npj Clean Water最新文献

{"title":"Voltammetric sensing of heavy metals for global water security: a critical materials perspective on field-deployable monitoring platforms","authors":"Aly Reda, Mohamed Nabeel, Emad Raafat, Mohamed R. Khalifa, Tamer Shoeib","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00598-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00598-z","url":null,"abstract":"Heavy metal contamination necessitates portable, sensitive voltammetric sensors. This review assesses electrode interface engineering using MOFs, COFs, and carbon nanocomposites, connecting structural attributes (porosity, redox sites, conductivity) to sensitivity, selectivity, and limit of detection. Integration with microfluidics and edge-deployable machine learning enables autonomous monitoring, yet challenges matrix interference, fouling, model transferability, and standards lack persistence. A research roadmap for robust, field-deployable sensors for decentralized water quality surveillance is outlined.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148305221","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":"Achieving 99.75% water recovery in industrial groundwater remediation: contaminant removal and feasibility of a multibarrier treatment train targeting near-zero liquid discharge","authors":"Lorenzo Craveri, Erica Bertozzi, Marco Malaguti, Gabriele Copetti, Davide Cerrina, Alessandro Trombetta, Valentina Rosetti, Alberto Tiraferri","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00579-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00579-2","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluates advanced water treatment technologies to remediate industrially contaminated groundwater under a 99.75% water recovery target for near-zero liquid discharge. Laboratory batch tests on real groundwater assessed pre-oxidation–coagulation–flocculation, activated carbon andferric hydroxide adsorption, reverse osmosis, and chemical treatments. The synergy of the selected techniques was investigated for the first time to remove specific amine-containing compounds and sulfolane. Removal rates exceeded 95% for most metals and several organics, whereas aliphaticaldehydes were found to be recalcitrant. The selected techniques were then incorporated into a multi-barrier treatment train, tested with 300 L of real groundwater under the 99.75% water recovery target. Sulfolane concentration decreased by 99.6%, amines concentrations were reduced below detection, naphthalene removal exceeded 99%, and most heavy metals were removed by >95%. Aliphaticaldehydes increased during pre-treatment and required targeted post-membrane chemical treatment to meet regulatory, while vanadium showed variable behavior. The results demonstrate that integrated treatment enables regulatory compliance and minimal liquid discharge, although persistent compounds require specific multi-barrier strategies.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288475","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":"Transforming heterogeneity into a structural advantage: multiscale synergistic mechanisms for converting full-component sludge hydrolysate into biopolymer films","authors":"Ning Yang, Yan Zhang, Shucheng Yang, Yu Hua, Yubing Wang, Rui Liu, Xiaohu Dai","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00590-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00590-7","url":null,"abstract":"The heterogeneous composition of sludge is often regarded as a barrier to high-value resource recovery. We propose a hydrolysis–self-assembly route that directly combines full-component sludge hydrothermal supernatant (SHS) with methylcellulose (MC) to fabricate mechanically reinforced composite films, converting compositional complexity into a multiscale structural advantage. The optimized SHS/MC film achieved a tensile strength of 20.21 MPa and an elongation at break of 151.13%. Multiscale characterization and simulation revealed that sludge proteins and polysaccharides formed hydrogen-bonding networks to balance rigidity and flexibility, while small-molecule-regulated phase separation generated uniformly dispersed nanodomains with spacings of 32.25–40.57 nm for stress dispersion. Inorganic mineral particles further strengthened organic–inorganic interfaces and promoted stress transfer. These molecular, nano-/microstructural, and interfacial mechanisms collectively enabled simultaneous strengthening and toughening, improving the strength–ductility balance of the film. Life cycle assessment (LCA) further demonstrated the environmental benefits of this pathway. This study establishes a mechanistic framework for designing SHS/MC composite biopolymer films and provides a promising strategy for sludge valorization into high-value materials.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288476","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":"Induction-heated membrane distillation using Fe3O4-PANI-FAS-coated omniphobic membranes: antiwetting, antifouling, and mechanistic insights","authors":"Guangyu Zhu, Haodong Jia, Jing-An Lin, Jiahe Zhang, Tiezheng Tong, Shuyan Yu, Guillen Ianmarco, Wen Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00591-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00591-6","url":null,"abstract":"Membrane distillation (MD) offers a promising route for treating high-salinity and complex wastewater streams; however, its practical implementation is often hindered by membrane wetting, inorganic scaling, and organic fouling. Here, we report an induction-heating membrane distillation (IH-MD) platform enabled by an omniphobic Fe₃O₄/PANI/FAS membrane that integrates localized thermal management with advanced surface design. The hierarchical structure, combining reentrant surface geometry and low surface energy, effectively suppresses liquid intrusion and reduces foulant adhesion, while preserving rapid interfacial heating (~2.0 °C·s⁻¹). COMSOL simulations further revealed that vaporization-induced latent heat consumption substantially influences interfacial temperature and vapor flux predictions, highlighting