Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rosmawati Naim, Goh Pei Sean, Zinnirah Nasir, Nadzirah Mohd Mokhtar, Nor Amirah Safiah Muhammad
Summary: Membrane processes, particularly hollow fiber membranes, have been extensively utilized in industrial wastewater treatment. This review presents recent developments and treatment mechanisms of hollow fiber membranes, while also discussing current challenges and limitations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pau Sanchis-Perucho, Daniel Aguado, Jose Ferrer, Aurora Seco, Angel Robles
Summary: This study examined the applicability of dynamic membranes (DMs) for the treatment of municipal wastewater. The results showed that the addition of a coagulant improved the formation time and quality of the DM. Preliminary energy and economic assessments suggested that energy recovery and cost savings can be achieved through the recovery of particulate material from the DM.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tatsiana Hliavitskaya, Tatiana Plisko, Alexandr Bildyukevich, Alena Liubimova, Alena Shumskaya, Alexey Mikchalko, Alexandr A. Rogachev, Galina B. Melnikova, Svetlana A. Pratsenko
Summary: This study developed antifouling composite hydrophobic membranes using a low energy electron-beam deposition technique. The thickness of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer was found to significantly affect the structure, composition, and hydrophilicity of the membranes. The modified membranes showed higher rejection of cutting fluid and higher flux recovery ratio compared to the reference membranes, indicating their effectiveness in oily wastewater treatment.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
P. S. Goh, K. C. Wong, A. F. Ismail
Summary: In recent years, the harmful effects of saline wastewater discharge have garnered public concerns, prompting the use of membrane technology for treatment and resource recovery. Pressure-driven, osmotically-driven, thermally-driven, and electrically-driven membrane processes each have unique features and limitations that can contribute to improving treatment efficiency and sustainability.
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Shashi Kant Bhatia, Vishal Ahuja, Neha Chandel, Sanjeet Mehariya, Pradeep Kumar, Vandana Vinayak, Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale, Tirath Raj, Sang-Hyoun Kim, Yung-Hun Yang
Summary: Excessive generation of wastewater is a global concern, and wastewater treatment utilizing microalgae-mediated process is considered an environmentally friendly and sustainable method. However, low biomass productivity, costly harvesting process, and energy extensive cultivation process are major challenges. The use of microalgal-bacteria granular consortia (MBGC) process is cost-effective and requires less energy, but understanding the structure, composition, and interaction of MBGC is important for its efficient utilization.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Appanu Sushvanth Reddy, Sarita Kalla, Z. V. P. Murthy
Summary: This study fabricated nano-particles enhanced high-performance membranes using the phase-inversion method and tested their performance in dye wastewater treatment. The results show that the modified membrane with TiO2 exhibited a 21.96% higher permeate flux compared to the unmodified membrane. Both membranes showed 100% color rejection.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Priyanka Verma, Achlesh Daverey, Ashok Kumar, Kusum Arunachalam
Summary: Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a sustainable technology that utilizes the oxidation of organic matter by microorganisms in wastewater to generate bioelectricity, making wastewater treatment plants energy neutral or even net energy producers. The review provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals, types, and key process parameters of MFC, along with recent applications and challenges in implementing MFC in full-scale wastewater treatment plants.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
D. Renfrew, V. Vasilaki, A. McLeod, A. Lake, S. Danishvar, E. Katsou
Summary: The restorative and regenerative ability of the circular economy has led to its rapid growth over the past decade, especially in the water sector. The article discusses the importance of resource recovery technologies in strategic planning and highlights the potential increase in nitrogen and phosphorus recovery by implementing priority technologies. The need for a holistic assessment approach in evaluating circular solutions is also emphasized.
