1
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Gontarek-Castro E, Castro-Muñoz R. Membrane distillation assisting food production processes of thermally sensitive food liquid items: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2024; 64:6073-6086. [PMID: 36606470 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2022.2163223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Physical separation technologies have become important tool for processing in the current food manufacturing industries, especially for the products containing bioactive compounds thanks to their health benefits in costumers. As for the processing of bioactive food ingredients implies the implementation of integrated systems oriented to their separation, fractionation, and recovery. In this field, membrane distillation (MD), which is a thermally driven membrane process, has been proposed as an alternative for the separation and concentration of liquid food items. In principle, MD can separate water and volatile compounds from aqueous feed solutions through a permeate that passes across microporous hydrophobic membranes. The separation via MD is thanks to the vapor pressure difference on both membrane sides. In this review, we analyzed the ongoing experimental efforts aimed to recover and purify food bioactive compounds from the concentration of fruit juices and extracts using MD. Also, the processing of dairy products, concentration of food by-products, and ethanol production and its removal from beverages using MD have been reviewed. Additionally, a feedback on the distinct membrane module configurations and membrane requirements for successful operation is addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Roberto Castro-Muñoz
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sanitary Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico
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2
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Di Luca G, Chen G, Jin W, Gugliuzza A. Aliquots of MIL-140 and Graphene in Smart PNIPAM Mixed Hydrogels: A Nanoenvironment for a More Eco-Friendly Treatment of NaCl and Humic Acid Mixtures by Membrane Distillation. MEMBRANES 2023; 13:437. [PMID: 37103864 PMCID: PMC10142398 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13040437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The problem of water scarcity is already serious and risks becoming dramatic in terms of human health as well as environmental safety. Recovery of freshwater by means of eco-friendly technologies is an urgent matter. Membrane distillation (MD) is an accredited green operation for water purification, but a viable and sustainable solution to the problem needs to be concerned with every step of the process, including managed amounts of materials, membrane fabrication procedures, and cleaning practices. Once it is established that MD technology is sustainable, a good strategy would also be concerned with the choice of managing low amounts of functional materials for membrane manufacturing. These materials are to be rearranged in interfaces so as to generate nanoenvironments wherein local events, conceived to be crucial for the success and sustainability of the separation, can take place without endangering the ecosystem. In this work, discrete and random supramolecular complexes based on smart poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) mixed hydrogels with aliquots of ZrO(O2C-C10H6-CO2) (MIL-140) and graphene have been produced on a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sublayer and have been proven to enhance the performance of PVDF membranes for MD operations. Two-dimensional materials have been adhered to the membrane surface through combined wet solvent (WS) and layer-by-layer (LbL) spray deposition without requiring further subnanometer-scale size adjustment. The creation of a dual responsive nanoenvironment has enabled the cooperative events needed for water purification. According to the MD's rules, a permanent hydrophobic state of the hydrogels together with a great ability of 2D materials to assist water vapor diffusion through the membranes has been targeted. The chance to switch the density of charge at the membrane-aqueous solution interface has further allowed for the choice of greener and more efficient self-cleaning procedures with a full recovery of the permeation properties of the engineered membranes. The experimental evidence of this work confirms the suitability of the proposed approach to obtain distinct effects on a future production of reusable water from hypersaline streams under somewhat soft working conditions and in full respect to environmental sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Di Luca
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, 87036 Rende, Italy;
| | - Guining Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China; (G.C.); (W.J.)
| | - Wanqin Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China; (G.C.); (W.J.)
| | - Annarosa Gugliuzza
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, 87036 Rende, Italy;
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3
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New Materials and Phenomena in Membrane Distillation. CHEMISTRY 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/chemistry5010006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, membrane-based processes have been extensively applied to a wide range of industrial processes, including gas separation, food industry, drug purification, and wastewater treatment. Membrane distillation is a thermally driven separation process, in which only vapour molecules transfer through a microporous hydrophobic membrane. At the operational level, the performance of membrane distillation is negatively affected by wetting and temperature polarization phenomena. In order to overcome these issues, advanced membranes have been developed in recent years. This review, which focuses specifically on membrane distillation presents the basic concepts associated with the mass and heat transfer through hydrophobic membranes, membrane properties, and advances in membrane materials. Photothermal materials for solar-driven membrane distillation applications are also presented and discussed.
