Membrane Fouling and Antifouling Strategies for Water and Wastewater Treatment

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 21

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Ningbo Key Laboratory of Green Petrochemical Carbon Emission Reduction Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang Institute of Tianjin University, Ningbo 315201, China
Interests: water treatment; membrane fouling; anti-oil-fouling membrane; hollow fiber membrane; ultrafiltration; nanofiltration; covalent organic framework membrane; advanced oxidation process; catalytic oxidation; catalytic membrane

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, membrane technology has been extensively utilized in municipal and industrial water supply as well as wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling continues to pose a significant challenge that limits operational efficiency, economic viability, and long-term stability. Membrane fouling can result in a reduction of membrane flux, an increase in transmembrane pressure differentials, elevated energy consumption during operation, and a decreased lifespan of the membranes. Consequently, these factors substantially escalate operational costs and environmental impacts. Currently, although various anti-fouling strategies have been implemented to mitigate membrane fouling and partially restore membrane performance, these approaches often exhibit limited effectiveness.

In this special issue, we cordially invite authors to submit original research and review papers on the topic of membrane fouling and antifouling strategies in water and wastewater treatment. The submission content may concern, but is not limited to, the following areas:

(1) theoretical and experimental investigations into the mechanisms underlying membrane fouling;

(2) strategies for controlling membrane fouling, including pretreatment technologies and antifouling membranes;

(3) characterization and detection techniques for membrane fouling;

(4) evaluation of membrane systems' performance and sustainability, such as predictions of membrane lifespan, assessments of operational efficiency, and economic analysis.

Dr. Hui Wang
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

  • membranes for water treatment
  • membrane fouling
  • fouling mechanism
  • anti-fouling strategies
  • fouling characterization

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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