the importance of realistic heat-transfer accounting in induction-heated membrane distillation. Compared with Fe₃O₄/PANI membrane, the omniphobic Fe₃O₄/PANI/FAS membrane demonstrates enhanced operational stability across a range of challenging conditions, including surfactant-induced wetting, calcium-based scaling, organic fouling, and complex reverse osmosis (RO) retentate feeds. In surfactant-containing systems, stable flux and low permeate conductivity (~3 µS·cm⁻¹) were maintained, whereas severe wetting was observed for non-modified membranes (~12,000 µS·cm⁻¹). Under inorganic scaling conditions, reduced deposition of Ca- and S-containing species indicates suppressed crystal nucleation and adhesion. Long-term operation (5 h) under organic fouling further confirms improved flux stability. In complex RO retentate, the omniphobic membrane exhibits markedly reduced accumulation of multivalent ions (e.g., Ca and S) compared to non-modified membranes, indicating improved resistance to inorganic deposition under multi-component conditions. These findings demonstrate that coupling omniphobic surface engineering with localized induction heating provides a synergistic strategy to suppress wetting, scaling, and fouling, offering a pathway toward robust and energy-efficient MD operation in complex water treatment applications.\u0000\u0000The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288488","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":"Diverging riverine dissolved C:N:P ratios under global environmental change","authors":"Ricky Mwangada Mwanake, Elizabeth Gachibu Wangari, Daniel Graeber, Ralf Kiese","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00596-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00596-1","url":null,"abstract":"The ratios of dissolved carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in rivers constrain downstream carbon and nutrient cycling, yet their long-term trends remain unclear. Using a 20-year ML-modeled dataset spanning 5084 catchments, we show that 27% exhibited coupled C-N-P trends with increasing or decreasing patterns, while 73% exhibited divergent trends. These divergent trends resulted in global declines in DOC-to-nutrient ratios, possibly linked to river warming, anthropogenic land-use expansion, and forest cover declines.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"165 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148287531","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":"National-scale nitrogen stoichiometry in China’s surface waters: spatiotemporal dynamics, proxy utility, and threshold-driven controls","authors":"Yi He, Xizhi Nong, Lihua Chen, Jiahua Wei","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00592-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00592-5","url":null,"abstract":"Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN) are key components of freshwater nitrogen cycling, yet national-scale assessments of NH3-N/TN ratios, their seasonal variability, and environmental controls remain limited. Using observations from 307 river and 106 lake monitoring stations across China, we combined time series linear models, stepwise regression, and Random Forest with SHapley Additive exPlanations to quantify spatial patterns, seasonal dynamics, and NH3-N-TN coupling. Rivers consistently exhibited higher NH3-N, TN, and NH3-N/TN ratios than lakes and reservoirs. Although medium-ratio conditions dominated overall, rivers showed a greater proportion of high-ratio stations, particularly in the Southwestern River Basin, whereas the Songliao River Basin was characterized by predominantly low ratios. TN peaked in winter and during the non-flood season, whereas NH3-N/TN peaked in summer in rivers but in winter in lakes, revealing contrasting hydrological and thermal controls in lotic and lentic systems. NH3-N and TN were positively correlated nationally, especially in rivers under medium- and high-ratio conditions during flood and warm seasons, but this coupling weakened in lakes, low-ratio scenarios, and cold or dry periods. Temperature, runoff, and dissolved oxygen emerged as key drivers. These results show that NH3-N serves as a TN proxy only under limited basin-specific and hydrological-seasonal conditions.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148287467","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":"Salinity limits magnetic field antifouling in water distribution systems","authors":"Zeyuan Liu, Peng Hou, Ruihong Yu, Qifeng Liu, Yong Wang, Tahir Muhammad, Yang Xiao, Yunkai Li","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00588-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00588-1","url":null,"abstract":"Magnetic field (MF) is a promising, eco-friendly approach for inhibiting fouling. However, its effectiveness remains controversial, with reports showing varying degrees of success. Water quality, particularly salinity, could be a critical factor influencing MF performance. The results indicated that MF reduced the total fouling by 10.3% to 54.6%, with efficacy diminishing as salinity increased. This was attributed to high salinity inhibiting MF’s ability to alter calcite to the more easily removable aragonite. Moreover, at lower salinities, microcrystals generated by MF treatment remain dispersed, thereby reducing the aggregation probability and minimizing the large particle deposition on pipeline surfaces. In contrast, high salinities led to denser microcrystals, increasing particle collision and deposition on pipelines. These findings help reconcile existing literature controversies by elucidating the salinity-dependent, continuous decay of MF efficacy, ultimately offering a robust, physics-based predictive framework for optimizing non-chemical fouling control in complex aqueous environments.