Green Fabrication of Sustainable Porous Chitosan/Kaolin Composite Membranes Using Polyethylene Glycol as a Porogen: Membrane Morphology and Properties.

One of the major challenges in membrane manufacturing today is to reduce the environmental footprint by promoting biobased raw materials and limiting the use of toxic solvents. In this context, environmentally friendly chitosan/kaolin composite membranes, prepared using phase separation in water induced by a pH gradient, have been developed. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) with a molar mass ranging from 400 to 10,000 g·mol was used as a pore forming agent.

Desalination and removal of pesticides from surface water in Mekong Delta by coupling electrodialysis and nanofiltration.

The shortage of drinking water is a major problem in the rural areas of the Mekong Delta, especially, when surface water, a main local direct drinking water source is being threatened by pesticide pollution and salinity intrusion. A hybrid process coupling electrodialysis (ED) and nanofiltration (NF) is proposed as an effective process easy to setup in a small plant to treat complex matrix with high salinity and pesticide concentration as is the Mekong Delta surface water. Performance of the ED-NF integration was evaluated with synthetic solutions based on the comparison with a single NF step generally used for pesticide removal.

Porous Gelatin Membrane Obtained from Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Graphene Oxide.

This article presents a novel procedure for preparing porous membranes from water-soluble polymers involving the formation of a Pickering emulsion. Gelatin is a biodegradable biopolymer obtained by the partial hydrolysis of collagen. A biopolymer such as gelatin is capable of adsorbing at an oil/water interface, resulting in decreased interfacial energy.