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Membranes
Special Issues
Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application
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Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications for Water Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 9016

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xianghao Ren

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: MBR process; wastewater treatment and reuse; modeling and simulation of MBR and bioreactor
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Linan Xing

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, Beijing Polytechnic, Beijing 100176, China
Interests: wastewater treatment and reuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jooil Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon 34158, Republic of Korea
Interests: energy management; environmental catalytic engineering; chemical filtration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane separation technologies have emerged as a versatile and promising solution for a wide range of applications, including sustainable water treatment, adsorption, filtration, gas separation, energy production, etc. With its high treatment efficiency, high energy efficiency, and small footprint, membrane separation technologies are positioned to realize the carbon-neutral concept of sustainable development. Water treatment and reuse, one of most important issues in membrane separation technologies, are also dealt with in this Special Issue. The results of tradational and advanced technologies in water treatment and reuse are encouraged to submit to this Issue.

This Special Issue of membrane application, entitled "Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application", is interested in the following areas: (i) the physical, chemical, and biological treatment and reuse of water and wastewater; (ii) modeling for physical, chemical, and biological treatment and the resue of water and wastewater; (iii) adsorption of activated sludge; (iv) chemical filtration; (v) gas separation; and (vi) energy storage and utilization. The authors are welcomed to submit original and review articles concerning the modeling and application of membrane separation and water treatment.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Water.

Dr. Xianghao Ren
Dr. Linan Xing
Dr. Jooil Park
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • water and wastewater treatment and reuse
  • membrane technologies
  • activated carbon
  • adsorption
  • chemical filtration
  • gas separation
  • energy storage and utilization

