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Membranes
Special Issues
Multiscale Modeling and Data-Driven Approaches for Advancing Membrane Separation Processes
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Multiscale Modeling and Data-Driven Approaches for Advancing Membrane Separation Processes

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 819

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mohamed Taky

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra BP 1246, Morocco
Interests: advanced membrane technology; hybrid membrane processes; advanced water and wastewater treatment; membrane bioreactors (MBRs); water reuse; renewable energy; energy efficiency; transport phenomena; sustainable water management
Dr. Soufian El-Ghzizel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra BP 1246, Morocco
Interests: membrane separation processes; nanofiltration; reverse osmosis; desalination; renewable-energy-driven desalination; selective ion removal; brackish water treatment; seawater desalination; hybrid membrane processes; sustainable water treatment; membrane fouling; process modeling and simulation; transport phenomena
Prof. Dr. Victor V. Nikonenko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Physical Chemistry, Kuban State University, 350040 Krasnodar, Russia
2. Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: ion-exchange membranes; structure-property relationships; transport phenomena; experiment; modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the forthcoming Special Issue titled “Multiscale Modeling and Data-Driven Approaches for Advancing Membrane Separation Processes.”

Membrane separation processes are essential technologies for water treatment, desalination, gas separation, and a wide range of environmental and energy-related applications. Despite significant progress in membrane materials and system design, the large-scale implementation and long-term operation of membrane processes are still limited by the intrinsic complexity of transport phenomena, selectivity, fouling, degradation, and energy consumption. These challenges arise from coupled mechanisms occurring across multiple spatial and temporal scales, ranging from molecular-level interactions to full-scale process operation under variable and uncertain conditions.

This Special Issue is dedicated to multiscale modeling and data-driven approaches for advancing membrane separation processes, with a particular emphasis on both methodological developments and critical assessments of existing modeling frameworks. In addition to original research articles, the Special Issue explicitly welcomes critical review studies, comparative analyses, and perspective papers that examine the assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, and applicability domains of different modeling approaches used in membrane science and engineering. Such contributions are essential to identify current knowledge gaps, inconsistencies between theory and practice, and challenges in model validation and scale-up.

By bringing together fundamental modeling, data-driven innovation, and critical evaluation, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective on the current state and future directions of membrane process modeling, ultimately supporting the development of more efficient, reliable, and sustainable membrane-based separation systems.

We would be delighted to receive your contribution and to benefit from your expertise in this Special Issue.

Dr. Mohamed Taky
Dr. Soufian El-Ghzizel
Prof. Dr. Victor V. Nikonenko
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • membrane processes
  • transport phenomena
  • multiscale modeling
  • fouling and scaling prediction
  • data-driven models
  • process modeling and simulation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

33 pages, 4610 KB  
Article
A Robust Numerical Framework for Hollow-Fiber Membrane Module Simulation and Solver Performance Analysis
by Diego Queiroz Faria de Menezes, Marília Caroline Cavalcante de Sá, Nayher Andres Clavijo Vallejo, Thainá Menezes de Melo, Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Campos, Thiago Koichi Anzai and José Carlos Costa da Silva Pinto
Membranes 2026, 16(4), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes16040154 - 21 Apr 2026
Viewed by 464
Abstract
Robust numerical frameworks are essential for the simulation, design, monitoring, and control of membrane-based separation units, particularly under highly nonlinear and industrially relevant operating conditions. In this context, a comprehensive phenomenological and numerical framework is proposed for the simulation of hollow-fiber membrane modules, [...] Read more.
Robust numerical frameworks are essential for the simulation, design, monitoring, and control of membrane-based separation units, particularly under highly nonlinear and industrially relevant operating conditions. In this context, a comprehensive phenomenological and numerical framework is proposed for the simulation of hollow-fiber membrane modules, incorporating coupled mass, momentum (through pressure drop), and energy transport equations. The governing equations are discretized using a rigorous orthogonal collocation formulation, and the performances of two numerical solution strategies are systematically investigated for the first time to allow the in-line and real-time implementation of the model: a steady-state approach based on the Newton–Raphson method with careful treatment of initial estimates, and a pseudotransient formulation. Particularly, an original and consistent numerical treatment is introduced for the energy balance at boundaries where the permeate flow vanishes, enabling the stable incorporation of thermal effects and Joule–Thomson phenomena. The results clearly show that the steady-state Newton–Raphson approach provides the best overall performance in terms of computational efficiency, numerical robustness, and accuracy when physically consistent initial profiles are employed. In particular, the combination of a linear initial guess and a numerical mesh constituted of four collocation points yielded the most favorable balance between convergence speed, numerical robustness, and accuracy for the base-case sensitivity analysis. For monitoring-oriented applications, the numerical choice should be weighted primarily toward computational performance once physical consistency and convergence criteria are satisfied, rather than toward maximum mesh-refinement accuracy. In this context, small differences in internal-fiber profiles can be compensated through real-time permeance estimation and are negligible when compared with measurement uncertainty in real industrial processes. Under extreme operating conditions involving low concentrations, low flow rates, and highly permeable species, the pseudotransient formulation proved to be a reliable auxiliary strategy, enabling robust convergence when suitable initial guesses were not readily available. The proposed framework is validated against experimental data from the literature and subjected to extensive convergence and sensitivity analyses, providing a reliable basis for simulation and for assessing computational feasibility in in-line and real-time monitoring-oriented applications. A full demonstration of digital-twin integration, online parameter updating, reduced-order coupling, and closed-loop control is beyond the scope of the present study and will be addressed in future work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Modeling and Data-Driven Approaches for Advancing Membrane Separation Processes)
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