Membrane-based Technologies for Water and Energy Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Water and energy are two fundamental building blocks of the society and economy. However, water shortage is a global problem. The World Health Organization predicts that by mid-century, nearly two-thirds of the world’s present population will face severe freshwater shortages. Meanwhile, climate change and the increasing demand for global energy consumption expedite the development and innovation of renewable energy. Membrane technology plays an important role in the advancement of sustainable water and energy demands. For example, substantial efforts have been carried out to integrate renewable energy (solar, wind, tidal, nuclear, and geothermal) with membrane-based desalination. In addition, emerging membrane technologies including pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) are applied to generate clean and sustainable electricity from various waste streams. Despite the promise, the successful industrial application of the above technologies depends largely on developing high-performance membranes, optimizing operating conditions, improving reliable and robust system design, and validating economic-energy competitiveness.

This special issue aims to provide comprehensive coverage on the recent development in membrane technology dealing with water and energy sustainability. The topics include but are not limited to, membrane fabrication, system design, fouling control, process modeling, life cycle analysis. We welcome all interested authors to submit your original articles, reviews, and perspectives on any of the topics above.    

Prof. Xue Jin
Dr. Xin Liu
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 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.