A membrane is a barrier that allows certain substances to pass through while blocking others. Water treatment facilities use various types of membranes and processes to clean surface water, groundwater, and wastewater to produce water for industry and for drinking.

Membrane processes are increasingly used for removal of bacteria, microorganisms, particulates, and natural organic material, which can impart color, tastes, and odors to water and react with disinfectants to form disinfection byproducts. Membrane processing is a technique that permits concentration and separation without the use of heat. Particles are separated on the basis of their molecular size and shape with the use of pressure and specially designed semi-permeable membranes.

Advantages of Membrane:
When compared to conventional decontamination methods such as thermal filtration, membrane filtration offers enhanced benefits, including: More Effective Contaminant Removal — Smaller pore membrane technology has been tested to remove contaminants at rates up to 99.9999%.