npj Clean Water最新文献

{"title":"Integrated emulsion separation and fog collection with functionalized Janus wood membrane for water scarcity solutions","authors":"Kaiwen Chen, Jianyi Zhu, Cheng Hao, Haonan Zhang, Yujing Tan, Xianfu Xiao, Fengze Sun, Xuewen Han, Hui Peng, Tianyi Zhan, Jianxiong Lyu, Ning Yan","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00460-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00460-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Global climate change has exacerbated water scarcity, while traditional water treatment technologies are often unsustainable due to high energy consumption and negative environmental impacts, posing an urgent need for a sustainable solution. This study developed a novel wood-based flexible Janus membrane coupled with a spine structure for efficient oil-water emulsion separation and fog harvesting. The Janus wood membrane showed high separation efficiency (&gt; 99.6%), high filtration flux (water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions exceeded 810 L/m²·h and 747 L/m²·h, respectively), and good reusability. Additionally, the introduction of spine and conical pores significantly enhanced fog collection efficiency (19.23 kg/m²·h), expanding the application potential of Janus membranes. Moreover, this Janus wood membrane offered excellent mechanical properties, dimensional stability, mildew resistance, and environmental benefits. This study underscored the potential of Janus membranes in water management and liquid separation, providing a sustainable solution to water scarcity.</p><figure></figure>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143775696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revisiting hydrophobicity and its effectiveness in oil retention using microfluidic experiments","authors":"Kyung-Jin Lee, Ah Hyeon Lee, Seunghak Lee, Sang Hyun Kim, Jaeshik Chung","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00458-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00458-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examined oil-water displacement under constant pressure difference conditions, simulating natural aquifer environments using microfluidic chips with different wettability and pore geometries. The results showed lower oil retention in hydrophobic chips than hydrophilic ones, contrary to previous microfluidic chip experiments conducted under constant flow rate conditions. This is because hydrophobic surfaces reduce capillary pressure drop but increase viscous pressure drop for compensation, leading to higher flow rate and displacement. Additionally, complex pore geometries in hydrophilic chips cause oil clusters to break into smaller blobs, reducing retention and enhancing the relative permeability of water. These findings suggest that relying solely on hydrophobicity may be ineffective in retaining oil in porous materials under constant pressure difference conditions, highlighting the need for more careful consideration in groundwater remediation design.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143775701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microwave-enhanced catalytic degradation of organic compounds with silica-coated iron oxide nanocrystals via fenton-like reaction pathway","authors":"Junseok Lee, Seunghyun Weon, Seung Soo Steve Lee, Eun-tae Yun, Myoung Won Chung, Changwoo Kim, Hailiang Wang, John D. Fortner","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00449-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00449-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microwave (MW)-enhanced catalytic oxidation processes are emerging and effective techniques for the degradation of organic compounds in water and wastewater treatment processes. In this study, through applied MW irradiation, monodisperse, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanocrystals (IONCs) with thin, amorphous silica coatings are demonstrated to rapidly catalyze the degradation of organic compounds in water through a thermally enhanced, Fenton−type process. For this, we precisely synthesize amorphous silica-coated various metal oxide (single domain) nanocrystals, and then evaluate the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and benzoic acid (BA), chosen as model organic molecules. We examine (and optimize) the effects of core (nanocrystal) composition, size, and concentration, along with solution pH and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration. Further, we describe the catalytic degradation of BA with IONCs under MW irradiation through radical scavenger controls and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis, which support the proposed reaction mechanism. For materials evaluated, the amorphous silica coating not only prevents the loss of nanocrystal integrity but also provides a reactive, yet stable, interface between nanocrystals and bulk solutions, where the degradation of organic compounds can occur. Synthesized IONCs show high performance, which is repeatable for over five cycles without any deterioration of the nanocrystals core or metal leaching. Taken together, this research highlights the potential of enhanced MW-enhanced oxidation processes appropriately coated (i.e., designed) MW absorbers (here as superparamagnetic IONCs) for advanced water treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143766346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of an EOR-produced petroleum wastewater treatment system through integrated polyacrylonitrile membrane and ZrO2/sericin technologies: revelation of interactive mechanism based on synchrotron and XDLVO analyses","authors":"Mengna Li, Guohe Huang, Xiujuan Chen, Zeyuan Xu, Jing Huang, Jianan Yin, Renfei Feng, Ning Chen, Stuart Read, Shuguang Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00454-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00454-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ultrafiltration