The shortage of fresh water resources has made the desalination of seawater a widely adopted technology. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is the most commonly used method for desalination. The SWRO process is energy-intensive, and most of the energy in SWRO is spent on pressurizing the seawater to overcome the osmotic barrier for producing fresh water. The pressure needed depends on the salinity of the seawater, its temperature, and the membrane surface properties. Membrane compaction occurs in SWRO due to hydraulic pressure application for long-term operations and operating temperature fluctuations due to seasonal seawater changes. This study investigates the effects of short-term feed water temperature increase on the SWRO process in a full-scale pilot with pretreatment and a SWRO installation consisting of a pressure vessel which contains seven industrial-scale 8" diameter spiral wound membrane elements. A SWRO feed water temperature of 40 °C, even for a short period of 7 days, caused a permanent performance decline illustrated by a strong specific energy consumption increase of 7.5%. This study highlights the need for membrane manufacturer data that account for the water temperature effect on membrane performance over a broad temperature range. There is a need to develop new membranes that are more tolerant to temperature fluctuations.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/membranes12080792 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
School of architecture, Ocean and energy power engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China.
During maritime operations, extreme events such as explosions, grounding, and seal failures can cause water ingress into lubricant compartments, forming oil-water emulsions that significantly affect the lubrication performance of ship stern bearings. Existing studies mainly focus on low water content, with limited exploration of the impact of high water content on lubrication performance. To address this gap, viscosity measurements of oil-water mixtures were conducted, and an emulsification viscosity equation applicable to varying water contents was derived.
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December 2024
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellońska 28, 40-032, Katowice, Poland.
Studies of in situ plant response and adaptation to complex environmental stresses, are crucial for understanding the mechanisms of formation and functioning of ecosystems of anthropogenically transformed habitats. We study short- and long-term responses of photosynthetic apparatus (PSA) and anti-oxidant capacity to complex abiotic stresses of common plants Calamagrostis epigejos and Solidago gigantea in semi-natural (C) and heavy metal contaminated habitats (LZ). We found significant differences in leaf pigment content between both plant species growing on LZ plots and their respective C populations.
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December 2024
Department of Physics, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
Environmental problems have increased the need for sustainable agricultural practices that conserve water and energy. Carob, an eco-friendly crop with multiple health benefits, holds the potential for economic evaluation. This study investigates the carob molasses extraction process, focusing on the influence of temperature and water quantity on the diffusion coefficient.
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December 2024
Department of Nano-Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
MXene-based (nano)materials have recently emerged as promising solutions for antibiotic photodegradation from aquatic environments, yet they are limited by scalability, stability, and selectivity challenges in practical settings. We formulated FeO-SiO/MXene ternary nano-photocomposites via coupled wet impregnation and sonochemistry approach for optimised tetracycline (TC) removal (the second most used antibiotic worldwide) from water using response surface methodology-central composite design (RSM-CCD). The photocatalysts containing various loading of FeO/SiO (5-45 wt%) on the MXene with a range of calcination temperatures (300-600 °C) via RSM optimisation were synthesised, characterised regarding crystallinity properties, surface morphology, binding energy, and light absorption capability, and analysed for TC degradation efficiency.
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December 2024
School of Mechanical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250353, China.
Microtextured microneedles are tiny needle-like structures with micron-scale microtextures, and the drugs stored in the microtextures can be released after entering the skin to achieve the effect of precise drug delivery. In this study, the skin substitution model of Ogden's hyperelastic model and the microneedle array and microtexture models with different geometrical parameters were selected to simulate and analyse the flow of the microtexture microneedle arrays penetrating the skin by the finite-element method, and the length of the microneedles was determined to be 200 μm, the width 160 μm, and the value of the gaps was determined to be 420 μm. A four-pronged cone was chosen as the shape of microneedles, and a rectangle was chosen as the shape of the drug-carrying microneedle.
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