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        <title>Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology | Membrane Modules and Processes section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/membrane-science-and-technology/sections/membrane-modules-and-processes</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Membrane Modules and Processes section in the Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-14T05:39:51.611+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1812910</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1812910</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Electrodeless reverse electrodialysis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Joost Veerman</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This paper reviews existing applications of both electrodeless reverse electrodialysis (RED) generators and electrodialysis (ED) desalinators and introduces several novel conceptual designs. Reported applications include desalination through coupled ED–RED systems, transdermal drug delivery, and power supply for iontronic devices. Newly proposed concepts presented here for the first time include an acid/base generator, a preconcentration unit combining RED with assisted RED (ARED), and an alternating current RED generator. All these existing and proposed systems operate without electrodes and thus without faradaic reactions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1778324</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1778324</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Advances in membrane-based helium recovery from natural gas: materials, process integration, and techno-economic perspectives]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Amirhossein Gorgi</author><author>Mohammad Mahdi Yousefi</author><author>Mostafa Jafari</author><author>Mojgan Abbasi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Helium is a vital resource for applications like medical imaging, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace systems, and low-temperature research. However, economically recoverable helium reserves are limited and increasingly come from natural gas streams with very low helium concentrations. Traditional helium recovery mainly relies on cryogenic separation, which can achieve very high purity but is costly and energy-intensive, especially when the helium content is below about 0.1 mol%. In such cases, membrane-based separation has gained interest as a feasible option for bulk pre-enrichment and integration into hybrid systems with cryogenic or adsorption units, while advanced PSA concepts (including DR-PSA) are also emerging as competitive non-cryogenic routes for selected feed windows. This review offers a connected assessment of membrane-assisted helium recovery from natural gas across four practical levels: separation fundamentals, emphasizing the partial-pressure-limited nature of dilute helium recovery and the need for mixed-gas validation under realistic impurity envelopes; membrane materials, including polymeric, carbon-based, inorganic, and mixed-matrix membranes, with attention to stability, defect control, and scale-up to modules; process integration, where multi-stage membrane cascades and membrane–cryogenic or membrane–PSA hybrids are evaluated as the most effective configurations for lean feeds; and techno-economic performance and technology readiness, highlighting how feed composition, utility availability, and intermediate enrichment targets govern feasibility. Overall, the literature indicates that membranes are most advantageous as pre-enrichment steps that reduce downstream refrigeration or adsorption duty, enabling cost-effective recovery for moderate helium levels and extending viability toward leaner feeds when deployed in optimized hybrid schemes. Key challenges remain long-term stability under CO2/H2S/water/heavy hydrocarbon exposure, robust module-scale manufacturing, and consistent integration of process, economic, and environmental metrics for fair cross-technology comparison.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1766669</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1766669</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Membrane-based extraction of critical materials from spent batteries and other mineral wastes]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Funeka Matebese</author><author>Mabore J. Raseala</author><author>Richard M. Moutloali</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The growing demand for critical materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and advanced electronics has intensified the need for sustainable recovery strategies. Spent lithium-ion batteries, mineral tailings, and industrial by-products represent valuable secondary resources that can support circular economy objectives. However, conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes are energy-intensive, chemically demanding, and often generate significant secondary waste, including sludge and saline effluents. Membrane-based separation technologies have emerged as promising alternatives due to their modular design, lower energy requirements, and potential for selective metal recovery. Pressure-driven processes, including ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO), as well as electro-driven systems such as electrodialysis (ED), enable target separations (e.g., Li/Mg, Co/Ni, Li/Co-Ni-Mn) through size exclusion, charge-based selectivity, and ion-membrane interactions. Nevertheless, membrane performance in realistic leachates characterized by low pH, high ionic strength, oxidants, and complex metal speciation is strongly governed by chemistry-driven failure modes. These include inorganic scaling (e.g., gypsum and silica), metal hydroxide precipitation, colloidal and organic fouling, redox-induced instability, and polymer degradation, which collectively contribute to flux decline, selectivity loss, and reduced membrane lifetime. This review critically evaluates membrane applications for battery and mineral waste valorization, linking dominant failure mechanisms to solution chemistry and long-term stability. Techno-economic considerations are discussed using normalized metrics (kWh/m3, kWh/kg metal, $/kg product), highlighting conditions under which membranes can become cost-competitive with conventional extraction routes.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1765275</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1765275</link>