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148287521","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":"Spatially referenced watershed models for the binational Red–Assiniboine River Basin: Bayesian vs frequentist comparison","authors":"E. Agnes Blukacz-Richards, Felix Ouellet, Alex Neumann, Dale M. Robertson, Glenn A. Benoy, George Arhonditsis, David A. Saad","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00580-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00580-9","url":null,"abstract":"Excess nutrient loading remains a leading cause of declining water quality in lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters worldwide, with global economic costs of US$200 billion – US$2 trillion annually from impacts on fisheries, tourism, freshwater resources, and water treatment. Our study focuses on total phosphorus (TP) in Lake Winnipeg and its binational Red-Assiniboine River Basin, where nutrient inputs have degraded water quality and increased cyanobacterial blooms. These changes pose ecological, public health, and economic risks. We applied a spatially referenced watershed model with a hybrid statistical-mechanistic structure partitioning annual nutrient loads into land-use export, land-to-water delivery, and in-reservoir decay. Bayesian and traditional frequentist model calibrations were compared. In the frequentist model, coefficients for agricultural inputs, forests /wetlands, stream channels, precipitation, and reservoir losses were statistically significant, whereas coefficient for wastewater was not. In contrast, all variables were successfully calibrated using the Bayesian approach. Model results delineate TP-export hotspots across the basin, showing that 54–62% of TP originates from the U.S., with agricultural sources ranging 62–72%—highlighting the importance of agriculture-focused Best Management Practices. Given the global relevance of nutrient-driven water-quality challenges, our results highlight Bayesian calibration for robust risk assessment and adaptive nutrient management.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147751852","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":"Carboxylated wood membranes for selective capture and recovery of critical and commodity metal cations","authors":"Antoni Sánchez-Ferrer, Devika Upadhye, Muzamil Jalil Ahmed, Baohu Wu","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00577-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00577-4","url":null,"abstract":"Bio-based materials for selective metal cation capture are increasingly sought after as economic and sustainable alternatives to conventional polymeric/ceramic membranes. Here, spruce wood membranes were carboxylated via anhydride esterification with succinic anhydride (SA) and maleic anhydride (MA). Said membranes were used in cation-exchange filtration processes to capture/recover lithium (Li+) and ferric (Fe3+) ions from aqueous solutions. Structural and chemical analyses, e.g., FTIR, SEM-EDX, WAXS, TGA and DVS experiments, confirmed formation of Na-carboxylate exchange sites, following anhydride esterification and Na-charging with NaHCO3, while preserving the aligned wood microchannel architecture. Gravity-driven filtration experiments demonstrated significant differences as a result of these two modification routes. MA-modified membranes achieved near-quantitative Li+ removal (≈99.9%) with excellent regeneration stability over three cycles, whereas SA-modified membranes showed greater variability and partial performance decline. For Fe3+, MA-modified membranes exhibited significantly higher, stable removal efficiencies (≈72%) than succinic-modified membranes. Equilibrium ion-exchange experiments showed Langmuir-type monolayer adsorption on chemically homogeneous carboxylate sites, with higher affinity for Fe3+ (K = 0.017–0.020 L·mmol-1) than for Li+ (K = 0.0063-0.0078 L·mmol-1), reflecting the influence of the cation valence and coordination. Overall, MA modification provides a balanced combination of ion-exchange efficiency, structural robustness, and regeneration compatibility, establishing chemically modified wood membranes as promising, sustainable platforms for metal cation capture and recovery in water treatment applications.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147734066","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":"Balancing biofouling control in membrane distillation by “shock” chlorination","authors":"Daniel Dylewski, Alla Alpatova, Graciela Gonzalez-Gil, Najat A. Amin, Valentina-Elena Musteata, Stephen Ogg, Johannes S. Vrouwenvelder, Noreddine Ghaffour","doi":"10.1038/s41545-026-00578-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-026-00578-3","url":null,"abstract":"Full-scale application of membrane distillation (MD) requires effective pretreatment strategies to control biofilms, a persistent challenge of desalination systems. This study explores the impact of “shock” chlorination on the direct contact MD (DCMD) using Red Sea water under conditions similar to reverse osmosis plants. The DCMD performance at different feedwater temperatures was evaluated, and biofilm architecture and composition were linked to key performance indicators. Our results demonstrated that “shock” chlorination delayed microbial growth and reduced biofilm coverage and thickness. Another positive aspect is reduced scaling propensity by limiting salt entrapment and deposition of Ca and Mg salts on the membrane surface. As a result, improved permeate fluxes were achieved at 45 °C and 55 °C without compromising permeate quality. However, at 65 °C, induced pore wetting occurred due to combined thermal and oxidation effects that impaired membrane’s selectivity indicating that while “shock” chlorination controls biofilms at lower and moderate temperatures, its effectiveness diminishes with temperature increase. Our study highlights that proactive strategies, such as controlled “shock” chlorination, are essential for efficient MD performance. A practical approach is to implement this strategy for biofilm management under carefully optimized operating conditions to minimize fouling risks and support resilient seawater MD systems.","PeriodicalId":19375,"journal":{"name":"npj Clean Water","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147709299","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}