Ion Exchange Membranes for Adsorptive Separation: A Patents Review

Ion exchange membranes (IEMs) are the newly-developed technology for the separation of various species from mixed solutions. Among which, IEMs for the separation of substances by adsorption method have become attractive. This patents review is to summarize the recent and important patents on the preparations and potential applications of IEMs as adsorbents in various adsorptive separation fields. Two major parts are involved: (i) recent patents on the synthesis of organic IEMs and hybrid IEMs with different matrixes, (ii) recent patents on the potential applications of IEMs as adsorbents in industry via adsorptive separation, such as the adsorptive separation of heavy metal ions, biomedical species and natural organic matter (NOM). Especially, their applications for the adsorptive separation of heavy metal ions from contaminated water using hybrid ion exchange membranes (HIEMs) are highlighted. The present states and future perspective are also discussed.