MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-28DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090290
Tomas Rojas, Pablo Cassorla, Adrian Rojas, Gonzalo Aguila
{"title":"Second-Pass Vessel Arrangement and Separation-Limited Operation in Two-Pass Seawater Reverse Osmosis Under Progressive Fouling: Implications for Electrolytic Hydrogen Production.","authors":"Tomas Rojas, Pablo Cassorla, Adrian Rojas, Gonzalo Aguila","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090290","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090290","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) supplies the purification chain of electrolytic hydrogen plants, yet its long-term behaviour under fouling is rarely resolved at train level. This work presents a dynamic, quasi-steady-state model of a two-pass SWRO train and compares three second-pass architectures under progressive first-pass fouling, represented by time-evolving water- and solute-permeability coefficients. At each of 51 instants over a 500-day horizon, the operating point is re-optimized to minimize specific energy consumption (SEC), subject to a product limit of 20 mg·L<sup>-1</sup> set by the downstream polishing stage rather than the electrolyzer. Two share-membrane types, element count and installed area, differ only in vessel arrangement; the third is the industrial reference. Arrangement alone changes SEC by 36.9-41.6% across three fouling scenarios, 8.38 against 11.46 kWh·m<sup>-3</sup> under severe fouling, widening to 71% at fixed production. Fouling constrains the system through separation, not hydraulics: the technically admissible operating window widens as membranes degrade, whereas the window satisfying the product specification closes. The energy penalty of compliance begins at days 310 and 170, respectively, accumulating about twice as fast thereafter in the former. Energy recovery reduces SEC by 63-64% without altering the ordering.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13608914/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Leaf-Vein-Inspired Composite Flow Channel for Enhanced Mass Transport and Performance in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.","authors":"Tingjie Ba, Hongyi Zeng, Wanjun Wu, Dong Jiao, Yongyuan Huang","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090287","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090287","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A leaf-vein-serpentine composite flow field (L-SFF) is proposed to improve reactant distribution, water management, and electrochemical performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The L-SFF consists of a main trunk and multilevel branches inspired by coconut palm leaf veins, with a branching angle of 45° and a branch width of 2 mm. Three-dimensional multiphysics models of the traditional serpentine flow field (SPFF), cathode leaf-vein-serpentine flow field (S-LFF), and anode leaf-vein-serpentine flow field (L-SFF) were developed using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1 to investigate current density, membrane water content, temperature distribution, and power output. Under 0.6 V, 353 K, and 1 bar conditions, the L-SFF achieves a maximum power density of 0.538 W·cm<sup>-2</sup>, approximately 2.1% higher than SPFF, with an average anode current density of 7092.0 A·m<sup>-2</sup> and a current-density uniformity index of 0.135. The L-SFF also exhibits improved membrane water distribution, with an average water mole fraction of 0.513, and maintains an average membrane temperature of 356.61 K. Furthermore, the effect of GDL porosity on performance was evaluated. When the GDL porosity decreases from 0.8 to 0.2, the maximum power density decreases from 0.534 to 0.474 W·cm<sup>-2</sup> for SPFF (11.2%) and from 0.547 to 0.489 W·cm<sup>-2</sup> for L-SFF (10.6%), indicating better tolerance to variations in porous transport properties. The results demonstrate that the L-SFF structure enhances reactant transport, water management, and performance stability, providing an effective strategy for PEMFC flow-field optimization.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609170/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-28DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090286
Wei Lin Ng, Abu Bakar Sulong, Eng-Poh Ng, Soon Huat Tan
{"title":"Morphological Engineering of Electrospun Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (r-PET) Nanofibrous Membranes for Sustainable Air Filtration: A Critical Review.","authors":"Wei Lin Ng, Abu Bakar Sulong, Eng-Poh Ng, Soon Huat Tan","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090286","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090286","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growing demand for high-performance air filtration materials, coupled with increasing concerns over plastic waste accumulation, has accelerated interest in sustainable filtration technologies. Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) has emerged as a promising feedstock for electrospun nanofibrous membranes due to the abundance, low cost, and sustainability of this plastic waste feedstock. The filtration performance of r-PET membranes has been demonstrated to be comparable to that of conventional virgin polymer filters. This review critically examines recent developments in electrospun r-PET nanofibrous membranes for air filtration applications, with particular emphasis on the role of membrane morphology in governing filtration performance. Unlike previous reviews that primarily summarize electrospinning techniques or recycled polymer applications, this review critically evaluates how membrane morphology-including fiber diameter, pore architecture, bead-on-string structures, and multilayer configurations-governs filtration performance in electrospun r-PET membranes. Evidence suggests that rational morphological engineering plays a more decisive role than polymer chemistry in overcoming the conventional filtration efficiency-pressure drop trade-off. Finally, future research opportunities in scalable manufacturing, environmentally benign processing, and artificial intelligence-assisted membrane design are discussed to support the development of next-generation sustainable air filtration media.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609643/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-27DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090284
