Table 2: Membrane separation process [58].
Pore Type | Membrane Type | Species | Dimension (nm) |
Macropores > 50 |
Microfiltration 50-500 |
Yeasts & fungi Bacteria Oil emulsion |
1000-10000 300-10000 100-10000 |
Mesopores 2-50 |
Ultrafiltration 2-50 |
Colloidal Solid Viruses Protein/Polysaccharide Humic/Nucleic Acids |
100-1000 30-300 30-300 3-10 < 3 |
Micropores 0.2-2 |
Nanofiltration ≤ 2 Reverse Osmosis 0.3-0.6 |
Common antibiotics Organic antibiotics Organic ions Water |
0.6-1.2 0.3-0.8 0.2-0.4 0.2 |