Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xuhui Hu, Xing Chen, Mattia Giagnorio, Chunhong Wu, Yunbai Luo, Claus Helix-Nielsen, Ping Yu, Wenjing Zhang
Summary: A new class of PVDF-based membranes suitable for membrane distillation was prepared via electrospinning. By tuning the solvent ratio and operating parameters, the classical fiber morphology of PVDF electrospun membranes was changed to generate a beaded structure. Increasing the bead density improved the water contact angle and reduced the membrane thickness, but decreased the membrane mechanical stability. Simultaneous deployment of 17 and 25 wt% of PVDF solutions in a double-needle electrospinning device enabled the fabrication of electrospun PVDF-beaded membranes with high hydrophobicity, low thickness, and good mechanical stability for membrane distillation.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jose Miguel Luque-Alled, Sebastian Leaper, Ahmed Abdel-Karim, Clara Skuse, Patricia Gorgojo
Summary: PVDF membranes with hydrophobic graphene nanofillers (OA-rGO and PFOA-rGO) were prepared for membrane distillation applications. The nanofillers increased membrane hydrophobicity and porosity. The membranes achieved high water fluxes and salt rejection rates, with an increase in flux of 82% and 76% compared to pure PVDF.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianlong Ni, Jiuyang Lin, Lingxue Kong, Shuaifei Zhao
Summary: Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising technology for desalination and water purification, with recent advancements in omniphobic membranes to combat wetting and fouling issues. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the fundamentals, properties, advantages, applications, and engineering methods of omniphobic membranes. Future research on omniphobic membranes will focus on addressing challenges for stable and efficient MD operations.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Dong Zou, Longbo Xia, Ping Luo, Kecheng Guan, Hideto Matsuyama, Zhaoxiang Zhong
Summary: In this study, high-porosity PVDF-PSF membranes were prepared by dissolving PVDF and PSF polymer powders in PolarClean. The addition of PVDF nanoparticles on the membrane surface improved the hydrophobicity and liquid entry pressure of the membrane. These membranes exhibited high water flux and excellent desalination performance.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jun Pan, Xianli Xu, Zhaohui Wang, Shi-Peng Sun, Zhaoliang Cui, Lassaad Gzara, Iqbal Ahmed, Omar Bamaga, Mohammed Albeirutty, Enrico Drioli
Summary: In this study, hydrophobic/hydrophilic PFPE/PVDF composite membranes were prepared by a method combining dip-coating and UV in situ polymerization for membrane distillation (MD) desalination. The composite membranes exhibited excellent anti-wetting properties and stable salt rejection, with higher MD flux. The study provided a simple and effective alternative for preparing hydrophobic composite membranes for MD applications.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Najib Meftah Almukhtar Omar, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Zhong Sheng Tai, Ahmed Omar Aswaye Amhamed, Erna Yuliwati, Mohd Hafiz Puteh, Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, Mukhlis A. Rahman, Juhana Jaafar, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail
Summary: This study successfully modified the surface of hydrophilic mullite-stainless steel hollow fibre membranes to omniphobic properties. The prepared membranes exhibited superior characteristics compared to other reported membranes, including higher roughness, liquid entry pressure, and enhanced liquid repellence and contact angles towards different liquids.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Rongchao Wang, Hao Zhang, Liang Zhu, Lin Chen, Wucheng Ma, Longjie Jiang, Yue Zhu, Bin Wu, Wei Zhang
Summary: This study reports a simple and highly efficient air spraying strategy to fabricate an omniphobic membrane by spraying a coating solution comprising fluorinated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (F-MWCNTs) onto a commercial polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane. The contact angles for water and hexadecane on the surface reached 173.0 degrees and 161.2 degrees, and the water flux remained stable for 12 h when tested in DCMD with low surface tension fluids (SDS and STAC). The omniphobic membrane showed higher wetting resistance in direct membrane distillation (DCMD) experiments than the PTFE membrane when feeding low surface tension feed solutions.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Tijjani El-badawy, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, M. N. A. M. Norddin, Takeshi Matsuura, M. R. Adam, A. F. Ismail, Z. S. Tai, H. S. Zakria, Arian Edalat, Juhana Jaafar, M. A. Rahman, Jamilu Usman, Samuel Ojo, Mohd Malah
Summary: This study reports a pioneering PET braid-reinforced hollow fiber membrane (HFM) for membrane distillation (MD) of complex wastewater. By improving the surface structure and material, the HFM demonstrated good distillation flux and fouling resistance. The effects of feed type, flow rate, and temperature on membrane performance were also investigated.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Zixuan Wu, Xin Ji, Quanlong He, Hongbo Gu, Wei-xian Zhang, Zilong Deng
