Membrane Technologies for Water Purification

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications for Water Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2265

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Research Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety (ISIRYM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: membrane technology; circular economy; microplastics; wastewater treatment; membrane fouling and cleaning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety (ISIRYM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: membrane technology; circular economy; waste valorization; wastewater treatment; membrane fouling and cleaning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety (ISIRYM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: membrane technology; circular economy; waste valorization; metabolomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane processes are going to be essential to solving the new challenges related to water purification. For example, the presence in water and wastewater of emergent pollutants like pharmaceutical compounds, endocrine disruptors or antibiotic-resistant genes entails a change in the water treatment strategies, including processes to further treat or purify water. In addition, emergent membrane techniques such as forward osmosis or membrane distillation can also play an important role for water purification. In this Special Issue, authors are invited to submit original articles and reviews on membrane technologies for water purification. The contributions may be related to (i) membrane processes for drinking water production, (ii) membrane processes for the removal of emergent pollutants, (iii) membrane processes for the purification of water for hydrogen production, and (iv) emerging membrane processes for water purification (forward osmosis, membrane distillation, etc.).

Prof. Dr. José Antonio Mendoza-Roca
Prof. Dr. Silvia Álvarez Blanco
Dr. Carmen M. Sánchez-Arévalo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • membrane processes
  • emergent membrane processes
  • water and wastewater treatment
  • water reclamation
  • pollutants removal

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 12622 KiB  
Article
Application of Polymeric Tubular Ultrafiltration Membranes for Separation of Car Wash Wastewater
by Piotr Woźniak and Marek Gryta
Membranes 2024, 14(10), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14100210 - 28 Sep 2024
Viewed by 597
Abstract
The commercial ultrafiltration tubular polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (100 and 200 kDa) and polyethersulfone (PES) (4 kDa) membranes were applied for filtration of car wash wastewater. Intensive fouling was noticed, which caused an over 50% flux reduction during 3–5 h of the filtration process. [...] Read more.
The commercial ultrafiltration tubular polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (100 and 200 kDa) and polyethersulfone (PES) (4 kDa) membranes were applied for filtration of car wash wastewater. Intensive fouling was noticed, which caused an over 50% flux reduction during 3–5 h of the filtration process. This phenomenon was reduced by washing the membranes with an alkaline cleaning agent (pH = 11.5), which is used in car washes to remove insects. The filtration/membrane washing cycle was repeated many times to achieve stable operation of the membrane modules. It has been found that cyclic repeated washing did not deteriorate the performance of the membranes. Despite frequent cleaning of the membranes (every 5–7 h), irreversible fouling occurred, resulting in a 20% reduction in the initial permeate flux. However, the formation of a filter cake definitely improved the separation degree and, for the 200 kDa membranes, separation of the wastewater components was obtained as it was for the 4 kDa membranes, while, at the same time, the permeate flux was 5 times higher. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Technologies for Water Purification)
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20 pages, 4099 KiB  
Article
Treatment of Synthetic Wastewater Containing Polystyrene (PS) Nanoplastics by Membrane Bioreactor (MBR): Study of the Effects on Microbial Community and Membrane Fouling
by Anamary Pompa-Pernía, Serena Molina, Laura Cherta, Lorena Martínez-García and Junkal Landaburu-Aguirre
Membranes 2024, 14(8), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14080174 - 9 Aug 2024
Viewed by 975
Abstract
The persistent presence of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in aquatic environments, particularly via effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), poses significant ecological risks. This study investigated the removal efficiency of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) using a lab-scale aerobic membrane bioreactor (aMBR) equipped with different [...] Read more.
The persistent presence of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in aquatic environments, particularly via effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), poses significant ecological risks. This study investigated the removal efficiency of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) using a lab-scale aerobic membrane bioreactor (aMBR) equipped with different membrane types: microfiltration (MF), commercial ultrafiltration (c-UF), and recycled ultrafiltration (r-UF) membranes. Performance was assessed using synthetic urban wastewater spiked with PS-NPs, focusing on membrane efficiency, fouling behavior, and microbial community shifts. All aMBR systems achieved high organic matter removal, exceeding a 97% COD reduction in both the control and PS-exposed reactors. While low concentrations of PS-NPs did not significantly impact the sludge settleability or soluble microbial products initially, a higher accumulation increased the carbohydrate concentrations, indicating a protective bacterial response. The microbial community composition also adapted over time under polystyrene stress. All membrane types exhibited substantial NP removal; however, the presence of nano-sized PS particles negatively affected the membrane performance, enhancing the fouling phenomena and increasing transmembrane pressure. Despite this, the r-UF membrane demonstrated comparable efficiency to c-UF, suggesting its potential for sustainable applications. Advanced characterization techniques including pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were employed for NP detection and quantification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Technologies for Water Purification)
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