New Trends in Membrane Technologies for Removal of Hazardous Pollutants

Dear Colleagues,

The growing prevalence of hazardous pollutants across aquatic and atmospheric environments—including persistent heavy metals (As, Pb, Hg, Cd), pharmacologically active compounds (antibiotics, NSAIDs, endocrine disruptors), micro/nano-plastics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs: formaldehyde, benzene derivatives), particulate matter (PM_2.5/PM₁₀), and industrial emissions (SOx, NOx)—presents critical challenges to ecosystem integrity and public health. Membrane separation technologies offer transformative technological solutions for environmental remediation through rationally engineered pore architectures and tunable surface functionalities that enable molecular discrimination capabilities. Their modular configurations further facilitate process intensification and system scalability, making them particularly effective for addressing recalcitrant environmental challenges.

This Special Issue seeks to assemble pioneering research and comprehensive reviews on advanced membrane-based approaches for pollutant removal in both aqueous and gaseous environments. We invite contributions that explore innovative materials, fabrication techniques, process optimization, and hybrid systems to enhance separation efficiency, antifouling properties, and sustainability in water, wastewater, and air purification. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and case studies covering the following topics:

• Advanced Membrane Material Development: Design and fabrication of novel nanostructured, functionalized, and sustainable membrane materials (e.g., graphene-based, MOFs, stimuli-responsive polymers) for enhanced pollutant removal in both water and air applications.
• Innovative Membrane Processes for Pollutant Removal: Emerging water/wastewater treatment processes (e.g., forward osmosis, membrane distillation, hybrid systems) and air purification technologies (e.g., gas separation, VOC removal, PM filtration) targeting specific hazardous contaminants.
• Targeted Hazardous Pollutant Remediation: Specialized approaches for removing heavy metals, emerging contaminants (PFASs, pharmaceuticals), and microplastics from water, as well as VOCs, particulate matter, and industrial gases from air, with an emphasis on efficiency, sustainability, and scalability.

Prof. Dr. Guangze Nie
Guest Editor

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