Modeling and simulation-assisted strategies for effective membrane-fouling mitigation during membrane bioreactor operation.

This research principally aimed to present a suitable strategy for membrane-fouling mitigation in membrane-bioreactors (MBRs). The current strategies for membrane-fouling mitigation before initiating the process in many cases, are unmodifiable for a specific MBR system along the operations. Thus, membrane-fouling strategies during filtration should be applied.

Nanostructure-manipulated filtration performance in nanocomposite membranes: A comprehensive investigation for water and wastewater treatment.

The main objective of this article is to examine one of the most important challenges facing researchers in the field of nanocomposite membranes: what is the most suitable arrangement (unmodified, functionalized, coated, or composite) and the most suitable loading site for the nanostructure? In the review articles published on nanocomposite membranes in recent years, the focus has been either on a specific application area (such as nanofiltration or desalination), or on a specific type of polymeric materials (such as polyamide), or on a specific feature of the membrane (such as antibacterial, antimicrobial, or antifouling). However, none of them have targeted the aforementioned objectives on the efficacy of improving filtration performance (IFP). Through IFP calculation, the results will be repeatable and generalizable in this field.

Application of zinc oxide and sodium alginate for biofouling mitigation in a membrane bioreactor treating urban wastewater.

This research aimed to mitigate fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBR) through concurrent usage of zinc oxide as an antibacterial agent (A) and sodium alginate as a hydrophilic agent (H) within a polyacrylonitrile membrane (PM) structure. The antibacterial polymeric membranes (APM) and antibacterial hydrophilic polymeric membranes (AHPM) synthesized showed a higher porosity, mechanical strength and bacterial inhibition zone, and a lower contact angle in comparison with PM membranes. EDS, SEM and AFM analyses were used to characterize the chemical, structural, and morphological properties of PM, APM, and AHPM.

Employing magnetism of FeO and hydrophilicity of ZrO to mitigate biofouling in magnetic MBR by FeO-coated ZrO/PAN nanocomposite membrane.

The aim of this research is benefiting from the synergistic effect of the simultaneous presence of FeO and ZrO in the form of FeO-coated ZrO (FeO@ZrO) nanoparticles within the structure of PAN membrane to reduce membrane fouling. The role of FeO nanoparticles in increasing the pore size and magnetic saturation as well as the role of ZrO in decreasing surface roughness and hydrophobicity can mitigate membrane fouling in magnetic-assisted membrane bioreactors. For this purpose, FeO, ZrO, and FeO@ZrO nanoparticles were embedded into PAN membrane structure and magnetic ( M), hydrophilic ( M), and magnetic-hydrophilic ( M) membranes were synthesized.

Amoxicillin separation from pharmaceutical wastewater by high permeability polysulfone nanofiltration membrane.

In this study, high permeability flat sheet polysulfone nanofiltration membranes were prepared for amoxicillin (AMX) recovery from pharmaceutical wastewater. Membrane fabrication includes two steps: raw ultrafiltration membrane synthesis by phase inversion method and nanaofiltration membrane synthesis by surface photopolymerization. Raw ultrafiltration membranes were synthesized using different molecular weights of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as pore former and different coagulation bath temperatures (CBTs).