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4
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Hydrophobic metal-organic framework@graphene oxide membrane with enhanced water transport for desalination. J Memb Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2022.121324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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5
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Frungieri G, Boccardo G, Buffo A, Karimi–Varzaneh HA, Vanni M. CFD-DEM characterization and population balance modelling of a dispersive mixing process. Chem Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2022.117859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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6
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Gontarek-Castro E, Di Luca G, Lieder M, Gugliuzza A. Graphene-Coated PVDF Membranes: Effects of Multi-Scale Rough Structure on Membrane Distillation Performance. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:511. [PMID: 35629837 PMCID: PMC9147767 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12050511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Graphene-coated membranes for membrane distillation have been fabricated by using a wet-filtration approach. Graphene nanoplatelets have been deposited onto PVDF membrane surfaces. Morphology and physicochemical properties have been explored to evaluate the changes in the surface topography and related effects on the membrane performance in water desalination. The membranes have been tested in membrane distillation plants by using mixtures of sodium chloride and humic acid. The multi-scale rough structure of the surface has been envisaged to amplify the wetting and fouling resistance of the graphene-coated membranes so that a better flux and full salt rejection have been achieved in comparison with pristine PVDF. Total salt rejection and an increase of 77% in flux have been observed for coated membrane with optimized graphene content when worked with NaCl 0.6 M (DCMD, ΔT ≈ 24 °C) over a test period of 6 h. The experimental findings suggest these novel graphene-coated membranes as promising materials to develop functional membranes for high-performing water desalination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Gontarek-Castro
- Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Giuseppe Di Luca
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology, CNR-ITM, Via Pietro Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy;
| | - Marek Lieder
- Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Annarosa Gugliuzza
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology, CNR-ITM, Via Pietro Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy;
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7
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Sun N, Li J, Ren J, Xu Z, Sun H, Du Z, Zhao H, Ettelatie R, Cheng F. Insights into the enhanced flux of graphene oxide composite membrane in direct contact membrane distillation: The different role at evaporation and condensation interfaces. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 212:118091. [PMID: 35093603 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Graphene oxide (GO) coating has recently been reported as a novel approach to increase membrane flux of membrane distillation (MD), yet the phenomena underlying the process are still not fully understood. In this study, a mathematical model based on capillary-film assumption was developed and validated with the results (R2>0.99) from a series of MD experiments. According to the model, when GO layer was placed at the evaporation interface, the temperature difference across the membrane surface increases significantly (44.2%∼92.0%) and the temperature polarization coefficient is increased greatly from 0.29∼0.38 to around 0.55. This leads to a big increase of driving force for higher heat flow and subsequently mass flux (17.8∼45.5%). However, the vapor pressure on membrane surface was decreased due to Kelvin effect of GO capillary pores, which has a negative influence on the driving force, accounting for about 26.9% to 52.6% drop in the achieved flux. In comparison, when GO layer was placed at the condensation interface, the temperature difference across the membrane surface decreases slightly (7.2∼12.2%), but the reduced vapor pressure on GO capillary pores due to Kelvin effect become the dominant factor affecting membrane flux, resulting in an increase mass flux of 12.4∼16.4%. The model developed in this study provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the role of GO coating on flux improvement, and can be used for further development of high flux membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Sun
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, College of Environmental & Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Jianfeng Li
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China.
| | - Jing Ren
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Zhaozan Xu
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Huifang Sun
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Zhiping Du
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Huazhang Zhao
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, College of Environmental & Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Rammile Ettelatie
- Food Colloids Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Fangqin Cheng
- Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China.
