Review Article

Reverse Osmosis and Membrane Distillation for Desalination of Groundwater: A Review

Table 2

Characteristics of applications of pressure-driven membrane processes [17].

Membrane processApplied pressure (kPa)Minimum particle size removedPollutant removal (type, average removal efficiency%)

Microfiltration30–5000.1–3 μmTurbidity (>99%); bacteria (>99.99%)
Ultrafiltration30–5000.01–0.1 μmTurbidity (>99%); bacteria (>99.99%); TOC (20%)
Nanofiltration500–1000200–400 daltonsTurbidity (>99%); color (.98%); TOC (>95%); hardness (>90%); sulfate (>97%); virus (>95%)
Reverse osmosis1000–500050–200 daltonsSalinity (>99%); color and DOC (>97%); nitrate (85–95%); pesticide (0–100%); As, Cd, Cr, Pb, F removal (40–98%)