Membranes and membrane systems to provide clean water and energy and environmental problems

Membrane applications are practiced in industries to produce materials and treat waste effluents. As such, membranes and related processes are not to be neglected. In this paper, different membrane systems are described with the appropriate membrane types. Their application to treat brackish and sea water as well as some industrial effluents are described to produce clean water for human consumption. Role of membranes for the possible recovery of precious metals, like, gold and silver, are also described for their applicability in Pakistan. Membranes are built in humans and plants. Theories of water and ions transport are similar to understand the natural and artificial chemical processes in their bodies. The present article intends to press a need for adopting the membrane processes for attracting attention of policy-making authorities in Pakistan. These membrane processes and applications could be used to bring Pakistan out of the current energy and water crises. This will result in better economic achievements, as all the membranes processes are less energy-consuming than the classical and old techniques. (author)