technology is one of the most efficient methods to address the issues of enhanced oil recovery-produced petroleum wastewater (EOR-PW) treatment. However, membrane fouling significantly impairs the efficiency of PW treatment. Moreover, the impacts of the complex components (e.g., salt ions, heavy metal ions, and pH level) in PW on membrane performance and the underlying mechanisms (i.e., fouling modes and interactive force) need further exploration. Herin, a novel ZrO₂/sericin polyacrylonitrile (ZrSS) ultrafiltration membrane was developed for PW treatment, and the impacts and mechanisms of contaminants in PW on membrane filtration performance were systematically investigated using synchrotron-based technology and extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (XDLVO) analysis. The synchrotron-based characterization results indicate the successful fabrication of the ZrSS membrane and the uniform distribution of ZrO₂/sericin nanocomposites (ZrSS NCs) within the membrane matrix. Optimization results show that the 3ZrSS membrane exhibits the highest water flux of 337.21 LMH and oil rejection of 99.80%. There are 67.58% and 11.04% improvements compared to the pristine PAN (polyacrylonitrile) membrane. Under alkaline pH, high salt ion (NaCl) strength, and low heavy metal ion (Ba²⁺) concentration, the 3ZrSS membrane experienced the least fouling (22.68% water flux decline). XDLVO theory elucidates that, under such conditions, there is a strong repulsive U^TOT (total interaction force) between oil droplets and the 3ZrSS membrane, which is demonstrated via the strong repulsive EL (electrostatic double layer) force. The 3ZrSS membrane maintained 84.84% of its initial water flux after a 72 h long-term filtration. After four cycled filtration, the 3ZrSS membrane kept an extremely high FRR (flux recovery rate) of 98.83%. This study is anticipated to offer technical, theoretical, and practical insights for the on-demand PW treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143737255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Temperature-based strategy for enhanced nitrogen removal in mainstream via selectively strengthening anammox or denitrification","authors":"Wentao Zhou, Qiong Zhang, Bo Wang, Feng Hou, Hongtao Pang, Yuanyuan Guo, Liang Zhang, Yongzhen Peng","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00448-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00448-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To address the instability challenges of Partial Nitrification and Anammox (PNA) at low temperatures, this study introduces a temperature-based nitrogen removal process and demonstrates its feasibility in a pilot-scale system. The temperature-based strategy allows for the selective enhancement of anammox at higher temperatures (&gt;20 °C) or denitrification at moderate and lower temperatures (≤20 °C). Nitrogen removal efficiencies of 93.8%, 72.1%, and 59.1% were achieved under &gt;20 °C, 15–20 °C, and &lt;15 °C, with corresponding effluent qualities of 3.0 mg/L, 9.6 mg/L, and 13.7 mg/L. As temperatures decreased, anammox contributions to nitrogen removal weakened from 88.4% to 8.2%, while denitrification contributions increased from 10.1% to 90.1%. Anammox bacteria exhibit a competitive advantage over denitrifying bacteria at higher temperatures, evidenced by the abundance of <i>Candidatus Kuenenia</i> at 7.13%. <i>Denitratesoma</i> was enriched to 3.47% at moderate and low temperatures, effectively supporting nitrogen removal robustness. This study provides insights into the seasonal optimization of mainstream anammox processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143734094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Precise biofilm thickness prediction in SWRO desalination from planar camera images by DNN models","authors":"Henry J. Tanudjaja, Najat A. Amin, Adnan Qamar, Sarah Kerdi, Hussain Basamh, Thomas Altmann, Ratul Das, Noreddine Ghaffour","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00451-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00451-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Detecting and quantifying biofouling is a challenging process inside a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) module due to its design complexity and operating obstacles. Herein, deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were developed to accurately calculate the cross-sectional biofilm thickness (vertical plane) through membrane surface images (horizontal plane). Models took membrane surface image as input; the classification model (CNN-Class) predicted fouling classification, while the regression model (CNN-Reg) predicted the average biofilm thickness on the membrane surface. CNN-Class model showed 90% accuracy, and CNN-Reg reached a moderate mean difference of ±24% in predicting the classification and biofilm thickness, respectively. Both models performed well and validated with 80% accuracy in classification and a mean difference of ±18% in biofilm thickness prediction from a new set of unseen live OCT images. The developed CNN models are a novel technology that has the potential to be implemented in desalination plants for early decision-making and biofouling mitigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143675168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel MoS2/BaSO4/zeolite heterostructure composite for the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of sulfadiazine","authors":"Yi Chen, Yue Jin, Honglin Zhu, Haolan Zhang, Luyu Wei, Yan Tang, Rui Wang, Dayu Zhou, Jinchuan Gu","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00455-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00455-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) can be used as a potential photocatalyst for the removal of emerging contaminants (ECs) under visible light (Vis). However, the high carrier recombination rate and aggregation