on MembraneTechnology3rd generation desalination
Membrane-Based Desalination: An Integrated Approach (acronym MEDINA)

FP6- PRIORITY
1.1.6.3 - Global
Change andEcosystems

MCMC

RO pre-treatment
Feed water

MF/UF

DesaltedwaterRO

NF

MCMBR
MD/MCr(IN)NF/RO PERMEATE

(OUT)
Salts

(OUT)

Desalted
water

Brine

RO post-treatment(IN)

Desaltedwater

MD/MCrGAS

Aim: to improve the overall
performance of membranebased water desalination
processes through theintegration of different
membrane operations in RO
pre-treatment and RO posttreatment stages.

Salts

Brine

Filter(IN)RO/NF RETENTATE(OUT)

Heater(OUT)(IN)

E. Drioli, A. Criscuoli, and F. Macedonio, eds. Membrane-based
Desalination: An Integrated Approach (MEDINA). Iwa Publishing, 2011.

3rd. Generation Desalination Technology

New Advances 1Masdar Special Project on

Renewable energy seawater desalination program
Goal: Identification and implementation of industrial scale and commercially viable
desalination technologies to ensure sustainable water supply to the region
Objectives:
Stage 1: (2013-2016) Demonstration of energy efficient desalination technologies by using
4 pilot plants with total capacity of 1500 m3/day
Criteria for success
Reverse Osmosis
Less than 3.6 kWh/m3 of eletricity consumption
Innovative membrane based processes Less than 3.1 kWh/m3 of eletricity consumption
RO+MD 1000 m3/day With partnership of Abenoga
RO300 m3/day With partnership of SIDEM/VEOLIA
RO+IE
100 m3/day With partnership of SUEZ
FO50 m3/day
With partnership of TREVI Syetems
Based in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, these plants will operate continuously for 18 months

Stage 2: Implementation and development of technologies, that meet the predefined
criteria, at commercial scale

New Advances 2
A novel approach to promote the development of membrane science andtechnology: the first case of Membrane Science and Technology Industrial Park
Operational framework of the Membrane Scienceand Technology Industrial ParkThe Jiangsu MembraneIndustrial Park

The Jiangsu Membrane Industrial Park
Technologies which will be developed in the Membrane Industrial
ParkNew Advances 3

China-EU Membrane Technology Industrial
Park (Weihai)
Weihai Municipal Government establishes China-EU Membrane
Technology Industrial Park (Weihai) in Weihai Torch Hi-tech
Industrial Development Zone (national level), mainly including
membrane technology center and membrane production baseMembrane Technology Center••Establish “Membrane Technology Center” inNew Science and Technology Park Mansion
in Hi-Tech Zone, with an office area ofapproximately 10,000 square meters.
The center is engaging in following
membrane technology and products relatedactivities:
1） Applied Research and Development ofMembrane Equipment and Technology2）Transformation of Achievements in
Applied Membrane Technology3）Membrane-associated third-party testingtechnology4）Technical Exchanges and Personnel
Training5）Membrane Technology Achievements
Exhibition6）Intermediary Service Organizations

Just starting!

Some important aspects of Membrane Science
1. Potentialities in redesigning of a modern Process Engineering
based on Process Intensification
2. Strong multidisciplinary character from Chemical Engineeringand Material Science Engineering to Biotechnology, Biology,
Tissue Engineering, etc.
3. The largest spectrum of realized and potential application inpractically all Industrial sectors and in Agriculture, Medicine,Space Technologies, etc.

Future Actions
1. Global Membrane Network
2. Large scale multinational projects on strategic matters
3. International Doctorate in Membrane Engineering(following the Erasmus Mundus Doctorate in Membrane
Engineering, EUDIME)

Strategic topics
o Blue energy from salinity gradientso Membrane systems in the Spaceo Hybrid organs as artificial brainso New Mining Industry: mineral recovery from the sea
o New 2D materials (Graphene and Graphene derivatives,phosphorenes, borenes,…) for new Membranes

Blue energy and energy resources distribution
About 2 terawatt of blue energy is available globally from the river water falling intothe sea. Waste water discharged into the sea can generate additional 18GW of energy.

