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Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations

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A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 17047

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mohammad Javad Parnian

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB 2500, Canada
Interests: membrane engineering; chemical and electrochemical processes; catalysts engineering; separation process

Special Issue Information

Different types of membranes are used in diverse processes such as ionic exchange processes, gas separation process, electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems, water/wastewater treatments, bio-systems, and so on. Based on the process requirements, the polymeric membranes, new carbon-based membranes, mixed matrix membranes, metal-based membranes, ceramic-based membranes, and so on, are used. For all of these applications, introducing high-performance, low-cost, and durable membranes is necessary. Therefore, many research papers have studied the different aspects of membrane preparation and performance evaluations. The introduction of new materials, surface modifications, new composite membranes, and so on, are some examples of the research and developments of membranes. This Special Issue seeks contributions from all research groups that are currently engaged in the membrane-based applications research, development, and commercialization to reflect the current state of the art and the cutting-edge progress of advanced membranes for the different processes.

Any research related to the preparation and evaluation of different advanced membranes for diverse processes may fall within the scope of this Special Issue.

Potential possible topics are preparation, characterizations and performance evaluations of advanced membranes in below topics, but are not limited to, the following:

Electrochemical applications
Energy conversion and storage
Gas separation process
Ion exchange membranes
Chemical separation process
Hydrogen energy and production
Bioenergy and biofuels
Microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis
Hydrocarbon fuel conversion
Environmental applications
Green chemistry
Carbon-based membranes

Dr. Mohammad Javad Parnian
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. Processes 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 2400 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

Polymeric membranes
inorganic membranes
ion exchange membranes
mixed matrix membranes
separation process
electrochemical process
energy conversion and storage

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 21444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Formation of Giant Lipid Vesicles in the Presence of Nonelectrolytes—Glucose, Sucrose, Sorbitol and Ethanol

by Qiong Wang, Ning Hu, Jincan Lei, Qiurong Qing, Jing Huang, Ke Tao, Shixian Zhao, Ke Sun and Jun Yang

Processes 2021, 9(6), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9060945 - 27 May 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1835

Abstract

Lipid vesicles, especially giant lipid vesicles (GLVs), are usually adopted as cell membrane models and their preparation has been widely studied. However, the effects of some nonelectrolytes on GLV formation have not been specifically studied so far. In this paper, the effects of the nonelectrolytes, including sucrose, glucose, sorbitol and ethanol, and their coexistence with sodium chloride, on the lipid hydration and GLV formation were investigated. With the hydration method, it was found that the sucrose, glucose and sorbitol showed almost the same effect. Their presence in the medium enhanced the hydrodynamic force on the lipid membranes, promoting the GLV formation. GLV formation was also promoted by the presence of ethanol with ethanol volume fraction in the range of 0 to 20 percent, but higher ethanol content resulted in failure of GLV formation. However, the participation of sodium chloride in sugar solution and ethanol solution stabilized the lipid membranes, suppressing the GLV formation. In addition, the ethanol and the sodium chloride showed the completely opposite effects on lipid hydration. These results could provide some suggestions for the efficient preparation of GLVs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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15 pages, 1993 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Fractionation of Tilapia By-Product Protein Hydrolysate Using Multilayer Configuration of Ultrafiltration Membrane

by Jumardi Roslan, Siti Mazlina Mustapa Kamal, Khairul Faezah Md. Yunos and Norhafizah Abdullah

Processes 2021, 9(3), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9030446 - 2 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2223

Abstract

Production of small-sized peptides is significant because of their health benefits. Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane provides an effective fractionation of small-sized peptides on a large scale. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate the performance of multilayer UF membrane in fractionating tilapia fish by-product (TB) protein hydrolysate by observing the permeate flux, peptide transmission, and peptide distribution under different stirring speed, pH of feed solution, and salt concentration (NaCl). The fractionation process was carried out using a dead-end UF membrane system that consists of a stack of two membrane sheets with different (10/5 kDa) and similar (5/5 kDa) pore sizes in one device. The highest permeate flux (10/5 kDa–39.5 to 47.3 L/m².h; 5/5 kDa– 15.8 to 20.3 L/m².h) and peptide transmission (10/5 kDa–51.8 to 61.0%; 5/5 kDa–18.3 to 23.3%) for both multilayer membrane configurations were obtained at 3.0 bar, 600 rpm, pH 8, and without the addition of salt. It was also found that the permeates were enriched with small-size peptides (<500 Da) with a concentration of 0.58 g/L (10/5 kDa) and 0.65 g/L (5/5 kDa) as compared to large-sized peptides (500–1500 Da) with concentration of 0.56 g/L (10/5 kDa) and 0.36 g/L (5/5 kDa). This might indicate the enrichment of small-size peptides through the multilayer membrane which could potentially enhance the biological activity of the protein hydrolysate fraction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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14 pages, 3775 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pervaporation of Aqueous Ethanol Solutions through Rigid Composite Polyvinyl-Alcohol/Bacterial Cellulose Membranes

by Tănase Dobre, Claudia Ana Maria Patrichi, Oana Cristina Pârvulescu and Ali A. Abbas Aljanabi

Processes 2021, 9(3), 437; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9030437 - 28 Feb 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1764