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8
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A review on membrane distillation in process engineering: design and exergy equations, materials and wetting problems. Front Chem Sci Eng 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11705-021-2105-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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9
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Frappa M, Castillo AEDR, Macedonio F, Luca GD, Drioli E, Gugliuzza A. Exfoliated Bi 2Te 3-enabled membranes for new concept water desalination: Freshwater production meets new routes. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 203:117503. [PMID: 34388495 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Water scarcity forces the science to find the most environmentally friendly propulsion technology for supplying plentiful freshwater at low energy costs. Membrane Distillation well meets criteria of eco-friendly management of natural resources, but it is not yet competitive on scale. Herein, we use a dichalchogenide compound (Bi2Te3) as a conceivable source to accelerate the redesign of advanced membranes technologies such as thermally driven membrane distillation. A procedure based on assisted dispersant liquid phase exfoliation is used to fill PVDF membranes. Key insights are gained in the crucial role of this topological material confined in hydrophobic membranes dedicated to recovery of freshwater from synthetic seawater. Intensified water flux together with reduced energy consumption is obtained into one pot, thereby gathering ultrafast production and thermal efficiency in a single device. Bi2Te3-enabled membranes show ability to reduce the resistance to mass transfer while high resistance to heat loss is opposite. Permeate flux is kept stable and salt rejection is higher than 99.99% during 23 h-MD test. Our results confirm the effectiveness of chalcogenides as frontier materials for new-concept water desalination through breakthrough thermally-driven membrane distillation, which is regarded as a new low-energy and sustainable solution to address the growing demand for access to freshwater.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Frappa
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, Rende CS 87036, Italy
| | - A E Del Rio Castillo
- Graphene Labs, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Via Morego 3016163, Italy
| | - F Macedonio
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, Rende CS 87036, Italy
| | - G Di Luca
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, Rende CS 87036, Italy
| | - E Drioli
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, Rende CS 87036, Italy; Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, Rende, CS 87036, Italy
| | - A Gugliuzza
- Research Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM), Via Pietro Bucci 17C, Rende CS 87036, Italy.
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10
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Bandehali S, Parvizian F, Ruan H, Moghadassi A, Shen J, Figoli A, Adeleye AS, Hilal N, Matsuura T, Drioli E, Hosseini SM. A planned review on designing of high-performance nanocomposite nanofiltration membranes for pollutants removal from water. J IND ENG CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2021.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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11
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Castro-Muñoz R, González-Melgoza LL, García-Depraect O. Ongoing progress on novel nanocomposite membranes for the separation of heavy metals from contaminated water. CHEMOSPHERE 2021; 270:129421. [PMID: 33401070 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Membranes, as the primary separation element of membrane-based processes, have greatly attracted the attention of researchers in several water treatment applications, including wastewater treatment, water purification, water disinfection, toxic and non-toxic chemical molecules, heavy metals, among others. Today, the removal of heavy metals from water has become challenging, in which chemical engineers are approaching new materials in membrane technologies. Therefore, the current review elucidates the progress of using different concepts of membranes and potential novel materials for such separations, identifying that polymeric membranes can exhibit a removal efficiency from 77 up to 99%; while novel nanocomposite membranes are able to offer complete removal of heavy metals (up to 100%), together with unprecedented permeation rates (from 80 up to 1, 300 L m-2 h-1). Thereby, the review also addresses the highlighted literature survey of using polymeric and nanocomposite membranes for heavy metal removal, highlighting the relevant insights and denoted metal uptake mechanisms. Moreover, it gives up-to-date information related to those novel nanocomposite materials and their contribution to heavy metals separation. Finally, the concluding remarks, future perspectives, and strategies for new researchers in the field are given according to the recent findings of this comprehensive review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Castro-Muñoz
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca, Avenida Eduardo Monroy Cárdenas 2000 San Antonio Buenavista, 50110, Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico; Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Process, Engineering and Chemical Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233, Gdansk, Poland.
