Organic Solvent Nanofiltration 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN), also known as solvent-resistant nanofiltration (SRNF), is a relatively new membrane process, with the first commercial membranes and applications in around 1990. OSN has rapidly grown in importance and applications since then, as it has facilitated the molecular separation of a wide range of molecules in the molar mass range of 100–2000 g mol^-1 in solvents not previously possible. This has opened the window of opportunity of applying membrane separation to a wide range of industries and applications previously not possible for membranes in the pharmaceutical, fine chemical, and petrochemical industries. This currently includes the recovery and recycling of homogenous catalysts from organic solvents; solvent and oil exchange, recovery, and purification; solute (including pharma API) purification and enrichment; impurity removal; membrane-assisted crystallization and evaporation; and more. The future looks bright for OSN, with the types of membranes used for OSN becoming ever more diverse, ranging from polymers to ceramics and mixed matrix/hybrids. This, in turn, is allowing a wider range of solvents and solutes to be separated and is thereby enabling the development of an expanding number of new applications and membrane processes incorporating OSN.

Consequently, this Issue is a timely and much-needed consolidation and collection of the latest developments in this growing and important research area in membranes. This Special Issue of Membranes welcomes works related to the topic of organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The scope of this Special Issue will cover (but is not limited to) materials and synthesis methods for making these membranes (all materials and types are welcome, including polymer, ceramic, mixed matrix/hybrid), characterization and analysis of these membranes, and their applications in various fields. We welcome and encourage the submission of original research articles, reviews, industrial cases, and short communications on recent advances in the wider area of organic solvent nanofiltration membranes.

Dr. Salman Shahid
Dr. Agnieszka Kinga Holda
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 2700 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.

• Organic solvent nanofiltration
• Membrane technology
• Process integration
• Membrane development
• Solvent recovery
• Industrial applications