restrict pure MoS₂ application. The hydrothermal method was used to prepare a novel MoS₂/BaSO₄/zeolite (Z) composite (MBZ), which was used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) under visible light for sulfadiazine (SDZ) degradation. The MBZ showed a moderate <i>E</i>_<i>g</i> value (2.59 eV), indicating good visible-light absorption. The physicochemical and photoelectrochemical properties were analyzed, revealing that the hybrid MBZ significantly enhanced photoinduced carrier generation, separation, and transfer. The MBZ exhibited 2.38-, 3.24-, and 1.36-fold higher SDZ removal reaction rates than Z, BaSO₄, and MoS₂ in the PMS/Vis system. The addition of EDTA-2Na notably decreased the degradation rate (79.58–89.88%), indicating the significant role of <i>h</i>^<i>+</i>. This work provides a new approach to the design of semiconductor/insulator photocatalysts and constructs a promising catalytic oxidation system for the green remediation of EC wastewater.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143665927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highly stretchable TPU/g-C3N4 composite nanofiber film for enhancing the piezo-photocatalytic sewage treatment by electrospinning-induced pretension","authors":"Na Sun, Zeqian Ren, Peng Chen, Miao Yue, Jizhou Wu, Yongming Fu, Jie Ma","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00452-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00452-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Enhancing the sustainability of catalysts is crucial for the practical application of piezo-photocatalytic degradation of sewage. This study introduces a novel approach by fabricating highly stretchable piezoelectric composite nanofiber films through electrospinning TPU/g-C₃N₄ mixture. The tight integration of TPU nanofibers with g-C₃N₄ few-layers pre-stresses g-C₃N₄ and strengthens the mechanical properties of the composite films, achieving a maximum tensile strain and stress of 862% and 6.90 MPa, respectively. With the assistance of 300 W ultrasound, the photocatalytic capability of the TPU/0.2g g-C₃N₄ composite nanofiber film is enhanced by 43% and maintains nearly 100% of its initial performance after 12 repeated experiments. The electronic, piezoelectric, and optical properties of uniaxial-strained monolayer g-C₃N₄ are studied by first-principles calculations, revealing that stretching in the armchair direction can double the in-plane piezoelectric coefficient, while compression in the armchair direction simultaneously alters the charge distribution within the heptazine rings and modulates the adsorption sites and energy for oxygen molecule. Therefore, ultrasound-induced dynamic strains can significantly enhance the photocatalytic effect. The degradation of electronic industrial wastewater demonstrates the practical application potential of the catalytic composite nanofiber film. This research offers a pioneering strategy for the development of efficient photocatalytic systems for sewage treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143653373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research on the filtration efficiency and influencing factors of pontoon mesh rotary filters for micro-sprinkler irrigation","authors":"Lingwei Chen, Zhen Jin, Qiao Li, Aihemaiti Mahemujing, Youwei Jiang, Hongfei Tao","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00443-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00443-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In order to solve the high energy consumption and other problems of the post-pump filter, an efficient pre-pump filter, pontoon mesh rotary filter, has been developed. In this study, the physical full test under the factors of flow rate, sand content, flushing flow rate, and filtration time was carried out using filtration efficiency as an index. The results were analyzed using quantile analysis, PPR, MLP, and Sobol index, and a prediction model was established, in which the MLP-based prediction model was more effective. The influence ranking of single and double factors were determined and the optimum working conditions were proposed. The results of the study provide a reference for filters, enrich the theory of micro-pressure filtration, and provide operational parameters for filter applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantum machine learning regression optimisation for full-scale sewage sludge anaerobic digestion","authors":"Yomna Mohamed, Ahmed Elghadban, Hei I Lei, Amelie Andrea Shih, Po-Heng Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41545-025-00440-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-025-00440-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a crucial bioenergy source widely applied in wastewater treatment. However, its efficiency improvement is hindered by complex microbial communities and sensitivity to feedstock properties. We, thus, propose a hybrid quantum-classical machine learning (Q-CML) regression algorithm using a quantum circuit learning (QCL) strategy. Combining a variational quantum circuit with a classical optimiser, this approach predicts biogas production from operational data of 18 full-scale mesophilic AD sites in the UK. Tailored for noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, the low-depth QCL model outperforms conventional regression methods (<i>R</i>²: 0.53) and matches the performance of a classical multi-layer perceptron (MLP) regressor (<i>R</i>²: 0.959) with significantly fewer parameters and better scalability. Comparative analysis highlights the advantages of quantum superposition and entanglement in capturing intricate correlations in AD data. This study positions Q-CML as a cutting-edge solution for optimising AD processes, boosting energy recovery, and driving the circular economy.</p>","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143546187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}