Young-Jae Lee, Min-Hyuk Seo, Jae-Hyuk Chang, Jun-Hee Kim, Jae-Woo Ahn
{"title":"A Study on the Recycling of Sodium Citrate (Na<sub>3</sub>Cit) Waste Solution via Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis.","authors":"Young-Jae Lee, Min-Hyuk Seo, Jae-Hyuk Chang, Jun-Hee Kim, Jae-Woo Ahn","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090284","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090284","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Citric acid-based leaching is gaining attention as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional sulfuric acid-based processes for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but it generates sodium citrate (Na<sub>3</sub>Cit)-rich wastewater that is difficult to treat using conventional technologies. Bipolar membrane (BM) electrodialysis (BMED), particularly a two-compartment BM/cation-exchange membrane (CEM) configuration, offers a simple and energy-efficient solution for simultaneously recovering acids and bases from such wastewater without external reagents, enabling a closed-loop resource-circulation approach that remains largely unexplored for this specific waste stream. This system was applied to treat Na<sub>3</sub>Cit wastewater generated from citric acid-based spent LIB leaching, and the recovery feasibility and process performance of citric acid and NaOH were evaluated. The effects of feed concentration, current density, initial base concentration, and initial base volume on NaOH recovery, current efficiency, and energy consumption were investigated. Under the optimal conditions (1.00 M Na<sub>3</sub>Cit, 300 A/m<sup>2</sup>, 0.1 M NaOH, 1.25 L), a NaOH recovery of 93.93%, current efficiency of 92.55%, and energy consumption of 0.65 kWh/kg were achieved. This study demonstrates that Na<sub>3</sub>Cit wastewater can be treated via BMED without external reagents, yielding high-purity NaOH, whereas the recovered acid stream contains residual unreacted Na<sub>3</sub>Cit, and its direct reuse in the leaching process requires further verification. These findings provide a fundamental basis for developing BMED-based resource-circular processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609060/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Power-Dissipation Model for Water Dissociation in Bipolar Membranes: Model Extension to High Current Density and Experimental Validation.","authors":"Mohamed Fadel Anass Ma-El-Ainine, Rachid Boukhili, Oumarou Savadogo","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090283","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090283","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Water dissociation (WD) at the internal junction of bipolar membranes (BPMs) is the key process enabling acid/base generation under reverse bias, yet the physical origin of its strong enhancement remains debated. In our previous work, we proposed a power-dissipation model in which WD is enhanced by an intense electric field through local power dissipation by autoprotolysis ions. Here, we experimentally validate this model using three commercial BPMs under acid/base and neutral salt conditions and extend it to high current density by incorporating finite water supply to the BPM junction. Under acid/base conditions, two BPMs showed strong field-dominated quadratic behavior, while a catalyst-containing BPM displayed a predominantly linear response, indicating that heterogeneous interfacial catalysis can mask the purely field-driven signature. In neutral Na2SO4, all three BPMs exhibited excellent quadratic fits, confirming that the predicted JWD∝Uj2 behavior is robust. The fitted prefactor varied with membrane type and electrolyte configuration, reflecting differences in hydration, junction thickness, transport behavior, and catalysis effect. The model was extended at higher current density to include finite diffusive water supply to the junction. The resulting saturation law links the intrinsic quadratic WD current JWD to a water-transport-limited current Jlim,2, and predicts an inflection point at JWD,inf = 0.25 Jlim,2.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609349/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-24DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090282
Lu Pei, Bingrong Wang, Yutong Zheng, Yang Liu, Yang Zhou, Xiangdong Zeng