| | | | - Octavio García-Depraect
- Institute of Sustainable Processes, University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina, S/n, 47011, Valladolid, Spain
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12
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Characterization of PVDF/Graphene Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Desalination with Enhanced Antifungal Activity. WATER 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/w13091279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Seawater desalination is a worldwide concern for the sustainable production of drinking water. In this regard, membrane distillation (MD) has shown the potential for effective brine treatment. However, the lack of appropriate MD membranes limits its industrial expansion since they experience fouling and wetting issues. Therefore, hydrophobic membranes are promising candidates to successfully deal with such phenomena that are typical for commercially available membranes. Here, several graphene/polyvinylidene (PVDF_G) membranes with different graphene loading (0–10 wt%) were prepared through a phase inversion method. After full characterization of the resulting membranes, the surface revealed that the well-dispersed graphene in the polymer matrix (0.33 and 0.5 wt% graphene loading) led to excellent water repellence together with a rough structure, and a large effective surface area. Importantly, antifungal activity tests of films indicated an increase in the inhibition percentage for PVDF_G membranes against the Curvularia sp. fungal strain. However, the antifungal surface properties were found to be the synergistic result of graphene toxicity and surface topography.
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13
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Frappa M, Macedonio F, Gugliuzza A, Jin W, Drioli E. Performance of PVDF Based Membranes with 2D Materials for Membrane Assisted-Crystallization Process. MEMBRANES 2021; 11:302. [PMID: 33919213 PMCID: PMC8143142 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11050302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Membrane crystallization (MCr) is a promising and innovative process for the recovery of freshwater from seawater and for the production of salt crystals from the brine streams of desalination plants. In the present work, composite polymeric membranes for membrane crystallization were fabricated using graphene and bismuth telluride inks prepared according to the wet-jet milling (WJM) technology. A comparison between PVDF-based membranes containing a few layers of graphene or bismuth telluride and PVDF-pristine membranes was carried out. Among the 2D composite membranes, PVDF with bismuth telluride at higher concentration (7%) exhibited the highest flux (about 3.9 L∙m-2h-1, in MCr experiments performed with 5 M NaCl solution as feed, and at a temperature of 34 ± 0.2 °C at the feed side and 11 ± 0.2 °C at the permeate side). The confinement of graphene and bismuth telluride in PVDF membranes produced more uniform NaCl crystals with respect to the pristine PVDF membrane, especially in the case of few-layer graphene. All the membranes showed rejection equal to or higher than 99.9% (up to 99.99% in the case of the membrane with graphene). The high rejection together with the good trans-membrane flux confirmed the interesting performance of the process, without any wetting phenomena, at least during the performed crystallization tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Frappa
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM), via Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy; (M.F.); (E.D.)
| | - Francesca Macedonio
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM), via Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy; (M.F.); (E.D.)
| | - Annarosa Gugliuzza
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM), via Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy; (M.F.); (E.D.)
| | - Wanqin Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhou Road (S), Nanjing 211816, China;
| | - Enrico Drioli
- Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM), via Bucci 17/C, 87036 Rende, Italy; (M.F.); (E.D.)