        <title><![CDATA[System dynamics modeling of membrane technology deployment in Australia]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-09T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Gavin Melles</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionNational Packaging Targets have mandated 70% plastic packaging recovery by 2025, yet recovery rates have stagnated at 24%–27%, despite voluntary commitments and $690 million in investment (2018–2024). Membrane technology offers the potential to process contaminated flexible plastics, but deployment economics remain uncertain.MethodsThis study developed a system dynamics model with eight interconnected feedback loops that govern Australia’s plastic packaging circular economy (2015–2040). The model distinguishes rigid (bottles, containers) from flexible (films, pouches) plastics, incorporates empirical cost structures ($800/tonne mechanical vs. $19,500/tonne membrane), and integrates policy levers (EPR, CDS, and elimination mandates). Historical validation against Australian Plastics Flows and Fates data (2015–2024) achieved <8% error. Five scenarios were simulated to 2040.ResultsModel validation reproduced voluntary approach failures and the REDcycle collapse. Scenario analysis reveals that attempting 70% recovery through universal processing (Scenario 3) costs $1.18 billion annually while achieving only 57% due to exponential cost escalation above 60%. An 80/15/5 strategy (Scenario 4) that eliminates 80% of unnecessary flexible formats achieves 68% recovery at $510 million annually—2.3 times cheaper with 11 percentage points higher recovery. Marginal costs remain under $25 million per percentage point with elimination versus over $50 million without.DiscussionThe flexible–rigid plastic divide is fundamental, not transitional. Rigid plastics exhibit profitable recycling activating growth loops, while flexible plastics face catastrophic losses, triggering constraint loops. Elimination costs $130 per tonne and saves $12.4 billion annually in avoided processing—a 150:1 cost–benefit ratio. EPR frameworks that enable elimination are essential; voluntary approaches have systematically failed.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1753282</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2026.1753282</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Advanced strategies for designing the structure of lithium-selective membranes and its performance: a mini-review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-02-06T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Mini Review</category>
        <author>Vasiliy Troitskiy</author><author>Maria Ponomar</author><author>Valentina Ruleva</author><author>Tatiana Butylskaia</author><author>Andrey Gorobchenko</author><author>Lasaad Dammak</author><author>Semyon Mareev</author><author>Mikhail Sharafan</author><author>Dmitrii Butylskii</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In recent years, the development of lithium-selective membranes (LSMs), among which the most widely used are ion-imprinted membranes (IIMs), lithium-ion sieve membranes (LISMs) and supported liquid membranes (SLMs), has attracted great interest due to the possibility of their use in direct lithium extraction (DLE) processes. This approach can be an alternative to the DLE sorption processes that are currently closest to commercialization. Although the efficiency of new LSMs has been widely discussed in original works and recent reviews, they are difficult to compare due to the different parameters used to estimate it. Fundamental principles of ion transport underlie the path to improved membrane performance. Success in membrane structure design on the way to its optimization are expressed by the «trade-off» effect: high selectivity of lithium extraction leads to low productivity. This mini-review presents the results of the analysis of recent studies in the field of design and testing of different types of lithium selective membranes. The performance and selectivity of the developed materials were evaluated using identical parameters: specific flux and selective ion separation coefficient. This facilitates an understanding of the path to improving LSMs and scaling it up for application in lithium extraction from brines and eluates of spent lithium-ion batteries.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1619459</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1619459</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Economic assessment of real-time biofouling monitoring using SpectroMarine in a 100,000 m3/day SWRO plant in the gulf region]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-01-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Amr Mohamed Mahmoud</author><author>Ahmed S. AlGhamdi</author><author>Sultan Ahmed</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Biofouling is a significant operational challenge in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination, particularly in biologically active environments like the Arabian Gulf. This study assesses the operational and economic impacts of implementing SpectroMarine, an autonomous real-time monitoring system, in a 100,000 m3/day SWRO facility. SpectroMarine leverages in-situ fluorescence and UV-visible absorbance measurements to detect early-stage biological activity in feedwater, enabling predictive maintenance and proactive fouling control. An economic model was constructed using literature-based operational baselines, including membrane lifespan, cleaning frequency, specific energy consumption, chemical dosing, and downtime. Implementation of SpectroMarine is projected to reduce energy consumption by 3%, cleaning-in-place (CIP) frequency by 50%, membrane replacement costs by 20%, and pretreatment chemical usage by 25%. Furthermore, unplanned downtime may be reduced by up to 50%. The model estimates annual savings of approximately 2.89 million SAR, with a payback period of less than 2 months under Gulf-specific operating conditions. The presented results are based on a literature-derived economic model incorporating sensitivity analysis, and no site-specific field validation has been conducted at this stage.