Jia-xuan Li, Lei Zhang, Yan-rong Sun, Yi Zhou, Chang-bin Nan, Shi-min Qin, Xi-ping Zhou, Chong-lin Bai, Lin Zheng
{"title":"One-step purification of crude antimony by vacuum distillation-selective condensation","authors":"Jia-xuan Li, Lei Zhang, Yan-rong Sun, Yi Zhou, Chang-bin Nan, Shi-min Qin, Xi-ping Zhou, Chong-lin Bai, Lin Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135477","url":null,"abstract":"The traditional distillation technology typically employs a two-step distillation process to remove highly and lowly volatile impurities from antimony (Sb) metal. Based on the impurity behavior model during the vacuum distillation purification of Sb metal, a one-step technology for producing high-purity Sb metal via vacuum distillation-selective condensation has been developed. This technology was applied to prepare 4 N5(99.995 %) and 4 N(99.99 %) high-purity Sb metals at three distillation temperatures of 640 °C, 670 °C, and 700 °C. The research findings indicate that highly volatile impurities such as arsenic (As) migrate into the distillate in the upper section, while lowly volatile impurities such as bismuth (Bi), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and nickel (Ni) are enriched in the residue in the lower section. Compared with traditional distillation technology, the vacuum distillation-selective condensation method can effectively remove both highly and lowly volatile impurities. Specifically, lowly volatile impurities such as Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb were significantly removed with removal rates exceeding 85 %, whereas the removal rates for highly volatile impurity of As and lowly volatile impurity of Bi were limited, with the lowest removal rate being approximately 50 %. The distillation temperature is preferably set at 640 °C, where the maximum product yield reaches 83.16 %. In one-step preparation, the yields of 4 N5 and 4 N high-purity Sb metals are 32 % and 51.16 %, respectively.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145229469","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}
Bárbara C. Jesus, João Alcobia, Beatriz Nobre, Helena Ribeiro, Joana Marto, Isabel M. Marrucho
{"title":"Valorisation of Arbutus unedo distillers' grains for topical applications: NADES extraction via conventional and pressurized techniques","authors":"Bárbara C. Jesus, João Alcobia, Beatriz Nobre, Helena Ribeiro, Joana Marto, Isabel M. Marrucho","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135482","url":null,"abstract":"During the production of <em>Arbutus unedo</em> (<em>A. unedo</em>) spirit, large quantities of distillers' grains are generated. These by-products are rich in phenolic compounds (PCs), a family of molecules well known for their antioxidant activity. This study investigates the valorisation of this waste stream by extracting bioactive compounds to produce antioxidant rich extracts for direct incorporation into cosmetic formulations.Maceration and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) were selected as extraction techniques, using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) as extractants. The obtained extracts were evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (AA). Screening experiments revealed that NADES outperformed conventional solvents (water and aqueous ethanol mixtures), with Proline:Propylene Glycol (1:4) containing 65 mol% water yielding the best results. Response surface methodology (RSM) was then applied to optimize AA in maceration by varying extraction temperature, NADES ratio, and water content. The extract with the highest AA was obtained using Pro:PPG with a proline molar fraction of 0.41, 14 mol% water, at 58 °C, and 30 min extraction time. PLE further improved AA compared to the optimized maceration results, using Pro:PPG (1:4) with 65 mol% water at 75 °C, 1500 psi, and two extraction cycles of 15 min each.The optimized extracts from both maceration and PLE were incorporated into cosmetic formulations, and their rheological properties were characterized. This work represents the first study to explore the use of <em>A. unedo</em> distillers' grain extracts in cosmetics.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"197 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226717","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":"Innovations in PFAS remediation: a review on the growing role of cold plasma technology","authors":"Christos A. Aggelopoulos","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135535","url":null,"abstract":"<em>Per</em>- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of highly persistent and bioaccumulative environmental contaminants that have raised global concern due to their mobility, toxicity, and resistance to degradation. Conventional treatment technologies often fall short in achieving sufficiently high levels of destruction, particularly in complex matrices such as groundwater, wastewater, or soil. In this context, cold plasma technology has emerged as a promising, chemical-free approach for the effective and energy-efficient degradation of PFAS. Cold plasma produces a rich mixture of oxidative and reductive species, electrons, UV photons, and electric fields, capable of breaking down the strong carbon‑fluorine bonds characteristic of PFAS compounds. This critical review provides a comprehensive assessment of recent research efforts on the application of cold plasma for PFAS remediation from aqueous and solid-phase