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2820 KiB  
Article
Process Simulation of High-Pressure Nanofiltration (HPNF) for Membrane Brine Concentration (MBC): A Pilot-Scale Case Study
by Abdallatif Satti Abdalrhman, Sangho Lee, Seungwon Ihm, Eslam S. B. Alwaznani, Christopher M. Fellows and Sheng Li
Membranes 2025, 15(4), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15040113 - 4 Apr 2025
Viewed by 517
Abstract
The growing demand for sustainable water management solutions has prompted the development of membrane brine concentration (MBC) technologies, particularly in the context of desalination and minimum liquid discharge (MLD) applications. This study presents a simple model of high-pressure nanofiltration (HPNF) for MBC. The [...] Read more.
The growing demand for sustainable water management solutions has prompted the development of membrane brine concentration (MBC) technologies, particularly in the context of desalination and minimum liquid discharge (MLD) applications. This study presents a simple model of high-pressure nanofiltration (HPNF) for MBC. The model integrates reverse osmosis (RO) transport equations with mass balance equations, thereby enabling acceptable predictions of water flux and total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration. Considering the limitations of the pilot plant data, the model showed reasonable accuracy in predicting flux and TDS, with R2 values above 0.99. The simulation results demonstrated that an increase in feed flow rate improves flux but raises specific energy consumption (SEC) and reduces recovery. In contrast, an increase in feed pressure results in an increased recovery and brine concentration. Increasing feed TDS decreases flux, recovery, and final brine TDS and increases SEC. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize process performance across multiple criteria, optimizing flux, SEC, recovery, and final brine concentration. The optimal feed flow rate and pressure vary depending on the criteria in the improvement scenarios, underscoring the importance of systematic process improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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18 pages, 4280 KiB  
Article
The Use of Low-Rejection Nanofiltration Membranes as a Tool to Simplify Pretreatment, Escape Scaling and Radically Increase Recoveries
by Alexei G. Pervov, Dmitry Spitsov, Anna Kulagina and Htet Zaw Aung
Membranes 2025, 15(4), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15040096 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 345
Abstract
This article describes the results of research to develop a new technology to treat storm and drainage water generated on a territory of industrial enterprises and reuse it as a feed water for boiler feed and steam generation. To develop such a system, [...] Read more.
This article describes the results of research to develop a new technology to treat storm and drainage water generated on a territory of industrial enterprises and reuse it as a feed water for boiler feed and steam generation. To develop such a system, it is necessary to resolve issues related to pretreatment, scaling, and fouling, as well as to provide a minimal discharge in the company’s sanitation network. Principles of the new approach to reach high calcium removal are based on the use of two or three stages of low-pressure nanofiltration membranes instead of the conventional facilities that contain one stage of reverse osmosis membranes. High permeability, low pressure, high recovery, and reduced reagent consumption provide an economic effect. The technology uses low-rejection membranes “nano NF” developed and produced by “Membranium Co.” (Vladimir, Russia). In the article, the results of investigations on the evaluation of scaling rates in membrane modules and rates of homogeneous crystallization in concentrate flow are presented. Processing these results enables us to detect recovery values when scaling begins on the membrane surface as well as to determine the maximum recovery value for the beginning of homogenous nucleation in the concentrate flow. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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18 pages, 8753 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Protein Separation Performance of Cellulose Acetate Membranes Modified with Covalent Organic Frameworks
by Shurui Shao, Maoyu Liu, Baifu Tao, Kayode Hassan Lasisi, Wenqiao Meng, Xing Wu and Kaisong Zhang
Membranes 2025, 15(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15030084 - 6 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1032
Abstract
As a porous crystalline material, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted significant attention due to their extraordinary features, such as an ordered pore structure and excellent stability. Synthesized through the aldehyde amine condensation reaction, TpPa-1 COFs (Triformylphloroglucinol-p-Phenylenediamine-1 COFs) were blended with cellulose acetate [...] Read more.
As a porous crystalline material, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted significant attention due to their extraordinary features, such as an ordered pore structure and excellent stability. Synthesized through the aldehyde amine condensation reaction, TpPa-1 COFs (Triformylphloroglucinol-p-Phenylenediamine-1 COFs) were blended with cellulose acetate (CA) to form a casting solution. The TpPa-1 COF/CA ultrafiltration membrane was then prepared using the non-solvent-induced phase inversion (NIPS) method. The influence of TpPa-1 COFs content on the hydrophilicity, stability and filtration performance of the modified membrane was studied. Due to the hydrophilic groups in TpPa-1 COFs and the network structure formed by covalent bonds, the modified CA membranes exhibited higher hydrophilicity and lower protein adsorption compared with the pristine CA membrane. The porous crystalline structure of TpPa-1 COFs increased the water permeation path in the CA membrane, improving the permeability of the modified membrane while maintaining an outstanding bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection. Furthermore, the addition of TpPa-1 COFs reduced protein adsorption on the CA membrane and overcame the trade-off between permeability and selectivity in CA membrane bioseparation applications. This approach provides a sustainable method for enhancing membrane performance while enhancing the application of membranes in protein purification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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13 pages, 4564 KiB  
Article
Silica-Nanocoated Membranes with Enhanced Stability and Antifouling Performance for Oil-Water Emulsion Separation
by Mengfan Zhu, Chengqian Huang and Yu Mao
Membranes 2025, 15(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15020041 - 1 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 731
Abstract
Despite the potential of glass fiber (GF) membranes for oil-water emulsion separations, efficient surface modification methods to enhance fouling resistance while preserving membrane performance and stability remain lacking. We report a silica nanocoating method to modify GF membranes through a vapor deposition method. [...] Read more.
Despite the potential of glass fiber (GF) membranes for oil-water emulsion separations, efficient surface modification methods to enhance fouling resistance while preserving membrane performance and stability remain lacking. We report a silica nanocoating method to modify GF membranes through a vapor deposition method. The high smoothness (<1 nm r.m.s.) and high conformality of the vapor-deposited silica nanocoatings enabled the preservation of membrane microstructure and permeability, which, combined with the enhanced surface hydrophilicity, led to an oil rejection rate exceeding 99% and more than a 40% improvement in permeate flux in oil-water emulsion separations. Furthermore, the silica nanocoatings provided the membranes with excellent wet strength and stability against organic solvents, strong acids, oxidants, boiling, and sonication. The silica-nanocoated membrane demonstrated enhanced fouling resistance, achieving flux recovery higher than 75% during repeated oil-water emulsion separations and bovine serum albumin and humic acid fouling tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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17 pages, 4731 KiB  
Article
Efficient Separation of Oil/Water by a Biodegradable and Superhydrophobic Composite Based on Loofah and Rice Straw
by Mamadou Souare, Changqing Dong, Tong Xing, Junjiao Zhang and Xiaoying Hu
Membranes 2024, 14(11), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14110243 - 18 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2066
Abstract
Membrane filtration is one of the preferred choices for petroleum wastewater disposal due to its simplicity and low energy consumption. In this paper, a biodegradable superhydrophobic membrane based on loofah and rice straw (LF-RS) was prepared and modified with dodecyltriethoxysilane to improve its [...] Read more.
Membrane filtration is one of the preferred choices for petroleum wastewater disposal due to its simplicity and low energy consumption. In this paper, a biodegradable superhydrophobic membrane based on loofah and rice straw (LF-RS) was prepared and modified with dodecyltriethoxysilane to improve its stability, morphology, and performance. The membrane showed an efficiency of 99.06% for oil/water separation with an average water flux of 2057.37 Lm−2h−1 and a tensile strength of 11.19 MPa. The tensile strength of the LF-RS membrane was 322.47% higher than that of the PVDF membrane and 126.58% higher than that of the commercially available nitrocellulose membrane. Through molecular simulations, we showed a 96.3% reduction in interaction energy between water and membrane post-modification, which is beneficial for increasing the contact angle and separation performance. This study provides an option for the large-scale, cost-effective fabrication of eco-friendly membranes for pollutant removal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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17 pages, 4415 KiB  
Article
Reverse Solute Diffusion Enhances Sludge Dewatering in Dead-End Forward Osmosis
by Da-Qi Cao, Shi-Cheng Lei, Hui Liu, Yan Jin, Yun-Feng Wu, Yuehua Cui and Rongling Wu
Membranes 2024, 14(9), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14090196 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1457
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants produce high quantities of excess sludge. However, traditional sludge dewatering technology has high energy consumption and occupies a large area. Dead-end forward osmosis (DEFO) is an efficient and energy-saving deep dewatering technology for sludge. In this study, the reverse osmosis [...] Read more.
Wastewater treatment plants produce high quantities of excess sludge. However, traditional sludge dewatering technology has high energy consumption and occupies a large area. Dead-end forward osmosis (DEFO) is an efficient and energy-saving deep dewatering technology for sludge. In this study, the reverse osmosis of salt ions in the draw solution was used to change the sludge cake structure and further reduce its moisture content in cake by releasing the bound water in cell. Three salts, NaCl, KCl, and CaCl2, were added to the excess sludge feed solution to explore the roles of the reverse osmosis of draw solutes in DEFO. When the added quantities of NaCl and CaCl2 were 15 and 10 mM, respectively, the moisture content of the sludge after dewatering decreased from 98.1% to 79.7% and 67.3%, respectively. However, KCl did not improve the sludge dewatering performance because of the “high K and low Na” phenomenon in biological cells. The water flux increased significantly for the binary draw solute involving NaCl and CaCl2 compared to the single draw solute. The extracellular polymer substances in the sludge changed the structure of the filter cake to improve the formation of water channels and decrease osmosis resistance, resulting in an increase in sludge dewatering efficiency. These findings provide support for improving the sludge dewatering performance of DEFO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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Review