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1688243</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1688243</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Charged polymer membrane processing and its impact on membrane separation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Kyoungmin Kim</author><author>Daniel T. Hallinan</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This review focuses on charged polymer membranes motivated by their growing importance in membrane-based separation technologies. Charged polymers have a long history in ion exchange chromatography, and thus charged polymer membranes are commonly termed ion-exchange membranes (IEMs). IEMs can be used in energy-efficient reverse osmosis desalination and are being studied for recovering valuable minerals from aqueous waste streams. Types of IEMs are first introduced, categorized by charge type, charge distribution and porosity. Synthesis of charged polymers is briefly discussed. Considerable attention is given to important membrane properties and methods for characterizing them. These properties include ion-exchange capacity (IEC), water content, structure, ionic conductivity, permeability, selectivity, and thermal and mechanical properties. A key challenge in membrane design is achieving high IEC, which is desired for high IEM selectivity. This is a challenge due to the high water uptake that accompanies high IEC. Relevant aspects of membrane structure include percolated ion channels, porous morphology and inert mechanical reinforcement phases. Membrane structure is essential in addressing the challenge of achieving high IEC and optimizing membrane performance. Structure is predominantly dictated by membrane processing. Thus, membrane processing methods, their benefits and drawbacks and their impact on structure are described in detail. These methods include solution casting, the paste method, extrusion, electrospinning, phase inversion, and an emerging method to form a composite IEM. Finally, specific IEM applications are discussed that hold great promise for circular economies. These applications include lithium extraction from battery waste, mining of desalination brine, and mineral recovery from semiconductor waste. A major driver for the growing interest in these applications is the demonstrated cost-effectiveness of membranes in commercial desalination. With on-going research advances, such success is probable in these extraction and recovery applications.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1681118</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1681118</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Transport in perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes: effects of pretreatment, side-chain length, and alkali metal cation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-10-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sebastian Castro</author><author>Dennis Ssekimpi</author><author>Youneng Tang</author><author>Daniel Hallinan</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This work investigates the effects of pretreatment, side-chain length, cation type, and the interplay between them on transport properties in the commercial PFSA membranes, Nafion 115 and Aquivion E98-09S. Solutions of 1M LiCl, NaCl, and KCl were used to measure permeability, water uptake, salt partitioning, and conductivity in these membranes. We find that membrane pretreatment can make a one or two order of magnitude difference in permeability and in turn shift the selectivity towards higher-mobility salts. Conversely, in the as-received state, the membranes have lower water contents and cation hydrated radius plays a greater role than ion mobility. This results in as-received membranes exhibiting selectivity for lithium over sodium. These findings challenge the paradigm established by the body of fuel cell literature, indicating that although pretreatment increases water uptake and ionic conductivity in PFSA membrane, it may not be beneficial in applications that require selective ion transport, such as for harvesting minerals from desalination brine or as separators in redox flow batteries. In other words, ion transport through membranes can be made significantly different from that in aqueous solution by minimizing water uptake so that membrane morphology plays a dominant role.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1591950</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2025.1591950</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Editorial: Celebrating 1 year of Frontiers in membrane science and technology]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-04-04T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Editorial</category>
        <author>Michael D. Guiver</author><author>Nalan Kabay</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1408595</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1408595</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Evaluation of fouling and chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis membrane after treatment of geothermal water]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-01-08T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Aseel Zaid</author><author>Yakubu Abdullahi Jarma</author><author>Islam Rashad Ahmed Senan</author><author>Aslı Karaoğlu</author><author>Aydın Cihanoğlu</author><author>Alper Baba</author><author>Nalan Kabay</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In this study, high mineral scaling propensity geothermal water was treated using a FilmTech BW30-2540 reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, integrated into a mini-pilot scale membrane test unit installed at a geothermal heating center. The study was conducted in eight cycles by monitoring membrane fouling via membrane flux decline. Firstly, the geothermal water coming from the source at approximately 80°C was taken into holding tanks and allowed to reach approximately room temperature (25°C). Then, the geothermal water that reached this temperature was used in the system. The fouling degree was compared to the initial permeability of the virgin membrane. After each treatment cycle, the membrane’s permeability was evaluated both before and after acid cleaning. Permeability testing was conducted using RO permeate as the feed, under pressures ranging from 8 to 30 bar, with 2-bar increments. The geothermal water treatment was performed at a constant pressure of 15 bar, with a water recovery maintained at approximately 50%. Prior to each permeability test, the membrane underwent a 45-min wash with citric acid, followed by a rinse with RO permeate. During the first five cycles, citric acid was used at a concentration of 1000 mg/L, achieving a flux recovery of 86.6% by the fifth cycle. In the subsequent three cycles, the citric acid concentration was increased to 4000 mg/L, resulting in a flux recovery of 63.4% by the eighth cycle. The study concluded that scale formation on the membrane surface intensified as the number of cycles increased.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1542869</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1542869</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Editorial: Reviews in membrane modules and processes]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-01-07T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Editorial</category>
