Editing Microfiltration (section)

==Comparison with similar processes==

Membrane microfiltration is fundamentally the same as other filtration techniques utilising a pore size distribution to physically separate particles. It is analogous to other technologies such as ultra/nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, however, the only difference exists in the size of the particles retained, and also the osmotic pressure. The main of which are described in general below:

===Ultrafiltration===

{{Main|Ultrafiltration}}

Ultrafiltration membranes have pore sizes ranging from 0.1&nbsp;μm to 0.01&nbsp;μm and are able to retain proteins, endotoxins, viruses and silica. UF has diverse applications which span from waste water treatment to pharmaceutical applications.

===Nanofiltration===

{{Main|Nanofiltration}}

Nanofiltration membranes have pores sized from 0.001&nbsp;μm to 0.01&nbsp;μm and filters multivalent ions, synthetic dyes, sugars and specific salts. As the pore size drops from MF to NF, the osmotic pressure requirement increases.

===Reverse osmosis===

{{Main|Reverse osmosis}}

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the finest separation membrane process available, pore sizes range from 0.0001&nbsp;μm to 0.001&nbsp;μm. Reverse osmosis is able to retain almost all molecules except for water, and due to the size of the pores, the required osmotic pressure is significantly greater than that for microfiltration. Both reverse osmosis and nanofiltration are fundamentally different from microfiltration since the flow goes against the concentration gradient, because those systems use pressure as a means of forcing water to go from low osmotic pressure to high osmotic pressure.