environments. It systematically examines the influence of plasma types and reactor configurations, along with working gases, water matrices, plasma electrical parameters, and treatment conditions on degradation efficiency. Key factors such as plasma chemistry, energy consumption, pH, treatment duration, and PFAS structure are analyzed in detail. The review also addresses mechanistic insights, degradation pathways, and the main challenges for scaling cold plasma systems for real-world applications, including energy demand and integration with existing infrastructure. By critically synthesizing current findings, this review highlights the growing role of cold plasma in PFAS destruction and identifies research gaps and technological directions necessary to advance its practical deployment in environmental remediation.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145229468","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}
Jiayao Luo, Ji Zhang, Jie Chen, Shan Xiong, Yifan Li, Xinyu Li, Lu Fan
{"title":"Red mud supported CuxO composites for rapid and selective nitrate reduction: Enhancing in-situ Cu0 generation and hydrogen-mediated pathways","authors":"Jiayao Luo, Ji Zhang, Jie Chen, Shan Xiong, Yifan Li, Xinyu Li, Lu Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135557","url":null,"abstract":"The large-scale accumulation of red mud, a waste by-product from aluminum production, presents critical environmental challenges and opportunities for resource valorization. In this study, a Cu<sub>x</sub>O/RM composite was synthesized via wetness impregnation and applied for rapid and selective NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N reduction. Complete NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N removal was achieved within 9 min under mild conditions (25 °C, initial pH 7.0, 30 mg(N)/L), with NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup>-N as the primary intermediate. With addition of NH<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>3</sub>H, NO<sub>2</sub><sup>−</sup>-N was further reduced to N<sub>2</sub> gas within 3 min. Notably, the Cu<sub>x</sub>O/RM system maintained high NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N removal efficiency even at lower temperatures (5–15 °C) and across a wide pH range (3−11), demonstrating excellent adaptability to real-world wastewater conditions. Stability and reusability tests showed that the composite retained over 95 % removal efficiency after five reuse cycles. Mechanistic investigations revealed that in-situ generated Cu<sup>0</sup> and H<sub>2</sub>-mediated pathways synergistically enhanced NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N reduction performance. This study not only provides an effective and sustainable strategy for NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N remediation but also offers a promising route for the large-scale valorization of red mud.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226715","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}
Hilda Lucy Nyambura, Anja E.M. Janssen, Remko M. Boom, Albert van der Padt
{"title":"Comparison of spiral wound and hollow Fiber microfiltration membranes for milk protein fractionation","authors":"Hilda Lucy Nyambura, Anja E.M. Janssen, Remko M. Boom, Albert van der Padt","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135544","url":null,"abstract":"Polymeric spiral wound membranes have been commonly used for skim milk fractionation to separate casein and serum proteins. In the recent years the use of hollow fiber membranes has gained interest. This is due to the configurational advantages that they possess such as open flow channels that aid in controlling fouling. The efficiency of hollow fiber and spiral wound membranes during skim milk fractionation at 10 °C was investigated, while operating in batch diafiltration mode using reverse osmosis water. It was observed that permeate flux of hollow fiber membranes was significantly higher than that of the spiral wound membrane. For preconcentration purposes only, both membrane configurations demonstrated similar filtration behavior as filtration is mainly controlled by the accumulated fouling layer of casein micelles on the membrane surface, and not the membrane itself. However, hollow fiber membranes were observed to have higher serum protein concentration in the permeate. During diafiltration, spiral wound membranes retained higher concentration of serum protein as compared to the hollow fiber membranes, resulting in a lower serum protein permeate yield. Hollow fiber membranes achieve higher serum protein purity compared to spiral wound membranes when the serum protein yield of both membranes is kept constant. For combined preconcentration and diafiltration purposes, hollow fiber membranes perform better.