        <author>Nalan Kabay</author><author>Mohammad M. A. Shirazi</author><author>Enver Güler</author><author>Marek Bryjak</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1414721</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1414721</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Review on reverse electrodialysis process-a pioneering technology for energy generation by salinity gradient]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-08-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Taha Furkan Gül</author><author>Minel Akalın</author><author>Eda Nur Dönmezler</author><author>Ahmet Bolat</author><author>Aydın Cihanoğlu</author><author>Enver Güler</author><author>Nalan Kabay</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Blue energy obtained by salinity gradient can be generated by mixing two saline solutions having different salt concentrations. According to researchers working in this area, about 80% of the current global electricity demand could potentially be covered by this energy source. There are basically two membrane technologies so-called pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) that are capable to generate electrical energy from salinity gradient. The pressure driven PRO process is more suitable for energy generation from highly concentrated brines. However, RED is more favorable for power generation by mixing seawater and river water. In RED process, ion exchange membranes (IEMs) placed between two electrodes in a stack were employed for transport of ions. Thus, an electrical current is obtained at the electrodes by electron transport through redox reactions. This review gives an overview of RED as a pioneering technology for salinity gradient energy (SGE) generation. The review summarizes the recent improvements of IEMs employed for RED studies, membrane fouling and RED stack design.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1426145</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1426145</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A review on microfiltration membranes: fabrication, physical morphology, and fouling characterization techniques]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Sacide Alsoy Altinkaya</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Microfiltration is a commonly used pressure-driven membrane separation process for various applications. Depending on the manufacturing method, either tortuous or capillary pore structures are obtained. The structure plays an important role in controlling flux, selectivity, but most importantly, the fouling tendency of the membrane. This review attempts to cover past and current developments in physical morphology and fouling characterization methods, along with the manufacturing methods for microfiltration membranes. The limitations and advantages of direct microscopic techniques and gas-liquid displacement as an indirect method are discussed for physical characterization. Additionally, the current state of the art and technical challenges for various in-situ and ex-situ fouling characterization techniques are also discussed. Finally, some directions for future research are outlined.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1389239</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1389239</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Tuning of polymeric membranes to mitigate fouling and removal of dissolved compounds for wastewater treatment: a Review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-05-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>S. S. Tarun</author><author>S. K. Dakshesh</author><author>G. Arthanareeswaran</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Wastewater, referred to as sewage, has been a byproduct of human settlement since ancient times. An increase in human activities leads to more wastewater effluents, resulting in higher concentrations of organic compounds, which are harmful to all forms of living organisms and drinking water purposes. Traditional methods cannot satisfy this issue for higher concentrations. The advanced membrane process is an alternative to this conventional method for removing organic compounds and various effluents due to its high permeate quality and less toxicity. Moreover, the modification of polymeric membranes by increasing its content led to a higher flux thereby enhancing the fouling property for effective wastewater treatment. The processes, UF, RO, NF, and FO, ion exchange, MD, and pervaporation, were developed for more robust methods to improve the quality of the environment and lead to higher salt rejection. This review provides an overview of the fabrications, methods and modifications of substrates utilized in different processes with varying modules to achieve a higher flux rate, lowering the fouling. We discuss the materials used for various membrane modules in ceramic membranes under different operating circumstances and the methods to enhance the performance of membrane fouling. This review also aims to track the ongoing research works to broaden different process combinations for further research purposes, showcasing better antifouling performance and maximizing water quality in the future.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1390727</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1390727</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Surface-modified PVDF membranes for separation of dye by forward osmosis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-05-02T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Marta Muratow</author><author>Fatma Yalcinkaya</author><author>Marek Bryjak</author><author>Anna Siekierka</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Modification of membranes is widely used for altering their separation properties. In this study, the modification of PVDF nanofiber mat by deposition of polyamide layers was evaluated to improve dye recovery by means of forward osmosis process. The polyamide active layer was prepared by a reaction of cyclic aromatic amines, m-phenylenediamine, or piperazine, and trimesoylchloride. The modification progress was monitored by FTIR analysis, water uptake, nitrogen content, and grafting yields. Investigated membranes showed an excellent dye separation features with water flux and dye fluxes strongly related to type of applied amines and reaction time. The best obtained membrane demonstrated outstanding performance in forward osmosis; their water flux was 3.3 LMH and rejection rate of 97% for bromocresol green dye. The membrane allowed increase dye concentration by 50% after 24 h of the process.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1406326</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1406326</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Opportunities for membrane technology in controlled environment agriculture]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-04-29T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Mini Review</category>