Abstract

The paper focuses on synthesis, characterization and testing in ethanol-water separation by pervaporation of new membrane types based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and bacterial cellulose (BC). A technology for obtaining these membranes deposited on a ceramic support is presented in the experimental section. Three PVA-BC composite membranes with different BC content were obtained and characterized by FTIR, SEM and optic microscopy. The effects of operating temperature (40–60 °C), permeate pressure (18.7–37.3 kPa) and feed ethanol concentration (24–72%wt) on total permeate flow rate (0.09–0.23 kg/m²/h) and water/ethanol selectivity (5–23) were studied based on an appropriate experimental plan for each PVA-BC membrane. Statistical models linking the process factors to pervaporation performances were obtained by processing the experimental data. Ethanol concentration of the processed mixture had the highest influence on permeate flow rate, an increase in ethanol concentration leading to a decrease in the permeate flow rate. All 3 process factors and their interactions had positive effects on membrane selectivity. Polynomial regression models were used to assess the effect of BC content in the dried membrane on pervaporation performances. Values of process performances obtained in this study indicate that these membranes could be effective for ethanol-water separation by pervaporation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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17 pages, 4630 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Enhanced Anti-Fouling Behavior and Performance of PES Membrane by UV Treatment

by Francesca Russo, Maria Bulzomì, Emanuele Di Nicolò, Claudia Ursino and Alberto Figoli

Processes 2021, 9(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9020246 - 28 Jan 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2491

Abstract

An easy method to prepare hydrophilic PES membranes with anti-fouling properties was developed by UV-polymerization of poly vinyl pirrolidone (PVP) on membrane surfaces. The modified membrane surfaces were analyzed by ATR-FTIR, and the new hydrophilic nature of the membranes was determined by contact angle measurements. The novel membranes were prepared using Rhodiasolv^® Polarclean as a green solvent and compared with a control PES membrane, without the exposure at the hydrophilization procedure. The influences of the UV lamp distance (15 and 30 cm) and the exposure time (0 cm to 60 cm) were evaluated. All membranes were characterized in terms of surface morphology, porosity, pore size, and pure water permeability (PWP). The treated membranes resulted in an increase in hydrophilicity and in improved performances in terms of PWP and foulant rejection. In particular, an anti-fouling test was performed using a solution of 100 mg/L of humic acid (HA) as a model foulant. The UV-treated membrane efficiency, compared with a commercial PES membrane, showed a recovery of about 97%, confirming that these membranes can be applied in wastewater treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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13 pages, 2156 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Investigation of Itaconic Acid Separation by Operating a Commercialized Electrodialysis Unit with Bipolar Membranes

by Tamás Rózsenberszki, Péter Komáromy, Enikő Kőrösi, Péter Bakonyi, Nándor Nemestóthy and Katalin Bélafi-Bakó

Processes 2020, 8(9), 1031; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091031 - 24 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2336

Abstract

Nowadays, the merging of membrane and fermentation technologies is receiving significant attention such as in the case of itaconic acid (IA) production, which is considered as a value-added chemical. Its biotechnological production is already industrially established; however, the improvements of its fermentative and recovery steps remain topics of significant interest due to sustainable development trends. With an adequate downstream process, the total price of IA production can be reduced. For the task of IA recovery, a contemporary electro-membrane separation processes, electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM), was proposed and employed in this work. In the experiments, the laboratory-scale, commercialized EDBM unit (P EDR-Z/4x) was operated to separate IA from various model solutions compromised of IA (5–33 g/L), glucose (varied in 15–33 g/L as a residual substrate during IA fermentation) and malic acid (varied in 0–1 g/L as a realistic by-product of IA fermentation) under different initial pH (2–5) and applied potential conditions (10–30 V). Unambiguously negative effects related to the glucose and malic acid as impurities were found neither on the IA recovery ratio nor on the current efficiency, falling into the ranges of 90–97% and 74.3–98.5%, respectively. The highest IA recovery ratios of 97% and 98.5% of current efficiency were obtained with the model fermentation solution containing 33 g/L IA, 33 g/L glucose at 20 V and an initial pH of 5. However, the selective separation of IA needs further investigations with a real fermentation broth, and the findings of this research may contribute to further studies in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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Review

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25 pages, 3206 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Self-Humidifying Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications: Advances and Challenges

by Seyed Hesam Mirfarsi, Mohammad Javad Parnian and Soosan Rowshanzamir

Processes 2020, 8(9), 1069; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091069 - 1 Sep 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5723

Abstract

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) provide efficient and carbon-free power by converting the hydrogen chemical energy. The PEFCs can reach their greatest performance in humidified condition, as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) should be humidified for their proton transportation function. Thus, external humidifiers are commonly employed to increase the water content of reactants. However, being burdened with external humidifiers can make the control of PEFCs complicated and costly, in particular for transportation application. To overcome this issue, self-humidifying PEMs have been introduced, with which PEFC can be fed by dry reactants. In fact, internal humidification is accomplished by produced water from the recombination of permeated hydrogen and oxygen gases on the incorporated platinum catalysts within the PEM. While the water production agent remains constant, there is a broad range of additives that are utilized to retain the generated water and facilitate the proton conduction path in the PEM. This review paper has classified the aforementioned additives in three categories: inorganic materials, proton-conductive materials, and carbon-based additives. Moreover, synthesis methods, preparation procedures, and characterization tests are overviewed. Eventually, self-humidifying PEMs endowed with platinum and different additives are compared from performance and stability perspectives, such as water uptake, proton conductivity, fuel cell performance, gas cross-over, and the overall durability. In addition, their challenges and possible solutions are reviewed. Considering the concerns regarding the long-term durability of such PEMs, it seems that further investigations can be beneficial to confirm their reliability for prolonged PEFC operation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Membranes in Processes: Preparation, Characterizations, and Performance Evaluations)

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