This report describes the development of a new process to remove volatile organic compounds at dilute concentrations (VOCs) from groundwater was recently begun at Argonne. This process consists of membrane-assisted solvent extraction and membrane-assisted distillation stripping (MASX/MADS). The use of membranes is the solvent extraction and distillation stripping units improves mass transfer by increasing the interfacial surface area, thus allowing the process to be performed efficiently at high throughputs. The thermodynamics of the separation process and regions of applicability of this process are discussed