{"title":"Nanomaterial-Modified Antibacterial Membranes for Water Treatment: From Dimensional Classification and Modification Strategies to Antimicrobial Mechanisms.","authors":"Lu Pei, Bingrong Wang, Yutong Zheng, Yang Liu, Yang Zhou, Xiangdong Zeng","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090282","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090282","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Membrane separation technology is extensively used in water treatment. However, during long-term operation, biofouling caused by bacteria and other microorganisms significantly limits the service life of membranes. Introducing antibacterial nanomaterials onto the membrane surface or into the internal structure is an effective way to combat biofouling. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in antibacterial membranes modified with different nanomaterials. First, we classify antibacterial nanomaterials by dimensionality and highlight their physicochemical properties and effects on overall membrane performance. Furthermore, we summarize the advantages, disadvantages, and applicability of three antibacterial nanomaterial modification strategies for membranes, including surface coating, grafting, and blending. Subsequently, we analyze in depth the main antibacterial mechanisms that enhance membrane performance, including metal ion release, reactive oxygen species oxidation, physical contact disruption, and anti-adhesion, as well as their synergistic effects. Finally, we critically evaluate the remaining challenges, such as interfacial compatibility between nanomaterials and polymers, controlled release of metal ions, and environmental safety. This review provides a reference for the rational design of high-performance antibacterial membranes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609226/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-23DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090281
Fajer M Alelaj, Mohammed A Bou-Rabee, Mustafa Fadel, Shafqat Aziz, Adil Aslam Mir, Abdulrahman Alharbi, Hussain Al-Sairfi
{"title":"An Offline Digital-Twin-Assisted Decision-Support Framework for Dynamic RO Under Kuwait Solar-Availability Conditions.","authors":"Fajer M Alelaj, Mohammed A Bou-Rabee, Mustafa Fadel, Shafqat Aziz, Adil Aslam Mir, Abdulrahman Alharbi, Hussain Al-Sairfi","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090281","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090281","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination is a major technology for freshwater production in arid regions, but its energy demand becomes more challenging when the system is supplied by variable renewable energy. This study presents an offline digital-twin-assisted decision-support framework for dynamic RO under Kuwait solar-availability conditions. Within this framework, the predictive models are driven primarily by the dynamic RO process variables, while NASA Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) data provide the Kuwait solar-availability context, and the PV power margin serves as a scenario-level energy indicator. The purpose is to predict instantaneous permeate flow rate, estimate specific energy consumption, and identify energy-efficient operating conditions using machine learning. Kuwait City was used as the solar case-study location. Hourly solar and meteorological data were obtained from NASA POWER, while dynamic RO membrane data were obtained from the open experimental wave desalination dataset published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) through Data.gov and the Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository. The RO dataset includes steady-state, ramp, sinusoidal, and Wave Energy Converter SIMulator (WEC-Sim) pressure/flow experiments. The process-flow image used in the system description was also taken from the same NREL dataset and is cited in the figure caption. The raw RO files were cleaned, harmonized, and transformed into a process-informed modeling dataset. Derived features included pressure rate, recovery ratio, salt rejection, estimated pump power, specific energy consumption (SEC), PV power margin, and rolling pressure/flow features. Three supervised regression models were tested: Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, and XGBoost. A representative subset of 60,000 records was used to preserve the main experimental conditions while reducing redundancy in the densely sampled sequential data. Results show that permeate flow rate can be predicted with high accuracy using Gradient Boosting (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.981; RMSE = 0.161 L/min). The moderate energy prediction performance yielded an R<sup>2</sup> of 0.654 and RMSE of 7.570 kWh/m<sup>3</sup> for Random Forest. The accuracy of permeate conductivity predictions was lower (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.257; RMSE = 245.44 µS/cm) because membrane and feed characterizing parameters should be included for an adequate water quality control. The proposed approach is best suited as an offline decision-support framework for dynamic RO process analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609498/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-22DOI: 10.3390/membranes16090280
Kacper Szymański, Alba Ruiz-Aguirre, Aleksandra Piątkowska, Sylwia Mozia, Guillermo Zaragoza
{"title":"Performance Assessment of a Hybrid Solar-Driven Photocatalysis-Membrane Distillation Process for the Removal of Ketoprofen from Seawater.","authors":"Kacper Szymański, Alba Ruiz-Aguirre, Aleksandra Piątkowska, Sylwia Mozia, Guillermo Zaragoza","doi":"10.3390/membranes16090280","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16090280","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the present research, the application of a photocatalytic reactor operated under simulated solar-light-assisted air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) is proposed to remove ketoprofen from seawater. TiO<sub>2</sub> at a concentration of 1 g/L, containing sulfur, was applied as a photocatalyst. The AGMD process was carried out under a feed temperature of 60-80 °C and a membrane area of 131 cm<sup>2</sup> during long-term operation. Simulated solar light was applied as an irradiance source. At the first stage of the process, the feed was