Osmotic Membrane Distillation in Downstream Processing

Bioseparation and downstream processing occupy a complex and important position in biotechnology and biochemical engineering. Purification and concentration of biological materials requires new approaches that are gentle enough to protect the biological activity. Osmotic membrane distillation (OMD) is an interesting alternative for the concentration of thermoliable compounds at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure without product deterioration. The main advantage of OMD process is maximum achievable concentration and can be easily integrated with other separation and purification processes. This review describes the operational principle, theoretical aspects and recent applications of osmotic membrane distillation process in biotechnology and allied fields.