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42 pages, 3563 KiB  
Review
A Review of Sulfate Removal from Water Using Polymeric Membranes
by Jamal Al Mehrate, Sadek Shaban and Amr Henni
Membranes 2025, 15(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15010017 - 9 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1828
Abstract
Access to clean and reliable water has become a critical concern due to the global water crisis. High sulfate levels in drinking water raise health concerns for humans and animals and can cause serious corrosion in industrial systems. Sulfated waters represent a major [...] Read more.
Access to clean and reliable water has become a critical concern due to the global water crisis. High sulfate levels in drinking water raise health concerns for humans and animals and can cause serious corrosion in industrial systems. Sulfated waters represent a major challenge on the Canadian prairies, leading to many cattle deaths. While reverse osmosis (RO) membranes effectively remove sulfates, they are costly due to high-pressure requirements. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes present a more affordable alternative, outperforming traditional methods like adsorption, desalination, and ion exchange. Developing low-pressure ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes could also reduce costs. This review explores advancements in polymeric materials and membrane technology to enhance sulfate removal, focusing on methods used to reduce fouling and improve permeate flux. Techniques discussed include phase inversion (PI), thin-film composite (TFC), and thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. The review also highlights recent fabrication methods for pristine and nanomaterial-enhanced membranes, acknowledging both benefits and limitations. Continued innovations in polymer-based membranes are expected to drive further performance and cost-efficiency improvements. This review found that studies in the literature dealt mainly with sulfate concentrations below 2000 mg/L, indicating a need to address higher concentrations in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membrane Separation and Water Treatment: Modeling and Application)
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