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Lixin Li, Taojie Liang, Mengjie Zhao, Ying Lv, Zhiwei Song, Tao Sheng, Fang Ma
Summary: This article analyzes the theoretical basis and mechanism of mycelial pellets as a biological carrier, and introduces their applications and development trends in wastewater treatment and energy recovery. The symbiotic system of mycelial pellets and microalgae is considered an important means to solve the technical challenges of biodiesel recovery from wastewater.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Chemical
Yingyuan Zhu, Haiqing Chang, Zhongsen Yan, Caihong Liu, Ying Liang, Fangshu Qu, Heng Liang, Radisav D. Vidic
Summary: This comprehensive review summarizes the practical applications and mass transfer models of ammonia recovery from wastewater using membrane distillation and membrane contactor technologies. The review found that the operating conditions played a significant role in ammonia removal, while the characteristics of the feed and permeate solutions had a relatively smaller impact. The characteristics of the membrane and devices were of great interest in research.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
G. S. M. D. P. Sethunga, H. Enis Karahan, Rong Wang, Tae-Hyun Bae
Summary: Anaerobic wastewater treatment processes are increasingly popular due to their advantages in sludge management and net energy consumption, with methane production being a major benefit. Utilizing porous membranes for membrane contactor (MC) process offers a promising way to recover dissolved methane (dCH4) from anaerobic effluents, although membrane wetting and fouling remain implementation challenges. The development of wetting- and fouling-resistant hollow fiber membranes coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and post-treated with PDMS-based amphiphilic copolymers shows improved performance in recovering methane from anaerobic effluents, making it a viable alternative for industrial practices.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Hui Chen, Michael Rose, Michael Fleming, Sahar Souizi, Utsav Shashvatt, Lee Blaney
Summary: Donnan dialysis technology, with its low chemical and energy consumption, provides significant opportunities for enhancing contaminant removal and resource recovery in water and wastewater treatment. This critical review emphasizes the need for a consistent framework in the design and interpretation of Donnan dialysis systems and evaluates the impacts of solution properties, membrane characteristics, and system configuration. It also discusses the applications of Donnan dialysis for metal, nutrient, and other inorganic and organic chemical treatment and recovery. Recommendations for future studies are provided to address knowledge gaps and promote new opportunities. This critical review serves as an important resource for addressing grand challenges related to clean water and circular economies of essential elements.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Na Zhang, Wancen Liu, Yongzhen Peng, Xiaoye Song
Summary: Livestock wastewater is a valuable resource for the production of reused water, renewable energy, and fertilizers. The integration of membrane filtration process with anaerobic digestion in AnMBRs shows high promise for livestock wastewater treatment and resource recovery, but there are technical challenges such as digester susceptibility to inhibitory substances and membrane fouling.
CURRENT POLLUTION REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Peijin Huang, Zhijie Liang, Zhiwei Zhao, Fuyi Cui
Summary: In this study, Mg-Al-Fe hydrotalcite-like compounds were successfully synthesized from drinking water treatment residuals and showed efficient phosphate adsorption capacity. By analyzing the structure and adsorption performance of the synthesized materials, optimal synthesis conditions were identified, leading to high phosphate adsorption efficiency.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Abhishek Premachandra, Susan O'Brien, Nicole Perna, Jacob McGivern, Ryan LaRue, David R. Latulippe
Summary: The study found that using nanofiltration membranes can effectively reduce the COD concentration of industrial wastewater, but compositional differences between samples significantly influence the treatment efficiency, indicating that performance metrics considering both bulk and compositional properties should be adopted.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bruno Garcia Silva, Patricia Perez-Calleja, Eugenio Foresti, Robert Nerenberg
Summary: The foam-aerated biofilm reactor (FABR) is a novel biofilm process that can simultaneously remove carbon and nitrogen from wastewater. This research explored biofilm development within the foam sheet and determined the impact of advective transport on mass transfer and performance. The study found that a dense nitrifying biofilm formed on the aerated side of the foam, while the rest of the foam sheet had a high porosity foam-biofilm layer.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mengfei Li, Yanina Nahum, Karel Matous, Paul Stoodley, Robert Nerenberg
Summary: This study investigates the effects of biofilm mechanical heterogeneity on the results obtained by rheometry. Both experiments and simulations show that the biofilm properties determined by rheometry are strongly influenced by the weakest portion of the biofilm. The findings suggest caution should be exercised when interpreting rheometry data, particularly when the mechanical properties are stratified.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Cuihong Song, Jun-Jie Zhu, John L. Willis, Daniel P. Moore, Mark A. Zondlo, Zhiyong Jason Ren
Summary: This study quantitatively analyzed methane emissions from different types of sewers and water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and identified the main sources and sinks of methane in the wastewater sector. The results showed significant variations in methane emissions at the plant-level, with higher emissions observed in plants equipped with anaerobic digestion or stabilization ponds. Gravity sewers dominated most collection systems worldwide. The estimated annual methane emission from centralized municipal wastewater treatment in the U.S. was approximately 10.9 +/- 7.0 MMT CO2-eq/year, which is about twice the IPCC (2019) Tier 2 estimates.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mengfei Li, Patricia Perez-Calleja, Bumkyu Kim, Cristian Picioreanu, Robert Nerenberg
Summary: We have found that a high cell density band forms in heterotrophic membrane-aerated biofilms, and this unique behavior is explained in this study. The density of biofilms affects reaction rates, growth rates, substrate diffusion, and mechanical behavior. However, the mechanisms and dynamics of biofilm density development are poorly understood. Through optical coherence tomography, the density development of a membrane-aerated biofilm was observed and analyzed, revealing the formation of a high-density layer in the biofilm interior over time. This dense layer is influenced by changes in growth rates and can be explained using a mathematical model.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Daniel P. Moore, Nathan P. Li, Lars P. Wendt, Sierra R. . Castaneda, Mark M. Falinski, Jun-Jie Zhu, Cuihong Song, Zhiyong Jason Ren, Mark A. Zondlo
Summary: A growing percentage of methane emissions from US waste come from wastewater treatment, but there is limited data leading to uncertainties. The largest study of methane emissions from US wastewater treatment was conducted, measuring 63 plants. The findings highlight the need for efforts to identify and mitigate methane emissions with increasing urbanization and centralized treatment.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jun-Jie Zhu, Zhiyong Jason Ren
Summary: Resources, Conservation & Recycling (RCR) focuses on resource management and sustainability. In this study, natural language processing and Word2vec-based techniques were used to uncover the underlying patterns and interactions between research topics and resources covered in RCR. The analysis revealed 49 trending-up topics, grouped into nine categories. The Word2vec-RCR model visualized the distribution of topic vectors and grouped them into 13 major regions. The newly developed Word2vec model is proven effective for understanding the evolution and interactions of research topics in RCR and broader environmental domains.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaohui Xu, Nehemie Guillomaitre, Kofi S. S. Christie, R. Konane Bay, Navid Bizmark, Sujit S. Datta, Zhiyong Jason Ren, Rodney D. Priestley
Summary: Hydrogels show great promise in energy and environmental applications, particularly in water purification and harvesting. The main challenge is the low water production rate, which fails to meet daily human demand. To address this issue, a rapid-response, antifouling solar absorber gel (LSAG) was developed, capable of producing potable water from contaminated sources at a rate sufficient to meet daily water demand. The LSAG integrates various materials to enhance photothermal response and prevent fouling, while its unique structure enables enhanced water transport. It can also purify water from harmful sources, including those containing small molecules, oils, metals, and microplastics.
ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Allyson L. McGaughey, Sneha Srinivasan, Timothy Zhao, Kofi S. S. Christie, Zhiyong Jason Ren, Rodney D. Priestley
Summary: Polymerbrush layers are important for surface modification of membranes in water treatment and reuse applications. Zwitterionic polymer brushes have been proven to be resistant to various types of fouling. However, there are challenges in scaling up traditional fabrication methods.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sunxiang Zheng, Cuihong Song, Maria C. Curria, Zhiyong Jason Ren, Claire E. White
Summary: The electrified synthesis and rejuvenation of calcium-based layered double hydroxides (Ca-based LDHs) as solid adsorbents for CO2 have been investigated, showing controllable particle morphology and phase purity, as well as lower desorption temperature. This study demonstrates a sustainable carbon capture process using LDHs.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Emily Clements, Christopher Irwin, Alexandros Taflanidis, Kyle Bibby, Robert Nerenberg
Summary: This research explores different purging strategies to minimize water age and water use in premise plumbing systems. The study finds that higher purging frequency and volume result in lower water ages but higher water use. Smart purging based on the time of last use can effectively reduce water age without excessive water consumption. By scheduling purging around occupancy behavior, such as before occupants wake up or return from work, water age can be minimized while maintaining lower variability. Larger purging volumes have a greater impact on water age, but there are diminishing returns.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jinyue Jiang, Juan A. Lopez-Ruiz, Yanhong Bian, Dongya Sun, Yuqing Yan, Xi Chen, Junjie Zhu, Harold D. May, Zhiyong Jason Ren
Summary: This study provides a detailed analysis of the scale-up efforts of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) and summarizes the key factors to develop the technology further. Various scale-up configurations are compared and evaluated from technical and economic perspectives. The study demonstrates that MECs can be profitable in different market scenarios with or without subsidies.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
B. Kim, C. S. Madukoma, J. D. Shrout, R. Nerenberg
Summary: This study investigated the impact of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production on membrane-based biofilm reactors. By eliminating the Pel polysaccharide, one of the main EPS components, the production of EPS was altered. The biofilm density and growth kinetics of two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were compared, confirming that reducing Pel production led to a decrease in overall EPS production. The results showed that lower EPS production had positive effects on bacterial growth kinetics and reactor performance, leading to more efficient treatment processes.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaohui Xu, Yannick L. Eatmon, Kofi S. S. Christie, Allyson L. McGaughey, Nehemie Guillomaitre, Sujit S. Datta, Zhiyong Jason Ren, Craig Arnold, Rodney D. Priestley
Summary: Hydrogels can be transformed into tough and recyclable supramolecular phase-separated gels (PSGs) through a dehydration-hydration approach, which exhibit excellent mechanical performance and environmental tolerance. PSGs can be used as strain sensors in soft robotics and autonomous sensing applications.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yanhong Bian, Aaron Leininger, Harold D. May, Zhiyong Jason Ren
Summary: In the microbial electrosynthesis (MES) system, high acetate titers can be achieved through improved in situ H2 supply by a nickel foam decorated carbon felt cathode, providing a promising development for MES.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bumkyu Kim, Jacob Novitch, Aura Ontiveros-Valencia, Marcela Vega, Robert Nerenberg
Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a liquid-permeable membrane biofilm reactor in supplying performance-enhancing chemicals to the base of a biofilm. The results showed that adding chlorate to a denitrifying biofilm increased the abundance of specialized bacteria and maintained high denitrification efficiency. In a nitrifying biofilm, adding a protozoan inhibitor resulted in increased biofilm thickness and higher removal efficiency of ammonium.