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226716","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":"Asynchronous flotation of scheelite, wolframite, and cassiterite: A new flotation collector and process","authors":"Junhao Fu, Haisheng Han, Wei Sun, Zhifeng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135545","url":null,"abstract":"The collective enrichment of scheelite, wolframite, and cassiterite remains a significant challenge. This study investigates the distinct flotation behaviors of these minerals under Pb-BHA (lead complex of benzohydroxamic acid) through single-mineral flotation experiments. Quantum chemical analysis provides initial insights into the difference in their flotation rates based on their crystal structures. An asynchronous flotation process was designed to replace the synchronous process. And a new collector, Pb-MBHA (lead complex of <em>P</em>-methylbenzohydroxamic acid), was developed to enhance mineral recovery. The new process leverages the differential flotation kinetics of the three W<img alt=\"single bond\" src=\"https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\"/>Sn minerals through the transition from a single- to dual-process, and employs stage-tailored pH conditions and flotation reagents to produce distinct concentrates. The new process and collector, implemented in a 1500 t/d concentrator, significantly increased the recovery rates of tungsten and tin. The recovery rate of WO<sub>3</sub> increased from 70 % to 78 %, while the recovery rate of Sn increased from 9 % to 22 %, generating an additional profit of $18,661.67/d. this research provides a very meaningful new approach to the comprehensive recovery of W<img alt=\"single bond\" src=\"https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\"/>Sn minerals in complex W<img alt=\"single bond\" src=\"https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\"/>Sn deposits","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145216094","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}
Jiehui Wang, Da Wei, Peixin Wang, Jingxu Tian, Hongyu Chen, Wenji Pi, Hanbin Du, Jun Ma, Yue Sun, Xiang Xu, Zheng Zeng, Liqing Li
{"title":"Tuning graphitic domains in porous carbon for enhanced competitive adsorption of benzene over acetone: the critical role of graphitization in separation selectivity","authors":"Jiehui Wang, Da Wei, Peixin Wang, Jingxu Tian, Hongyu Chen, Wenji Pi, Hanbin Du, Jun Ma, Yue Sun, Xiang Xu, Zheng Zeng, Liqing Li","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135208","url":null,"abstract":"Porous activated carbon offers tunable surface chemistry, developed porosity, and environmental compatibility, with its high surface area providing abundant active sites for volatile organic compound (VOC) adsorption. In this study, benzimidazole served as the carbon precursor and potassium ferrate as the activating agent. We innovatively utilized heat treatment time to precisely control the graphitization structure of the material, systematically revealing the mechanism by which the microstructural evolution of carbon-based materials affects competitive VOC adsorption behavior. When heat treatment duration extended to 4 h, the resulting BFC800–4 sample exhibited the highest graphitization degree, and the area ratio of sp<sup>2</sup>-C / (sp<sup>2</sup>-C + sp<sup>3</sup>-C) in its XPS data increased to 0.91. In benzene/acetone co-adsorption, BFC800–4 showed exceptional benzene selectivity (coefficient: 5.57), with benzene and acetone adsorption capacities of 5.29 and 0.95 mmol/g, respectively. Multiscale simulations (GCMC/DFT) reveal enhanced adsorption stems from π-π interactions between graphitized carbon planes and benzene. Simultaneously, the introduction of nitrogen‑oxygen functional groups disrupts carbon surface electron distribution, weakening these interactions. Therefore, developing porous carbon materials with high graphitization and low functional group content enables directional control of competitive adsorption selectivity. The synthetic strategy and established microstructure-adsorption relationship in this study provide a theoretical basis for benzene-VOC separation and advance functional carbon design.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"105 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226733","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":"Defective CQDs modified Bi4O5Br2 to construct S-scheme heterostructure for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction and pollutant degradation","authors":"Manning Zha, Lili Ai, Chuan Tan, Dianzeng Jia, Nannan Guo, Luxiang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135495","url":null,"abstract":"Designing highly efficient photocatalysts capable of photoreducing CO<sub>2</sub> and degrading organic dyes is of practical importance. Nevertheless, obstacles remain, including the challenges in CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption, low efficiency of carrier separation, and unsatisfactory performance in photocatalytic processes. This work presents a straightforward hydrothermal method for incorporating coal-derived carbon quantum dots (CQDs) onto Bi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>5</sub>Br<sub>2</sub> nanosheets. The synergy between CQDs and Bi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>5</sub>Br<sub>2</sub> enhances the visible light absorption properties of the CQDs/Bi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>5</sub>Br<sub>2</sub> heterostructure and improves the migration efficiency of photogenerated electron holes. The design of vacancy defects plays a crucial role in promoting light absorption, charge separation, and transport of materials. The introduction of carbon vacancies in the CQDs not only creates surface active sites but also significantly enhances the charge transport capability of the CQDs/Bi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>5</sub>Br<sub>2</sub> heterostructure. Due to the synergistic effects of the S-scheme heterostructure and vacancy engineering, the optimal sample BOB-2 achieved the highest CO yield of 307.73 μL g<sup>−1</sup> in 3 h without any sacrificial agent, along with a Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation efficiency of up to 99.1 % within 15 min, markedly surpassing the performance of Bi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>5</sub>Br<sub>2</sub>. The reaction mechanism of CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and RhB degradation was thoroughly analyzed. This study provides a novel perspective on the utilization of coal-based carbon materials and outlines a pathway for the design of efficient photocatalysts.