In a membrane products handbook published in 2001, the author - a polymeric membrane specialist - said some rather unflattering things about ceramic membranes and their proponents. Speculating that the high cost of ceramic membrane systems meant that users "must be either rich or have a very, very special product to treat", the author took on a more cynical tone when he noted, "For years, manufacturers of ceramic membrane systems have been promising that next year, sales will boom, and they keep promising. In reality, the market is diminutive." At that time, ceramic membrane modules were estimated to cost over $10,000/ m~2. Even though manufacturing improvements would drive the cost down to less than $3,000/m~2 over the next ten years, it still couldn't compare to the $20-$200/m~2 cost of polymeric membranes.
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