Membranes最新文献

{"title":"A Mini Review of Reused End-of-Life Reverse Osmosis (EoL RO) Membranes.","authors":"Anissa Somrani, Kholoud Abohelal, Maxime Pontié","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070217","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As sensitive parts of the water treatment process, reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are the most important for desalination and wastewater treatment. But the performance of RO membranes deteriorates over time due to fouling, necessitating frequent replacements. One of the environmental challenges is the disposal of End-of-Life (EoL) RO membranes, which are made of non-biodegradable polymers. The reuse of EoL membranes as a sustainable approach for waste saving and resource efficiency has recently attracted considerable attention. The present work provides a comprehensive overview of the strategies for reusing EoL RO membranes as sustainable alternatives to conventional disposal methods. Furthermore, the fundamental principles of RO technology, the primary types and impacts of membrane fouling, and advanced cleaning and regeneration techniques are discussed. The conversion of EoL membranes into nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), and forward osmosis (FO) membranes is also covered in this review, as well as their uses in brackish water desalination, dye/salt separation, groundwater treatment, and household wastewater reuse. Environmental and economic benefits, as well as technical, social, and regulatory challenges, are also discussed. Finally, the review highlights innovative approaches and future directions for incorporating EoL membrane reuse into circular economy models, outlining its potential to improve sustainability and reduce operational costs in water treatment systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fabrication of Green PVDF/TiO₂ Composite Membrane for Water Treatment.","authors":"Shuhang Lu, Dong Zou","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070218","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>PVDF/TiO₂ composite membranes show some potential to be used for water treatment as they combine the advantages of polymers and ceramics. However, conventional PVDF-based composite membranes are always fabricated by using conventional toxic solvents. Herein, PolarClean was used as a green solvent to fabricate PVDF/TiO₂ composite membranes via the phase inversion method. In this process, Pluronic F127 was used as a dispersion agent to distribute TiO₂ particles in the PVDF matrix and to serve as a pore former on the membrane surface. TiO₂ particles were well distributed on the membrane surface and bulk. TiO₂ particles in the PVDF matrix enhanced the mechanical strength and hydrophilic characteristics of the resulting composite membrane, facilitating water transport through the composite membranes and enhancing their water permeability. Membrane microstructures and mechanical strength of the composite membranes were finely tuned by varying the PVDF concentration, TiO₂ concentration, and coagulation bath temperature. It was demonstrated that the resulting green PVDF/TiO₂ composite membrane showed a high water permeance compared with those using conventional toxic solvents in terms of its small pore size. In addition, the particle rejection of green PVDF/TiO₂ membrane showed a 99.9% rejection rate in all the filtration process, while those using NMP showed 91.1% after 30 min of filtration. The water flux was similar at 121 and 130 Lm^-2h^-1 for green and conventional solvents, respectively. This work provides important information for the future application of sustainable membranes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-Performance Thin Film Composite Nanofiltration (NF) Membrane Constructed on Modified Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Substrate.","authors":"Junliang Dong, Qianzhi Sun, Xiaolin Feng, Ruijun Zhang","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The inherent hydrophobic nature of PVDF material renders it challenging to establish a stable aqueous hydration layer, thereby limiting its suitability as a substrate for the preparation of nanofiltration (NF) membranes. In this study, we developed a novel modification approach that effectively enhances the hydrophilicity of PVDF substrates through the incorporation of sulfonic acid-doped polyaniline (SPANI) and hyperbranched polyester (HPE) into the PVDF casting solution, followed by cross-linking with trimesoyl chloride (TMC). The introduction of SPANI and HPE, which contain reactive polar amino and hydroxyl groups, improved the hydrophilicity of the substrate, while the subsequent cross-linking with TMC effectively anchored these components within the substrate through the covalent linking between TMC and the reactive sites. Additionally, the hydrolysis of TMC yielded non-reactive carboxyl groups, which further enhanced the hydrophilicity of the substrate. As a result, the modified PVDF substrate exhibited improved hydrophilicity, facilitating the construction of an intact polyamide layer. In addition, the fabricated TFC NF membrane demonstrated excellent performance in the advanced treatment of tap water, achieving a total dissolved solid removal rate of 57.9% and a total organic carbon removal rate of 85.3%. This work provides a facile and effective route to modify PVDF substrates for NF membrane fabrication.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of Membrane Salt Rejection Properties on Cake-Enhanced Concentration Polarization Effects During Colloidal Fouling of Nanofiltration Membranes.","authors":"Oranso Themba Mahlangu, Bhekie Brilliance Mamba","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070215","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070215","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The build-up of a fouling layer on the membrane surface is believed to deteriorate flux and salt rejection by hindering back-diffusion of rejected salts, a phenomenon called cake-enhanced concentration polarization (CECP). Nevertheless, CECP effects have not been linked to the salt rejection properties of the membrane. Furthermore, the decline in salt rejection during fouling has not been related to the decreasing flux, to elucidate the effects of flux on solution rejection as described by the solution-diffusion (SD) model. Therefore, this work examined whether CECP is substantial in membranes with poor salt-rejection properties. Fouling was performed using sodium alginate, Al₂O₃, latex, and SiO₂. The effects of fouling on salt rejection were studied using two nanofiltration (NF) membranes, namely NF270 membrane (46% NaCl rejection) and NF90 membrane (>97% NaCl rejection). The measured flux and salt rejection profiles were compared to those predicted by the CECP and SD models. Overall, the flux declined more (30-60%) for the NF90 membrane (contact angle: 50 ± 3°) compared to the NF270 membrane (10-55%, contact angle: 39 ± 2°) under similar hydrodynamic conditions. Moreover, fouling had more effects on NaCl rejection for the NF90 membrane (2-45% decline) compared to the NF270 membrane (10-30% decline). The decrease in NaCl rejection for the NF90 membrane was ascribed to CECP effects and declining flux. Contrary, CECP effects were less important for the NF270 membrane, and rejection declined due to reduction in flux as predicted by the SD model, indicating that CECP may not be predominant in membranes that poorly reject salts.