Enhancing Water Purification by Integrating Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes into Polyethersulfone Membranes for Improved Hydrophilicity and Anti-Fouling Performance.

Water pollution remains a critical concern, one necessitated by rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization. Among the various strategies for water purification, membrane technology stands out, with polyethersulfone (PES) often being the material of choice due to its robust mechanical properties, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. However, PES-based membranes tend to exhibit low hydrophilicity, leading to reduced flux and poor anti-fouling performance.

Optimization of operational parameters using RSM, ANN, and SVM in membrane integrated with rotating biological contactor.

Membrane fouling is a critical bottleneck to the widespread adoption of membrane separation processes. It diminishes the membrane permeability and results in high operational energy costs. The current study presents optimizing the operating parameters of a novel rotating biological contactor (RBC) integrated with an external membrane (RBC + ME) that combines membrane technology with an RBC.

Kinetic model derived from machine learning for accurate prediction of microalgal hydrogen production via conversion from low thermally pre-treated palm kernel expeller waste.

The depletion of fossil fuel sources and increase in energy demands have increased the need for a sustainable alternative energy source. The ability to produce hydrogen from microalgae is generating a lot of attention in both academia and industry. Due to complex production procedures, the commercial production of microalgal biohydrogen is not yet practical.

The Combined Effects of the Membrane and Flow Channel Development on the Performance and Energy Footprint of Oil/Water Emulsion Filtration.

Membrane filtration is a promising technology for oil/water emulsion filtration due to its excellent removal efficiency of microdroplets of oil in water. However, its performance is highly limited due to the fouling-prone nature of oil droplets on hydrophobic membranes. Membrane filtration typically suffers from a low flux and high pumping energy.

Bio-Nanocomposite Based on Edible Gelatin Film as Active Packaging from Fish Skin with the Addition of Cellulose Nanocrystalline and Nanopropolis.

This study develops bio-nano composite gelatin-based edible film (NEF) by combining nanogelatin, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), and nanopropolis (NP) fillers to improve the resulting film characteristics. The NEF was characterized in terms of thickness, swelling, pH, water content, solubility, vapor and oxygen permeability, mechanical properties, heat resistance, morphology, transparency, and color. The results showed that the thickness and swelling increased significantly, whilst the pH did not significantly differ in each treatment.

SVM and ANN Modelling Approach for the Optimization of Membrane Permeability of a Membrane Rotating Biological Contactor for Wastewater Treatment.

Membrane fouling significantly hinders the widespread application of membrane technology. In the current study, a support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural networks (ANN) modelling approach was adopted to optimize the membrane permeability in a novel membrane rotating biological contactor (MRBC). The MRBC utilizes the disk rotation mechanism to generate a shear rate at the membrane surface to scour off the foulants.

Compaction of a Polymeric Membrane in Ultra-Low-Pressure Water Filtration.

Applications of ultra-low-pressure filtration systems are increasing as they offer enhanced sustainability due to lower energy input, almost no use of chemicals, and minimum operational expenditure. In many cases, they operate as a decentralized system using a gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration process. These applications are relatively new; hence, the fundamental knowledge of the process is still limited.

Adsorptive Membrane for Boron Removal: Challenges and Future Prospects.

The complexity of removing boron compounds from aqueous systems has received serious attention among researchers and inventors in the water treating industry. This is due to the higher level of boron in the aquatic ecosystem, which is caused by the geochemical background and anthropogenic factors. The gradual increase in the distribution of boron for years can become extremely toxic to humans, terrestrial organisms and aquatic organisms.

Optimization of Biocomposite Film Based on Whey Protein Isolate and Nanocrystalline Cellulose from Pineapple Crown Leaf Using Response Surface Methodology.

This study employed response surface methodology to optimize the preparation of biocomposites based on whey protein isolate, glycerol, and nanocrystalline cellulose from pineapple crown leaf. The effects of different concentrations of nanocrystalline cellulose as a filler and glycerol as a plasticizer on the thickness, the tensile strength, and the elongation at break on the resulting biocomposite films were investigated. The central composite design was used to determine the optimum preparation conditions for biocomposite films with optimum properties.

Ultra-Low-Pressure Membrane Filtration for Simultaneous Recovery of Detergent and Water from Laundry Wastewater.

Reusing water and excess detergent from the laundry industry has become an attractive method to combat water shortages. Membrane filtration is considered an advanced technique and highly attractive due to its excellent advantages. However, the conventional membrane filtration method suffers from membrane fouling, which restricts its performance and diminishes its economic viability.

A Rotary Spacer System for Energy-Efficient Membrane Fouling Control in Oil/Water Emulsion Filtration.

Membrane fouling deteriorates membrane filtration performances. Hence, mitigating membrane fouling is the key factor in sustaining the membrane process, particularly when treating fouling-prone feed, such as oil/water emulsions. The use of spacers has been expanded in the membrane module system, including for membrane fouling control.

Confounding Effect of Wetting, Compaction, and Fouling in an Ultra-Low-Pressure Membrane Filtration: A Review.

Ultra-low-pressure membrane (ULPM) filtration has emerged as a promising decentralized water and wastewater treatment method. It has been proven effective in long-term filtration under stable flux without requiring physical or chemical cleaning, despite operating at considerably lower flux. The use of ultra-low pressure, often simply by hydrostatic force (often called gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration), makes it fall into the uncharted territory of common pressure-driven membrane filtration.

