In vivo assessment of oxidative stress, neurotoxicity and histological alterations induction in the marine gastropod Stramonita haemastoma exposed to CrO and AlO nanoparticles.

The increased use of nanoparticles (NPs) is expected to raise their presence in the marine ecosystem, which is considered as the final destination of released NPs. This study investigated the toxicity of CrO (42 nm) and AlO (38 nm) NPs (1, 2.5, and 5 mg/L) on the digestive glands of Stramonita haemastoma for 7, 14, and 28 days by oxidative stress biomarkers, neurotoxicity indicator assessment, and histological study.

Hybrid Zinc Phthalocyanine/PVDF-HFP System for Reducing Biofouling in Water Desalination: DFT Theoretical and MolDock Investigations.

Fouling and biofouling remain significant challenges in seawater desalination plants. One practical approach to address these issues is to develop anti-biofouling membranes. Therefore, novel hybrid zinc phthalocyanine/polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (Zn(4-PPOx)Pc/PVDF-HFP) membranes were prepared by electrospinning to evaluate their properties against biofouling.

Exergetic analysis of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) using PVDF hollow fiber membranes for the desalination brine treatment.

The brines from desalination plants need to be disposed of due to their strong impact on the environment. Membrane operations, like direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), provide a possible solution to reduce the amount of brine while producing further desalinated water. In this study, an exergy analysis of a laboratory membrane distillation unit working with brines from reverse osmosis (RO) is analyzed.

Electrospun Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride-Co-Hexafluoropropylene) Nanofiber Membranes for Brine Treatment via Membrane Distillation.

The major challenge for membrane distillation (MD) is the membrane wetting resistance induced by pollutants in the feed solution. The proposed solution for this issue was to fabricate membranes with hydrophobic properties. Hydrophobic electrospun poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) nanofiber membranes were produced for brine treatment using the direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) technique.

Desalination technologies, membrane distillation, and electrospinning, an overview.

Water is a critical component for humans to survive, especially in arid lands or areas where fresh water is scarce. Hence, desalination is an excellent way to effectuate the increasing water demand. Membrane distillation (MD) technology entails a membrane-based non-isothermal prominent process used in various applications, for instance, water treatment and desalination.

Diversification of Vascular Occlusions and Crystal Deposits in the Xylem Sap Flow of Five Tunisian Grapevines.

Xylem vessels are essential pivotal organs in bulk hydraulic flow through the whole woody plant. However, environmental constraints generate disagreements in xylem structures, which are characterized by air emboli and occlusions formations, compromising water conductivity in grapevines. The aim of this work was to explore xylem morphology dynamics through the xylem sap flow of five Tunisian grapevine cultivars during the natural bleeding sap periods of 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Tamisolve NxG as an Alternative Non-Toxic Solvent for the Preparation of Porous Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride) Membranes.

Tamisolve NxG, a well-known non-toxic solvent, was used for poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes preparation via a non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) procedure with water as a coagulation bath. Preliminary investigations, related to the study of the physical/chemical properties of the solvent, the solubility parameters, the gel transition temperature and the viscosity of the polymer-solvent system, confirmed the power of the solvent to solubilize PVDF polymer for membranes preparation. The role of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and/or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), as pore former agents in the dope solution, was studied along with different polymer concentrations (10 wt%, 15 wt% and 18 wt%).

Progress of Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Treatment.

The use of membrane-based technologies has been applied for water treatment applications; however, the limitations of conventional polymeric membranes have led to the addition of inorganic fillers to enhance their performance. In recent years, nanocomposite membranes have greatly attracted the attention of scientists for water treatment applications such as wastewater treatment, water purification, removal of microorganisms, chemical compounds, heavy metals, etc. The incorporation of different nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, silver and copper nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, 2D materials, and some other novel nano-scale materials into polymeric membranes have provided great advances, e.

The Effect of Poly (Glycerol Sebacate) Incorporation within Hybrid Chitin-Lignin Sol-Gel Nanofibrous Scaffolds.

Chitin and lignin primarily accumulate as bio-waste resulting from byproducts of crustacean crusts and plant biomass. Recently, their use has been proposed for diverse and unique bioengineering applications, amongst others. However, their weak mechanical properties need to be improved in order to facilitate their industrial utilization.

Assessment of Blend PVDF Membranes, and the Effect of Polymer Concentration and Blend Composition.

In this work, PVDF homopolymer was blended with PVDF-co-HFP copolymer and studied in terms of morphology, porosity, pore size, hydrophobicity, permeability, and mechanical properties. Different solvents, namely N-Methyl-2 pyrrolidone (NMP), Tetrahydrofuran (THF), and Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvents, were used to fabricate blended PVDF flat sheet membranes without the introduction of any pore forming agent, through a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique. Furthermore, the performance of the fabricated membranes was investigated for pressure and thermal driven applications.

Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles-Filled Polyethersulfone Membranes for Antibacterial and Anti-Biofouling Application.

Background: The membrane processes are interesting and economical techniques for reuse of municipal and industrial wastewater as well as seawater desalination. However their drawbacks can be resumed in the fouling and biofouling due to the deposition and adsorption phenomenon of the components and the development of biofilm on membrane surface. Several studies have focused on the effect of the incorporation of nanoparticles in polymeric membrane matrix on the biofouling properties.

Investigation on the interaction of Safranin T with anionic polyelectrolytes by spectrophotometric method.

Understanding the role played by chemical additives such as NaCl salt, acid and Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) surfactant on the interaction between dye and polyelectrolyte contributes to optimization of processes using polyelectrolytes in the removal of dye from aqueous solution. Herein we focus in the interaction between Safranin T, a cationic dye, with two anionic polyelectrolytes, poly(ammonium acrylate) and poly(acrylic acid) using spectrophotometric method and conductivity measurement. In aqueous solution, each of anionic polyelectrolytes forms a complex with the dye and induces a metachromasy indicated by the blue shift of the absorbance of the dye.