Summary: To mitigate membrane fouling and address the trade-off between permeability and selectivity, nanocellulose fine-tuned polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) porous membranes were fabricated. The incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals and oxidized cellulose nanofibers improved the surface charge, hydrophilicity, porosity, and tensile strength of the membranes. The NC-PVDF membranes exhibited enhanced flux, rejection, and fouling resistance, making them promising candidates for membrane separation.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Saber Abdulhamid Alftessi, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Mohd Ridhwan Adam, Twibi Mohamed Farag, Azeman Mustafa, Takeshi Matsuura, Juhana Jaafar, Mukhlis A. Rahman, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail
Summary: Omniphobic silica sand ceramic hollow fiber membranes were successfully fabricated to reduce wetting and fouling in direct contact membrane distillation. Surface modification with SiNPs, fluorination, and PVDF-HFP coating led to high contact angles for all tested liquids and excellent anti-fouling resistance during DCMD operation. These membranes showed high fluxes, salt rejection, and potential for seawater desalination.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mochammad Purwanto, Nindita Cahya Kusuma, Ma'rup Ali Sudrajat, Juhana Jaafar, Atikah Mohd Nasir, Mohd Haiqal Abd Aziz, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Mukhlis A. Rahman, Yanuardi Raharjo, Nurul Widiastuti
Summary: Hollow fiber membranes were prepared by incorporating LSMM and BSMM with PVDF and PEG, aiming to achieve high flux permeation and high salt rejection. The LSMM loading significantly improved the membrane performance in terms of hydrophobicity, morphology, and other properties, leading to enhanced thermal behavior.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pooja Yadav, Ramin Farnood, Vivek Kumar
Summary: Researchers fabricated superhydrophobic electrospun nanofibrous membranes using silica nanoparticles and PVDF, achieving excellent wetting resistance and high permeability through a two-step modification process. The modified membranes demonstrated robust anti-wetting properties and superior salt rejection in membrane distillation applications.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Joanna Kujawa, Monika Zieba, Wojciech Zieba, Samer Al-Gharabli, Wojciech Kujawski, Artur P. Terzyk
Summary: Novel durable, hybrid separation materials were generated based on PVDF support and single walled nanohorn (SWCNH) through a simple and efficient method. Different types of SWCNH, including pristine, ultrasound-treated, and oxidized, were applied to cover the PVDF material and characterized extensively. The materials showed improved performance in membrane distillation for desalination, with the ability to control wettability and material performance through the simple pretreatment method. The hybrid membranes exhibited enhanced permeate flux, ranging from 14-27% improvement for pristine and ultrasound-treated SWCNH, and 23% improvement for oxidized SWCNH. The structure of the hybrids allowed for the creation of separation materials with a wide range of wetting properties, from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yu-Xian Lin, Yun-Ke Liou, Sher Ling Lee, Shao-Yu Chen, Fang-Ting Tao, Tung-Wen Cheng, Kuo-Lun Tung
Summary: With the increasing demand for freshwater, the study focuses on the preparation of a composite membrane for desalination using membrane distillation. The effects of different parameters on the membrane characteristics were investigated, and the advantages and disadvantages of different distillation methods were evaluated. The results showed that the membrane with higher PMMA content had larger pores and higher permeate fluxes. Water gap membrane distillation exhibited higher fluxes compared to air gap membrane distillation.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hui Feng, Huijuan Li, Meng Li, Xuan Zhang
Summary: This study comprehensively analyzed the effects of physical properties of SiO2 nanoparticles (SiNPs) on membrane performance and compared the differences between electrospray method and conventional solution deposition. It was found that by altering the size and morphology of the nanoparticles, the flux and fouling resistance of the membrane could be improved. Electrospray method could produce defect-free membrane surface layer for sustainable applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Boreum Lee, Li Wang, Zhangxin Wang, Nathanial J. Cooper, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Climate change directly affects energy consumption, water availability, and agricultural production. To achieve carbon neutrality, emerging technologies have been proposed, but their feasibility needs to be assessed through process modeling and techno-economic analysis.