        <author>Parisa Safari</author><author>Hamed Rahnema</author><author>Glenn Lipscomb</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Controlled environment agriculture has the potential to enhance agriculture sustainability, a United Nations sustainable development goal. Enclosed agricultural facilities can be used in locations that cannot support field agriculture while reducing water usage and increasing productivity relative to open field agriculture. The primary challenges with operation arise from energy consumption to maintain the proper growth conditions. Membrane processes can reduce energy consumption by controlling temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration. Membrane processes also can minimize water consumption by enabling the use of non-conventional water resources and reducing wastewater production. The literature describing these applications is reviewed and opportunities for future innovation are discussed.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1361433</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2024.1361433</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Recent advances of membrane-based hybrid membrane bioreactors for wastewater reclamation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-02-29T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Jeonghwan Kim</author><author>Bing Wu</author><author>Sanghyun Jeong</author><author>Seongpil Jeong</author><author>Minseok Kim</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is an advanced wastewater treatment technology, which has been established for more than 3 decades. In MBRs, membrane separation allows not only rejecting microorganisms/greater-sized molecules but decoupling hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid retention time (SRT). Low-pressure driven, porous membranes have been widely used in MBRs, but their performances are mainly limited for wastewater reuse applications. Recently, many attempts have been made to combine desalination technologies to advance hybrid MBR processes for wastewater reclamation. Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) have been applied with the MBRs to improve effluent quality, and their advantages and challenges have been well reported in terms of rejection efficiency, operational energy, fouling control and recovery of retentate stream. Alternatively, the direct introduction of non-pressurized desalination technologies such as forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) into MBR processes for wastewater reclamation or probably for microbial activity have been considered substantially due to their low energy consumption and excellent rejection efficiency of solid materials. However, several technical limitations still need to be resolved to commercialize hybrid FO- or MD-MBR processes. This paper reviews recent advances of MBR technology integrated with desalination technologies for wastewater reclamation and suggests perspectives to optimize membrane-based hybrid MBR process.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2023.1193355</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2023.1193355</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Microstructural orientation of anion exchange membrane through mechanical stretching for improved ion transport]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-05-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Chenyang Zheng</author><author>Lianqin Wang</author><author>Shijie Zhang</author><author>Xin Liu</author><author>Junfeng Zhang</author><author>Yan Yin</author><author>Kui Jiao</author><author>Qing Du</author><author>Xianguo Li</author><author>Michael D. Guiver</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Synthesis of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with orientated nano/micro-structure and with tunable ion-channels is of great interest for applications in fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and redox flow batteries. However, there is still a dearth of work in the detailed understanding of anion conductivity from a polymer structure‒property perspective. Herein, we demonstrate an easy and versatile strategy to fabricate highly conductive AEMs. By stretching the AEMs, an improvement in OH− conductivities of AEMs is achieved. The effect of elongation at different water contents on polymer structures and OH− conductivities was investigated by a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and experimental study, giving insights into macromolecular orientation at the atomic level. The morphological changes, which consist of oriented polymer chains and elongated water clusters, are quantified by a combination of two dimensional small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and radial distribution functions. Detailed analyses of interatomic distances reveal morphological variations of hydrophilic domains and their interactions with water and OH− under elongation at different hydration levels. Furthermore, the OH− conductivities of our synthesized quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (QPPO) AEMs increased significantly after stretching to 20% elongation at all water contents. Specifically, OH− conductivity of stretched QPPO was 2.24 times more than the original AEM at 60% RH. The higher relative increase in OH− conductivity at lower water content may be caused by the lower flexibility of side chains at lower hydrated level. This work verifies the significance of porous and/or oriented AEM structure in the improvement on anion conductivity and water transport efficiency.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2022.913597</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frmst.2022.913597</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Grand Challenges in Membrane Modules and Processes]]></title>
        <pubdate>2022-05-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Specialty Grand Challenge</category>
        <author>Nalan Kabay</author><author>Mohammad Mahdi A. Shirazi</author><author>Enver Güler</author><author>Marek Bryjak</author>
        <description></description>
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