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145216091","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":"Tunable sulfonate-functionalized silsesquioxane-based hybrid networks for efficient gold recovery and selective adsorption of cationic dyes","authors":"Xiaohan Zhao, Hongzhi Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135508","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135508","url":null,"abstract":"The novel ionic hybrid networks PCS-SOS-x (x = 1, 2, 3; where x denotes the molar percentage of vinyl groups contributed by sodium styrenesulfonate (SSS) relative to total vinyl groups: 25 % (x = 1), 50 % (x = 2), 75 % (x = 3)) were designed and synthesized via ‘thiol-ene’ click reaction using different ratios of octamercaptopropyl silsesquioxane (SQ-SH<sub>8</sub>), octavinylsilsesquioxane (OVS), and SSS as the precursors. The photo-induced ‘thiol-ene’ reaction is mild and efficient, and does not require expensive metal catalysts. Hybrid networks can be formed in 1 min under UV light. PCS-SOS-x (x = 1, 2, 3) was fully characterized using various techniques, including FTIR, solid-state <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>29</sup>Si NMR, TGA, SEM, EDS, and XPS. Benefiting from sulfonate groups (-SO<sub>3</sub>Na) and the sulfur atoms with strong electronegativity and hydrophilicity, PCS-SOS-x (x = 1, 2, 3) can be utilized as efficient ionic hybrid absorbents to capture Au (III) ions and cationic dyes from wastewater. PCS-SOS-1 exhibited a high adsorption capacity of 1192 mg/g and good selectivity for gold ions. Moreover, due to the situ generation of Au (0) during the adsorption of Au (III) ions, PCS-SOS-1-Au (PCS-SOS-1 loaded with Au) acted as an excellent catalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). PCS-SOS-3 showed a good adsorption capacity for the cationic dye methylene blue (MB), achieving a maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of 883 mg/g. The networks also exhibited good selectivity and a rapid adsorption rate for MB within 7 min in a mixture of MB and Methyl Orange (MO) dye aqueous solution. To address the poor recoverability and processability of the insoluble PCS-SOS-1 powders in industrial production applications, an electrospun film (PCS-SOS-PAN) was successfully fabricated by incorporating the powders into polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The removal efficiency of the PCS-SOS-PAN towards Au (III) was achieved up to 95 % in 60 min. This work offers an innovative wastewater treatment and purification approach using silsesquioxane-based networks.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"94 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145216067","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}
Roberto Scaffaro, Emmanuel Fortunato Gulino, Maria Clara Citarrella
{"title":"Sandwich-structured bimodal polymeric fiber/waste wool fiber bio-composite membrane for high-performance and eco-friendly air filtration","authors":"Roberto Scaffaro, Emmanuel Fortunato Gulino, Maria Clara Citarrella","doi":"10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135543","url":null,"abstract":"Air pollution due to fine airborne particles remains a pressing environmental challenge. To reduce the environmental footprint of air filtration technologies, it is crucial to develop sustainable, efficient, durable, and reusable solutions. In this work, sandwich-structured membranes based on waste wool fibers (WWF) were produced by combining a central layer of hot-pressed wool fibers with two layers of fibrous membrane based on polylactic acid (PLA) and waste wool powder (WWP) obtained by solution blow spinning (SBS) technique. The sandwich-structured waste wool based membrane (S-WWM) was tested for air filtration applications using different flow rates and environmental conditions. The addition of 10 wt% of WWP to PLA led to a modification in the solution viscosity, improving the morphology of the fibers. Thanks to the combination of small pores and low packing density S-WWM exhibited excellent PM<sub>1</sub> removal efficiencies of 99.5 % and pressure drops of 70 Pa at flow rate of 32 L/min. Moreover, the membrane maintained filtration stability up to 5 reuse cycles and durability under high humidity conditions. These membranes are characterized by the unique properties of wool fibers, such as excellent breathability and mechanical strength combined with high filtration efficiency achieved by PLA composite fibers. The findings showed that combining waste wool fibers with biodegradable polymers results in efficient air filtration devices while supporting environmental sustainability through waste valorization.","PeriodicalId":427,"journal":{"name":"Separation and Purification Technology","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145226718","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}