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaoxiong Wang, Tong Wang, Tianyuan Zhang, Lea R. Winter, Jinghan Di, Qingshi Tu, Hongying Hu, Edgar Hertwich, Julie B. Zimmerman, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Conventional phototrophic cultivation for micro-algae production lacks efficiency due to limited light transmission. In contrast, the use of cellulosic hydrolysate offers a cost-effective and sustainable method for heterotrophic cultivation, resulting in high algal growth rate. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment show that cellulosic hydrolysate-mediated heterotrophic cultivation is competitive with phototrophic cultivation, with the added benefit of reducing environmental impacts and producing high-value co-products. This study demonstrates the economic and environmental feasibility of heterotrophic microalgae production based on renewable bio-feedstocks.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chungseok Choi, Xiaoxiong Wang, Soonho Kwon, James L. Hart, Conor L. Rooney, Nia J. Harmon, Quynh P. Sam, Judy J. Cha, William A. Goddard, Menachem Elimelech, Hailiang Wang
Summary: Electrochemistry offers an efficient and sustainable solution for treating chlorinated organic compounds in polluted environmental waters. A catalyst composed of cobalt phthalocyanine molecules on multiwalled carbon nanotubes has been developed, which can selectively convert 1,2-dichloroethane into ethylene with high efficiency. The catalyst operates at a wide range of electrode potentials and reactant concentrations, achieving unprecedented near 100% Faradaic efficiency.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Narayana R. Aluru, Fikret Aydin, Martin Z. Bazant, Daniel Blankschtein, Alexandra H. Brozena, J. Pedro de Souza, Menachem Elimelech, Samuel Faucher, John T. Fourkas, Volodymyr B. Koman, Matthias Kuehne, Heather J. Kulik, Hao-Kun Li, Yuhao Li, Zhongwu Li, Arun Majumdar, Joel Martis, Rahul Prasanna Misra, Aleksandr Noy, Tuan Anh Pham, Haoran Qu, Archith Rayabharam, Mark A. Reed, Cody L. Ritt, Eric Schwegler, Zuzanna Siwy, Michael S. Strano, YuHuang Wang, Yun-Chiao Yao, Cheng Zhan, Ze Zhang
Summary: Confined fluids and electrolyte solutions in nanopores exhibit rich and surprising physics and chemistry that impact the mass transport and energy efficiency in many important natural systems and industrial applications. Exploiting these effects presents myriad opportunities in both basic and applied research that stand to impact a host of new technologies. In this review article, the progress on nanofluidics of single-digit nanopores (SDNs) is summarized, with a focus on the confinement effects. The recent development of precision model systems, transformative experimental tools, and multiscale theories in this field are reviewed.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ryan M. DuChanois, Lauren Mazurowski, Hanqing Fan, Rafael Verduzco, Oded Nir, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: The separation of specific ions in water is essential for the recovery and reuse of metals and nutrients, but current membrane technologies lack the required precision selectivity for a circular resource economy. This study investigates whether the cation/cation selectivity of a composite cation-exchange membrane (CEM) is affected by the mass transfer resistance of the underlying CEM. The results show that eliminating resistance from the base layer of the CEM can significantly increase selectivity, highlighting the importance of low-resistance CEMs for precise separations with composite membranes.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ragne Parnamae, Michele Tedesco, Min-Chen Wu, Chia-Hung Hou, Hubertus V. M. Hamelers, Sohum Patel, Menachem Elimelech, P. M. Biesheuvel, Slawomir Porada
Summary: In this study, a trackable model based on the Nernst-Planck theory was developed to predict the behavior of a commercial bipolar membrane. The model successfully predicted the concentration profiles of four ions (H+, OH-, Na+, and Cl-) inside the membrane and the resulting current-voltage curve, providing new insights into ion transport in bipolar membranes and identifying optimal operating conditions for environmental applications.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Li Wang, Tianchi Cao, Kevin E. Pataroque, Masashi Kaneda, P. Maarten Biesheuvel, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: It has been observed that the salt permeability of polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes increases as the feed salt concentration increases. However, studies using analytical techniques have shown that the salt partitioning coefficient decreases with increasing salt concentration, contradictory to the increase in salt permeability. In this study, the dependence of total ion and co-ion partitioning coefficients on salt concentration and solution pH was investigated. Results showed that the co-ion partitioning increased while total ion partitioning decreased with increasing salt concentration. The increase in co-ion partitioning was in line with the trend of salt permeability observed in RO experiments. The study further demonstrated that the dependence of salt and co-ion partitioning on salt concentration was more pronounced at a higher solution pH. The results suggest that co-ion partitioning, rather than salt partitioning, governs salt transport through RO membranes.