concentrated for 73 h, and after that, the solution of seawater spiked with ketoprofen was photocatalytically treated for 96 h. Based on the experiments, it was found that 51% of ketoprofen was removed after the solar-driven photocatalysis process. Pure distillate without salts (conductivity below 2 µS/cm) and ketoprofen were obtained after 73 h. The performance of the membrane exhibited ca. two times higher permeate flux at an operation temperature of 80 °C in comparison with 60 °C, i.e., 24.7 L/h·m<sup>2</sup> and 47.3 L/h·m<sup>2</sup>, respectively. Despite the presence of small deposits on the membrane surface, no membrane wetting was observed. The concentration of ketoprofen in the concentrates during the AGMD process and solar-driven photocatalysis can remove this pharmaceutical even from matrices enriched with salts (high AGMD concentrate), with good efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13609278/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149039597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-21DOI: 10.3390/membranes16080279
Yongze Lu, Xiaohuan Wang, Mingchao Zhu, Shouwen Chen, Zhaoxia Hu, Na Li
{"title":"A Dual-Functional CO<sub>2</sub>-Selective Membrane for Biogas Upgrading in a Microalgae Membrane Bioreactor.","authors":"Yongze Lu, Xiaohuan Wang, Mingchao Zhu, Shouwen Chen, Zhaoxia Hu, Na Li","doi":"10.3390/membranes16080279","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16080279","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Upgrading biogas to pipeline-quality methane requires the efficient removal of CO<sub>2</sub>, yet conventional physicochemical routes remain energy-intensive. Coupling a CO<sub>2</sub>-selective membrane with microalgal photosynthetic fixation offers a green alternative, but is constrained by the low CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> selectivity of common membranes and the poor adhesion of microalgae to hydrophobic membrane surfaces. Here, a dual-functional composite membrane was developed that simultaneously provides CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> sieving and a biocompatible interface for microalgal attachment, and was integrated into a microalgae membrane bioreactor (MMBR). A cellulose acetate mixed-matrix membrane incorporating polyethyleneimine-grafted ZIF-8 (CA/PZIF-8(15)) achieved a mixed-gas CO<sub>2</sub> permeability of 122.3 Barrer and a CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> selectivity of 41.17. An ionic-liquid-modified chitosan (CS/IL) coating, first optimized on a commercial flat-sheet polyethersulfone (PES) membrane used as a model surface for the adhesion study, reversed the surface charge from -30.8 to +3.75 mV, lowered the water contact angle to 51.2°, and increased the day-7 adhesion of <i>Scenedesmus obliquus</i> by ~108%. Transferring the coating onto CA/PZIF-8(15) further raised the permeability to 138 Barrer and the selectivity to 57.31, placing the composite above the 2008 Robeson upper bound. In the MMBR, CH<sub>4</sub> purity reached 95.13% after 48 h; a mass balance on the recirculating gas volume indicated that essentially all of the CO<sub>2</sub> removed from the gas phase permeated the membrane, of which an estimated 2% was fixed into microalgal biomass while the remainder was retained in the liquid phase. This work offers a membrane-design strategy that bridges gas-separation functionality and microalgal carbon fixation for sustainable biogas upgrading.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13515271/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148829901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MembranesPub Date : 2026-08-19DOI: 10.3390/membranes16080278
Zengqing Kang, Yutong Zheng, Tao Wang, Huan Chen, Hua Dong, Junda Liu
{"title":"Multifunctional Membranes for Simultaneous Oil/Water Separation and Organic Pollutant Removal: A Review.","authors":"Zengqing Kang, Yutong Zheng, Tao Wang, Huan Chen, Hua Dong, Junda Liu","doi":"10.3390/membranes16080278","DOIUrl":"10.3390/membranes16080278","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Oily wastewater commonly contains dissolved organic contaminants such as dyes, antibiotics, and phenolic compounds. Conventional stepwise treatment processes involve complex operation, high energy consumption, and severe membrane fouling. Multifunctional membranes integrating oil/water separation, pollutant adsorption or catalytic degradation, and membrane self-cleaning provide a promising solution for treating complex oily wastewater. This review summarizes recent advances in multifunctional membranes based on metal oxides, two-dimensional (2D) materials, three-dimensional (3D) porous structures, and biomass-derived materials. Key strategies, including micro and nanoscale structure regulation, wettability control, interlayer channel optimization, heterojunction construction, and active site engineering, are discussed together with the synergistic mechanisms involving oil/water separation, adsorption enrichment, photocatalysis, and Fenton reactions. Approaches for improving membrane flux, separation efficiency, degradation activity, antifouling performance, and cycling stability are also reviewed. Finally, challenges related to scalable fabrication, adaptability to real wastewater, long-term stability, and standardized evaluation are outlined, providing guidance for the design and practical application of multifunctional membranes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18410,"journal":{"name":"Membranes","volume":"16 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13515427/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148830015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}