New metrics for evaluating the performance of membrane operations in the logic of process intensification

The aim of this work is to discuss the role of membrane operations for re-designing industrial productions in the logic of the process intensification. In particular, new metrics for comparing membrane performance with that of traditional operations are tentatively proposed. The comparison is performed in terms of the following: productivity/size ratio; productivity/weight ratio; flexibility; modularity. Referring to the flexibility of the plant, two different aspects are considered: the ability to handle variations that might occur during the life of the plant (such as variation of the pressure, the temperature, or the feed composition) and the ability to be applied in different cycles of production. The modularity takes into account the changes of the plant size related to variations of the plant productivity. As a case study, the new metrics are applied to the sparkling water production. Although the new metrics have been defined for membrane operations, the proposed approach can be more generally applied for evaluating the degree of intensification achievable with any other process of interest.