Exploiting barrier interference is the challenge of membrane separation science and technology. This book provides expert knowledge as a survey, in systematic order, of the terms and concepts by which barrier separations operate, and through which practical membrane separation processes are designed. The aim of this book is to present the relevant thermodynamic features of fluid mixtures in contact with semipermeable barriers, then to apply this information in deriving the working principles and design requirements of individual membrane separation processes. The membranes, by this approach, are introduced by way of the mass transport and selectivity demands which they are to meet.

This book presents a self-consistent approach to separations of liquids with membranes, contrasting equilibrium separations with the rate-controlling effects of barrier interference on mass transfer. Unlike equilibrium separations, which depend on the thermodynamic condition of the fluid mixtures alone, barrier separations additionally are subject to specific interactions of the mixture components with the barrier. While the thermodynamics of fluid mixtures is predictable and open to adjustment, barrier interference adds another dimension to the repertoire of separation effects. Exploiting barrier interference is the challenge of membrane separation science and technology. This book is about the principles behind.  This second edition incorporates the remarkable new developments especially in the field of hydrophobicity of surfaces and closely connected membrane distillation. Additionally, the new edition includes a chapter on Electrodialysis and its potential for energy efficient seawater desalination.