Publications by authors named "Andrew Colburn"
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on designing positively charged nanofiltration membranes to improve the selective separation of multivalent ions, especially lanthanide cations, from aqueous solutions.
- Researchers confirmed that the addition of polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) increased the surface zeta potential and improved membrane performance.
- The positively charged membranes achieved impressive lanthanide retention rates (about 99.3%) while maintaining selectivity against sodium, showing strong potential for efficient ion recovery even under varying pH and ionic strength conditions.
Cellulose-based membrane materials allow for separations in both aqueous solutions and organic solvents. The addition of nanocomposites into cellulose structure is facilitated through steric interaction and strong hydrogen bonding with the hydroxy groups present within cellulose. An ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, was used as a solvent for microcrystalline cellulose to incorporate graphene oxide quantum dots into cellulose membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOil industries generate large amounts of produced water containing organic contaminants, such as naphthenic acids (NA) and very high concentrations of inorganic salts. Recovery of potable water from produced water can be highly energy intensive is some cases due to its high salt concentration, and safe discharge is more suitable. Here, we explored catalytic properties of iron oxide (FeO nanoparticles) functionalized membranes in oxidizing NA from water containing high concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) using persulfate as an oxidizing agent.
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- - This research focuses on using nanofiltration (NF) membranes to selectively desalinate wastewater from power plants, specifically addressing how ion interactions affect membrane performance in rejecting contaminants like calcium (Ca) and chloride (Cl).
- - NF membranes proved effective for low-energy desalination of scrubber wastewater, achieving 80% water recovery while rejecting over 60% of Ca and Cl, even as calcium sulfate (CaSO) precipitation occurred at high water recovery rates.
- - The study builds on previous work by testing larger membrane modules for extended periods (144 days) with various solutions, confirming that the spiral wound membranes maintained stable water permeability throughout the testing.
The remediation of toxic metals from water with high concentrations of salt has been an emerging area for membrane separation. Cost-effective nanomaterials such as iron and iron oxide nanoparticles have been widely used in reductive and oxidative degradation of toxic organics. Similar procedures can be used for redox transformations of metal species (e.
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