Functionalization of PEG-AgNPs Hybrid Material to Alleviate Biofouling Tendency of Polyethersulfone Membrane.

Membrane-based processes are a promising technology in water and wastewater treatments, to supply clean and secure water. However, during membrane filtration, biofouling phenomena severely hamper the performance, leading to permanent detrimental impacts. Moreover, regular chemical cleaning is ineffective in the long-run for overcoming biofouling, because it weakens the membrane structure.

Controlling Air Bubble Formation Using Hydrophilic Microfiltration Diffuser for Cultivation.

In this project, a commercial polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane was coated with a thin layer of polyether block amide (PEBAX) via vacuum filtration to improve hydrophilicity and to study the bubble formation. Two parameters, namely PEBAX concentration (of 0-1.5 wt%) and air flow rate (of 0.

Thermophysical Properties of Nanofluid in Two-Phase Fluid Flow through a Porous Rectangular Medium for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

It is necessary to sustain energy from an external reservoir or employ advanced technologies to enhance oil recovery. A greater volume of oil may be recovered by employing nanofluid flooding. In this study, we investigated oil extraction in a two-phase incompressible fluid in a two-dimensional rectangular porous homogenous area filled with oil and having no capillary pressure.

Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Rotating Biological Contactor Combined with External Membrane Filtration for Wastewater Treatment.

A large amount of wastewater is directly discharged into water bodies without treatment, causing surface water contamination. A rotating biological contactor (RBC) is an attached biological wastewater treatment process that offers a low energy footprint. However, its unstable removal efficiency makes it less popular.

Long-Term Performance and Stability of Interlayer-Free Mesoporous Silica Membranes for Wetland Saline Water Pervaporation.

Wetland water is an alternative water resource around wetland areas. However, it is typically saline due to seawater intrusion and contains high natural organic matter (NOM) that is challenging to treat. This study evaluated the stability of interlayer-free mesoporous silica matrix membranes employing a dual acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process for treatment of saline wetland water.

A review of the potential of conventional and advanced membrane technology in the removal of pathogens from wastewater.

Consumption of pathogenic contaminated water has claimed the lives of many people. Hence, this scenario has emphasized the urgent need for research methods to avoid, treat and eliminate harmful pathogens in wastewater. Therefore, effective water treatment has become a matter of utmost importance.

Fabrication of Polyvinylidene Difluoride Membrane with Enhanced Pore and Filtration Properties by Using Tannic Acid as an Additive.

Potential use of tannic acid (TA) as an additive for fabrication of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane was investigated. The TA was introduced by blending into the dope solution with varying concentrations of 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt%.

Improvement of Properties and Performances of Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane by Blending with Bio-Based Dragonbloodin Resin.

Polyethersulfone (PES) is the most commonly used polymer for membrane ultrafiltration because of its superior properties. However, it is hydrophobic, as such susceptible to fouling and low permeation rate. This study proposes a novel bio-based additive of dragonbloodin resin (DBR) for improving the properties and performance of PES-based membranes.

Properties of Biocomposite Film Based on Whey Protein Isolate Filled with Nanocrystalline Cellulose from Pineapple Crown Leaf.

Among the main bio-based polymer for food packaging materials, whey protein isolate (WPI) is one of the biopolymers that have excellent film-forming properties and are environmentally friendly. This study was performed to analyse the effect of various concentrations of bio-based nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) extracted from pineapple crown leaf (PCL) on the properties of whey protein isolate (WPI) films using the solution casting technique. Six WPI films were fabricated with different loadings of NCC from 0 to 10 % /.

Isolation and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Cellulose Isolated from Pineapple Crown Leaf Fiber Agricultural Wastes Using Acid Hydrolysis.

Pineapple crown leaf fiber (PCLF) is one of the major biomass wastes from pineapple processing plants. It consists mostly of carbohydrate polymers, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. It can be further processed to form a more valuable and widely used nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

Antimicrobial Hydrophilic Membrane Formed by Incorporation of Polymeric Surfactant and Patchouli Oil.

Membrane properties are highly affected by the composition of the polymer solutions that make up the membrane material and their influence in the filtration performance on the separation or purification process. This paper studies the effects of the addition of pluronic (Plu) and patchouli oil (PO) in a polyethersulfone (PES) solution on the membrane morphology, membrane hydrophilicity, and filtration performance in the pesticide removal compound in the water sample. Three types of membranes with the composition of PES, PES + Plu, and PES + Plu + patchouli oil were prepared through a polymer phase inversion technique in an aqueous solvent.

Sequencing Batch Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge Membrane Process for Treatment of Tapioca Processing Wastewater.

Tapioca processing industries are very popular in the rural community to produce a variety of foods as the end products. Due to their small scales and scattered locations, they require robust modular systems to operate at low capacity with minimum supervision. This study explores the application of a novel sequencing batch-integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane (SB-IFASM) process to treat tapioca processing wastewater for reuse purposes.

Ultrafiltration of α-Lactalbumin Protein: Acquaintance of the Filtration Performance by Membrane Structure and Surface Alteration.

α-Lactalbumin is an essential protein with multiple roles in physiological and the nutritional functionalities, such as diabetic prevention, blood pressure stabilization, and cancer cell inhibition. In the present work, polyethersulfone (PES)-based membranes were developed by incorporating Pluronic F127 and carbon nanotubes with single- and multi-walled dimensions (Sw-Cnts and Mw-Cnts) as additives. The resulting membranes were evaluated for use in the filtration of α-lactalbumin protein solution.