Membrane Fouling in Water/Wastewater Treatment: Mechanisms, Effects, and Control
A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications for Water Treatment".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 184
Special Issue Editor
Interests: membrane fouling processes; mechanism and control of membrane fouling; membrane separation processes; composite membranes; electrically conductive membranes; membrane Bioreactor; water treatment; molecular simulations; quantum chemical calculations
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Membrane technology has revolutionized water and wastewater treatment, offering unparalleled efficiency in producing high-quality effluent, enabling water reuse, and recovering valuable resources. However, membrane fouling remains the most significant challenge hindering wider adoption and cost-effectiveness. Fouling manifests as decreased permeate flux, increased transmembrane pressure, higher energy consumption, more frequent chemical cleaning, shortened membrane lifespan, and ultimately, elevated operational costs. While current mitigation methods—such as rinsing, aeration, and chemical cleaning (including catalysis-based approaches)—can effectively inhibit fouling, their ability to restore membrane performance is often limited. Furthermore, these methods can potentially cause damage to the membrane structure itself.
This Special Issue provides a focused platform for cutting-edge research on membrane fouling. We aim to deepen the understanding of fouling mechanisms, clarify their impact on membrane performance, and ultimately develop more effective anti-fouling strategies. We invite authors to submit original research articles and reviews addressing key aspects, including: the membrane fouling process, fundamental fouling mechanisms, novel strategies for mitigating membrane fouling, innovative cleaning solutions, etc.
Prof. Dr. Liguo Shen
Guest Editor
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
- membrane fouling
- anti-fouling and cleaning
- water treatment
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