BP: Statistical review 2011

Recalculated

According to some optimistic estimations, 80% of the worlds power consumption can begenerated from the salinity gradient. It can reduce 40% emission of green house gases.
J.W. Post, PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen The Netherlands (2009)

Membrane systems in the space
Current water recycling on the International
Space Station uses membranes that weigh up to150 kg each and need to be replaced regularly, so
this new technology could be a smaller, lighterand less energy-hungry alternative.
The output will now be analyzed to see if it canbe used in space in the future.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s 10-day ‘iriss’
mission to the International Space Station includes thescientific experiment to purify some of the Station’swaste water and test a ‘biomimetic’ membrane fromDenmark. The membrane mimics nature to create clean
drinking water using a nano-technology that requires
no energy.
www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/iriss/Highlights/Andre
as_in_space

Hollow Fiber Membranes as Guidance
Channels for Neurons
DIV 4PEEK-WC

DIV 8

DIV 12

DIV 8

DIV 12

Lp=0.0304 L/ m2 h mbar
θadv= 77.62± 2.97°
θrec= 62.35± 4.73°

PAN
DIV 4

DIV 8
DIV 8

Lp=0.215 L/ m2 h mbar
θadv= 67.49± 3.93°
θrec= 42.96± 4.17°
S. Morelli, A.Piscioneri, S. Salerno, M. Rende, C. Campana, F. Tasselli, A. di Vito, G. Giusi, M.
Canonaco, E. Drioli and L. De Bartolo. J Tissue Eng Regen Med 2012; 6: 299–313.

Neuronal network construct in amembrane system
β-TUB IIIGAP 43MERGE

A. Piscioneri, S. Morelli, M. Mele, M. Canonaco, E. Bilotta, P. Pantano, E. Drioli, L. De Bartolo.
Acta Biomaterialia 2015; 24: 297–308
ITM-CNRMicropatterned membranes for guidance of neuronal cells
nonpatternedp-patterned 20/17

d-patterned 20/25

ic-patterned 7/17DIV8DIV1210000

5000

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0020406080

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160 180 2007500

5000

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0020406080

100 120 140 160 180 200µm

10000

Average fluorescenceintensity [-]

7500

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Average fluorescenceintensity [-]Average fluorescenceintensity [-]Average fluorescenceintensity [-]

10000

7500

5000

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07500

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0020406080

100 120 140 160 180 200µm

0255075

100

125150µm

S. Morelli, S. Salerno, A. Piscioneri, B.J. Papenburg, A. Di Vito, G. Giusi, M. Canonaco, D. Stamatialis, E. Drioli, L. DeBartolo, S. Morelli et al. Biomaterials 2010, 31: 7000-7011

17520

Non-graphene layered materials, includingtransition-metal
dichalcogenides(TMDs),
Mxenes, posphorene and others new properties
and applications upon 2D confinement

Source: BHIMANAPATI ET AL. ACS NANO, 9, 2015, 11509–11539

Simulated “open” and “closed” states of the MoS2
The filter can be regulated by mechanical strain, yielding a highly tunable nanopore interface

W. Li et al, ACS Nano 2016, 10, 1829−1835

Thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivities of single- and multi-layer phosphorene: a molecular dynamics study
Ying-Yan Zhan et al. Nanoscale, 2016, 8,483–491

Zigzag direction

Phosphorene possesses a strong
anisotropy and also strong layer
number independence of the inplane thermal conductivity due toits puckered structure, which isdistinctly different from other 2Dmaterials.
Conﬁguration of single-layer
phosphorene
Armchair direction

Similar to other 2D materials,
thein-plane
thermalconductivity is dependent on
the sample length andmechanical strain.

Relative thermal conductivity with respect tostrain for multi-layer phosphorene

Variation in the in-plane thermal conductivity with number of layers in multilayer phosphorene along zigzag and armchair directions.