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sohum K. Patel, Weiyi Pan, Yong-Uk Shin, Jovan Kamcev, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: The study introduces a novel electrosorption-based boron removal technology using a bipolar membrane (BPM) between porous carbon electrodes, showing its potential to overcome the limitations of current methods. The mechanism of boron removal is confirmed to be electrosorption rather than adsorption. The effect of applied voltage on the process efficiency is evaluated, and the BPM-electrosorption system is compared with flow-through electrosorption, demonstrating advantages in boron sorption capacity and energy consumption. Overall, the BPM-electrosorption system shows promising boron removal capability.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ying-Jie Zhang, Jie-Jie Chen, Gui-Xiang Huang, Wen-Wei Li, Han-Qing Yu, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Clarifying the reaction pathways at the solid-water interface and in bulk water solution is crucial for designing heterogeneous catalysts for selective oxidation of organic pollutants. In this study, the origin of organic oxidation reactions with metal oxide catalysts is unraveled, showing that radical-based advanced oxidation processes prevail in bulk water but not on solid catalyst surfaces. These findings provide a fundamental understanding of catalytic organic oxidation processes at the solid-water interface and can guide the design of heterogeneous nanocatalysts.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoxiong Wang, Xuanhao Wu, Wen Ma, Xuechen Zhou, Shuo Zhang, Dahong Huang, Lea R. Winter, Jae-Hong Kim, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: This study presents a flow-through electrofiltration method using an electrified membrane and single-atom catalysts, which achieves high removal efficiency of ultra-low concentration nitrate and improves reduction activity and selectivity, offering a new solution for efficient water purification.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuzhang Zhu, Liangliang Gui, Ruoyu Wang, Yunfeng Wang, Wangxi Fang, Menachem Elimelech, Shihong Lin, Jian Jin
Summary: The authors demonstrate the ability to regulate the pore size of a polyamide membrane through applied voltage, enabling precise molecular separation. This study uncovers a previously overlooked mechanism of membrane-water-solute interactions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li Wang, Jinlong He, Mohammad Heiranian, Hanqing Fan, Lianfa Song, Ying Li, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: We used NEMD simulations and permeation experiments to investigate the mechanism of water transport in RO membranes. The simulations showed that water transport is driven by a pressure gradient, contradicting the traditional solution-diffusion model. We also observed that water molecules form clusters and move through transiently connected pores. Permeation experiments with different solvents further revealed that solvent permeance depends on membrane pore size, solvent molecule size, and viscosity, which is inconsistent with the solution-diffusion model.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Duong T. Nguyen, Kian P. Lopez, Sangsuk Lee, Jongho Lee, Mark T. Hernandez, Anthony P. Straub
Summary: Pressure-driven distillation is a separation process that uses hydraulic pressure to transport water vapor through a hydrophobic membrane. This study demonstrates the use of scalable polymeric membranes in pressure-driven distillation for desalination. The membranes showed high rejection of sodium chloride and were unaffected by doses of sodium hypochlorite. Additionally, the membranes exhibited high temperature resilience. This work highlights the advantages of chlorine tolerance and heat tolerance in pressure-driven distillation.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Duong T. Nguyen, Sangsuk Lee, Kian P. Lopez, Jongho Lee, Anthony P. Straub
Summary: We propose a water desalination technology that utilizes membranes with an entrapped air layer to drive vapor transport under applied pressure. This technique enables near-complete rejection of dissolved solutes including sodium chloride, boron, urea, and N-nitrosodimethylamine. Membranes with sub-200-nm-thick air layers exhibit higher water permeabilities than commercial membranes without sacrificing salt rejection. Additionally, these air-trapping membranes are resistant to exposure to chlorine and ozone oxidants. These findings contribute to our understanding of evaporation behavior and facilitate the development of high-throughput ultraselective separations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yifan Gao, Shuai Liang, Biming Liu, Chengxu Jiang, Chenyang Xu, Xiaoyuan Zhang, Peng Liang, Menachem Elimelech, Xia Huang
Summary: Researchers have proposed a facile and highly controllable thermal tuning strategy that enables fine control of nanodefects in electrocatalysts. This strategy endows common carbon materials with record high efficiency in electrocatalytic degradation of pollutants.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