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Study on the Performance of Vacuum Membrane Distillation in Treating Acidic, Simulated, Low-Level Radioactive Liquid Waste.","authors":"Sifan Chen, Yan Xu, Yuyong Wu, Yizhou Lu, Zhan Weng, Yaoguang Tao, Jianghai Liu, Baihua Jiang","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070213","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study systematically explored the performance of a vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) system equipped with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes for treating simulated, acidic, low-level radioactive liquid waste. By focusing on key operational parameters, including feed temperature, vacuum pressure, and flow velocity, an orthogonal experiment was designed to obtain the optimal parameters. Considering the potential application scenarios, the following two factors were also studied: the initial nuclide concentrations (0.5, 5, and 50 mg·L^-1) and tributyl phosphate (TBP) concentrations (0, 20, and 100 mg·L^-1) in the feed solution. The results indicated that the optimal operational parameters for VMD were as follows: a feed temperature of 70 °C, a vacuum pressure of 90 kPa, and a flow rate of 500 L·h^-1. Under these parameters, the VMD system demonstrated a maximum permeate flux of 0.9 L·m^-2·h^-1, achieving a nuclide rejection rate exceeding 99.9%, as well as a nitric acid rejection rate of 99.4%. A significant negative correlation was observed between permeate flux and nuclide concentrations at levels above 50 mg·L^-1. The presence of TBP in the feed solution produced membrane fouling, leading to flux decline and a reduced separation efficiency, with severity increasing with TBP concentration. The VMD process simultaneously achieved nuclide rejection and nitric acid concentration in acidic radioactive wastewater, demonstrating strong potential for nuclear wastewater treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Study on Separation of Desulfurization Wastewater in Ship Exhaust Gas Cleaning System with Rotating Dynamic Filtration.","authors":"Shiyong Wang, Juan Wu, Yanlin Wu, Wenbo Dong","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070214","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current treatment methods for desulfurization wastewater in the ship exhaust gas cleaning (EGC) system face several problems, including process complexity, unstable performance, large spatial requirements, and high energy consumption. This study investigates rotating dynamic filtration (RDF) as an efficient treatment approach through experimental testing, theoretical analysis, and pilot-scale validation. Flux increases with temperature and pressure but decreases with feed concentration, remaining unaffected by circulation flow. For a small membrane (152 mm), flux consistently increases with rotational speed across all pressures. For a large membrane (374 mm), flux increases with rotational speed at 300 kPa but firstly increases and then decreases at 100 kPa. Filtrate turbidity in all experiments complies with regulatory standards. Due to the unique hydrodynamic characteristics of RDF, back pressure reduces the effective transmembrane pressure, whereas shear force mitigates concentration polarization and cake layer formation. Separation performance is governed by the balance between these two forces. The specific energy consumption of RDF is only 10-30% that of cross-flow filtration (CFF). Under optimized pilot-scale conditions, the wastewater was concentrated 30-fold, with filtrate turbidity consistently below 2 NTU, outperforming CFF. Moreover, continuous operation proves more suitable for marine environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144707952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Potable Water Recovery for Space Habitation Systems Using Hybrid Life Support Systems: Biological Pretreatment Coupled with Reverse Osmosis for Humidity Condensate Recovery.","authors":"Sunday Adu, William Shane Walker, William Andrew Jackson","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070212","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of efficient and sustainable water recycling systems is essential for long-term human missions and the establishment of space habitats on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Humidity condensate (HC) is a low-strength wastewater that is currently recycled on the International Space Station (ISS). The main contaminants in HC are primarily low-molecular-weight organics and ammonia. This has caused operational issues due to microbial growth in the Water Process Assembly (WPA) storage tank as well as failure of downstream systems. In addition, treatment of this wastewater primarily uses adsorptive and exchange media, which must be continually resupplied and represent a significant life-cycle cost. This study demonstrates the integration of a membrane-aerated biological reactor (MABR) for pretreatment and storage of HC, followed by brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO). Two system configurations were tested: (1) periodic MABR fluid was sent to batch RO operating at 90% water recovery with the RO concentrate sent to a separate waste tank; and (2) periodic MABR fluid was sent to batch RO operating at 90% recovery with the RO concentrate returned to the MABR (accumulating salinity in the MABR). With an external recycle tank (configuration 2), the system produced 2160 L (i.e., 1080 crew-days) of near potable water (dissolved organic carbon (DOC) < 10 mg/L, total nitrogen (TN) < 12 mg/L, total dissolved solids (TDS) < 30 mg/L) with a single membrane (weight of 260 g). When the MABR was used as the RO recycle tank (configuration 1), 1100 L of permeate could be produced on a single membrane; RO permeate quality was slightly better but generally similar to the first configuration even though no brine was wasted during the run. The results suggest that this hybrid system has the potential to significantly enhance the self-sufficiency of space habitats, supporting sustainable extraterrestrial human habitation, as well as reducing current operational problems on the ISS. These systems may also apply to extreme locations such as remote/isolated terrestrial locations, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144707948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Covalent Organic Framework Membranes for Ion Separation: A Review.","authors":"Yutong Lou, Zhanyong Wang, Wanbei Yang, Shuchen Lang, Jiaxing Fan, Qiaomei Ke, Rui Wang, Zhen Zhang, Wentao Chen, Jian Xue","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070211","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Covalent organic framework (COF) membranes have garnered significant attention in ion separation due to their high surface area, tunable pore size, excellent stability, and diverse functional groups. Over the past decade, various synthesis methods, such as solvothermal synthesis, interfacial synthesis, microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis, and in situ growth, have been developed to fabricate COF membranes. COF membranes have demonstrated remarkable ion separation performance in different separation processes driven by pressure, electric field, and vapor pressure difference, showing great potential in a wide range of applications. Nevertheless, challenges in the synthesis and application of COF membranes still remain, requiring further research to fully realize their potential in ion separation. This review critically examines the development of COF membranes, from synthesis methods to ion separation applications. We evaluate the advantages and limitations of various synthesis techniques and systematically summarize COF membrane performance based on separation driving forces. Finally, we present a critical analysis of current challenges and offer perspectives on promising future research directions for advancing COF membrane technology in separation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Review of Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) as Bio-Sourced Polymers for Membrane Production Applications.","authors":"Lacrimioara Senila, Eniko Kovacs, Marin Senila","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, membranes have found extensive applications, primarily in wastewater purification and food packaging. However, petroleum-based membranes can be detrimental to the environment. For this reason, extensive studies are being conducted to identify environmentally friendly substitutes for the materials used in membrane composition. Among these materials, polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) are two bio-sourced and biodegradable polymers that can be derived from lignocellulosic waste. These polymers also possess suitable characteristics, such as thermal resistance and mechanical strength, which make them potential candidates for replacing conventional plastics. This study provides an overview of recent advances in the production of PLA and PHB, with a focus on their extraction from lignocellulosic biomass, as well as the recent applications of these two biodegradable polymers as sustainable materials in membrane manufacturing. The advantages and limitations of membranes produced from these materials are also summarized. Lastly, an analysis of future trends is provided concerning new sources, production possibilities, and potential applications in water treatment (mainly for metal ions separation), gas separation, oil-water separation, medical applications, drug release control, and food packaging.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of Tau Fragment and Membrane Interactions on Membrane Permeabilization and Peptide Aggregation.","authors":"Majedul Islam, Md Raza Ul Karim, Emily Argueta, Mohammed N Selim, Ewa P Wojcikiewicz, Deguo Du","doi":"10.3390/membranes15070208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15070208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aggregation of tau protein is a hallmark feature of tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease. The microtubule-binding domain of tau plays a crucial role in the tau aggregation process. In this study, we investigated the dual effects of membrane interactions of tau_298-317, a fragment peptide from the microtubule-binding domain, on peptide-induced membrane disruption and membrane-mediated peptide self-assembly. Our results show that neither wild-type tau_298-317 nor its P301L or Ser305-phosphorylated mutants aggregate in the presence of zwitterionic POPC vesicles or cause lipid vesicle leakage, indicating weak peptide-membrane interactions. In contrast, tau_298-317 strongly interacts with negatively charged POPG liposomes, leading to a rapid transition of the peptide conformation from random coils to α-helical intermediate conformation upon membrane adsorption, which may further promote peptide self-association to form oligomers and β-sheet-rich fibrillar structures. Tau_298-317-induced rapid POPG membrane leakage indicates a synergistic process of the peptide self-assembly at the membrane interface and the aggregation-induced membrane disruption. Notably, phosphorylation at Ser305 disrupts favorable electrostatic interactions between the peptide and POPG membrane surface, thus preventing peptide aggregation and membrane leakage. In contrast, the P301L mutation significantly enhances membrane-mediated peptide aggregation and peptide-induced membrane disruption, likely due to alleviation of local conformational constraints and enhancement of local hydrophobicity, which facilitates fast conformational conversion to β-sheet structures. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying membrane-mediated aggregation of crucial regions of tau and peptide-induced membrane damage, indicating potential strategies to prevent tau aggregation and membrane rupture by targeting critical electrostatic interactions between membranes and key local regions of tau.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"15 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144708023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}