Dear Colleagues,

Advancements in the industrial production of plastics in the 20th century resulted in the polymeric purification membranes in current use. Increasing environmental awareness and competing energy demands have ushered in a new era in membrane synthesis and characterization in the 21st century. The ability to predict the performance and tailor hard pore membranes has provided the impetus for new solutions, with emphasis on decreasing the energy requirements for membrane separations.

This special issue focuses on the design, modeling, fabrication, characterization, implementation—or any combination of the above—of energy-efficient membranes for the separation or chemical transformation of species in liquid or gaseous phase.  This category includes membranes with increased energy efficiency that does not compromise their permselectivity or anti-fouling properties, membrane systems involving active transport, such as biomimetic membranes, and membranes which are the critical component in multipurpose processes (i.e., energy cogeneration).

Topics of specific interest include:

• Novel fabrication methods of energy-efficient membranes
• Theoretical studies aiming to connect structure with function of such membranes
• Multi-modal characterization of energy-efficient membranes and systems
• Efficient applications of membranes in energy systems or multi-purpose processes
• Membrane systems driven by renewable energy
• Efficient desalination membranes
• Fouling of energy-efficient membranes

Prof. Dr. John G. Georgiadis
Guest Editor

• membranes
• energy
• efficiency
• permselectivity
• biomimetic
• active transport
• biomimetic
• fabrication
• simulation
• renewable energy