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhou Road (S), Nanjing 211816, China;
- Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, via Bucci Cubo 44A, 87036 Rende, Italy
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14
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Boukhvalov DW, Paolucci V, D'Olimpio G, Cantalini C, Politano A. Chemical reactions on surfaces for applications in catalysis, gas sensing, adsorption-assisted desalination and Li-ion batteries: opportunities and challenges for surface science. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:7541-7552. [PMID: 32926041 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03317k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The study of chemical processes on solid surfaces is a powerful tool to discover novel physicochemical concepts with direct implications for processes based on chemical reactions at surfaces, largely exploited by industry. Recent upgrades of experimental tools and computational capabilities, as well as the advent of two-dimensional materials, have opened new opportunities and challenges for surface science. In this Perspective, we highlight recent advances in application fields strictly connected to novel concepts emerging in surface science. Specifically, we show for selected case-study examples that surface oxidation can be unexpectedly beneficial for improving the efficiency in electrocatalysis (the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction) and photocatalysis, as well as in gas sensing. Moreover, we discuss the adsorption-assisted mechanism in membrane distillation for seawater desalination, as well as the use of surface-science tools in the study of Li-ion batteries. In all these applications, surface-science methodologies (both experimental and theoretical) have unveiled new physicochemical processes, whose efficiency can be further tuned by controlling surface phenomena, thus paving the way for a new era for the investigation of surfaces and interfaces of nanomaterials. In addition, we discuss the role of surface scientists in contemporary condensed matter physics, taking as case-study examples specific controversial debates concerning unexpected phenomena emerging in nanosheets of layered materials, solved by adopting a surface-science approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danil W Boukhvalov
- College of Science, Institute of Materials Physics and Chemistry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, P. R. China
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15
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Castro-Muñoz R. Breakthroughs on tailoring pervaporation membranes for water desalination: A review. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 187:116428. [PMID: 33011568 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Due to the increase in worldwide population and urbanization, water scarcity is today one of the tough challenges of society. To date, several ongoing initiatives and strategies are aiming to find feasible alternatives to produce drinking water. Seawater desalination is addressed as a latent alternative to solve such an issue. When dealing with desalination, membrane-based technologies (such as reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, pervaporation, among others) have been successfully proposed. Pervaporation (PV) is likely the membrane operation with the less permeation rate but providing high rejection of salts. Thereby, "membranologists" are extensively working in developing new suitable membranes for pervaporation desalination. Therefore, the goal of this review paper is to elucidate and provide a comprehensive outlook of the most recent works (over the last 5-years) at developing new concepts of membranes (e.g. ultra-thin, mixed matrix/composite and inorganic) for desalination, as well as the relevant strategies in fabricating enhanced PV membranes. At this point, an important emphasis has been paid to the relevant insights in the field. This paper also addresses some principles of PV and the main drawbacks of the technique and its membranes. Through reviewing the literature, the future trends, needs, and recommendations for the new researchers are given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Castro-Muñoz
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca, Avenida Eduardo Monroy Cárdenas 2000 San Antonio Buenavista, 50110Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico.
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16
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Frappa M, Del Rio Castillo AE, Macedonio F, Politano A, Drioli E, Bonaccorso F, Pellegrini V, Gugliuzza A. A few-layer graphene for advanced composite PVDF membranes dedicated to water desalination: a comparative study. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2020; 2:4728-4739. [PMID: 36132930 PMCID: PMC9417500 DOI: 10.1039/d0na00403k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Membrane distillation is envisaged to be a promising best practice to recover freshwater from seawater with the prospect of building low energy-consuming devices powered by natural and renewable energy sources in remote and less accessible areas. Moreover, there is an additional benefit of integrating this green technology with other well-established operations dedicated to desalination. Today, the development of membrane distillation depends on the productivity-efficiency ratio on a large scale. Despite hydrophobic commercial membranes being widely used, no membrane with suitable morphological and chemical feature is readily available in the market. Thus, there is a real need to identify best practices for developing new efficient membranes for more productive and eco-sustainable membrane distillation devices. Here, we propose engineered few-layer graphene membranes, showing enhanced trans-membrane fluxes and total barrier action against NaCl ions. The obtained performances are linked with filling polymeric membranes with few-layer graphene of 490 nm in lateral size, produced by the wet-jet milling technology. The experimental evidence, together with comparative analyses, confirmed that the use of more largely sized few-layer graphene leads to superior productivity related efficiency trade-off for the membrane distillation process. Herein, it was demonstrated that the quality of exfoliation is a crucial factor for addressing the few-layer graphene supporting the separation capability of the host membranes designed for water desalination.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Frappa
- Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM) Via Pietro Bucci 17C Rende (CS) 87036 Italy
| | - A E Del Rio Castillo
- Graphene Labs, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Via Morego 3016163 Genova Italy
| | - F Macedonio
- Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM) Via Pietro Bucci 17C Rende (CS) 87036 Italy
| | - A Politano
- Graphene Labs, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Via Morego 3016163 Genova Italy
- Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L'Aquila Via Vetoio 67100 L'Aquila AQ Italy
| | - E Drioli
- Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM) Via Pietro Bucci 17C Rende (CS) 87036 Italy
- Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria Via P. Bucci 87036 Rende CS Italy
| | - F Bonaccorso
- Graphene Labs, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Via Morego 3016163 Genova Italy
- Bedimensional s.p.a Via Albisola 121 16163 Genova Italy
| | - V Pellegrini
- Graphene Labs, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Via Morego 3016163 Genova Italy
- Bedimensional s.p.a Via Albisola 121 16163 Genova Italy
| | - A Gugliuzza
- Institute on Membrane Technology-National Research Council (CNR-ITM) Via Pietro Bucci 17C Rende (CS) 87036 Italy
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Kamble AR, Patel CM, Murthy ZVP. Polyethersulfone based MMMs with 2D materials and ionic liquid for CO 2, N 2 and CH 4 separation. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2020; 262:110256. [PMID: 32090882 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Increasing concerns on global warming and climate change have led to numerous attempts on developing new membrane materials to reduce excessive CO2 emission into the atmosphere. In the present work, we focused on the separation of CO2 from gas mixtures through two-dimensional (2D) materials based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). The ionic liquid (IL) 1-Ethyl-3methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide together with different weight fractions (0.5-1.5 wt %) 2D materials, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), were homogenously blended to prepare polyether sulfone (PES) MMMs. The main aim was to investigate the effect of the addition of 2D materials on the gas separation/permeation properties of the PES membranes. Pure gas permeation for N2, CO2, and CH4 and binary gas mixtures separation for CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 were investigated through pure PES and modified PES membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and water contact angle tests. The gas permeabilities were found to be improved by average 15-20 times higher compared to pure PES. The [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were improved up to 124% and 18% using PES/h-BN (1 wt %)/IL and PES/MoS2 (1.5 wt %)/IL combination, respectively. In overall, 2D materials and IL together as a filler into PES matrix revealed a significant improvement in the gas separation/permeation properties of PES and can be considered as a competent membrane for CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin R Kamble
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, 395007, Gujarat, India
| | - Chetan M Patel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, 395007, Gujarat, India
| | - Z V P Murthy
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, 395007, Gujarat, India.
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Perrotta ML, Macedonio F, Giorno L, Jin W, Drioli E, Gugliuzza A, Tocci E. Molecular insights on NaCl crystal formation approaching PVDF membranes functionalized with graphene. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:7817-7827. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp00928h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Atomistic simulations of graphene–PVDF membranes speeding up NaCl crystal nucleation and growth in comparison to the pristine PVDF membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Luisa Perrotta
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
| | - Francesca Macedonio
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
| | - Lidietta Giorno
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
| | - Wanqin Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering
- College of Chemical Engineering
- Nanjing Tech University
- Nanjing 211816
- China
| | - Enrico Drioli
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
- Engineering Research Center for Special Separation Membrane
| | - Annarosa Gugliuzza
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
| | - Elena Tocci
- National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology
- ITM-CNR
- 87036 Rende (CS)
- Italy
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19
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Kamble AR, Patel CM, Murthy Z. Different 2D materials based polyetherimide mixed matrix membranes for CO2/N2 separation. J IND ENG CHEM 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2019.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Ray SS, Lee HK, Kwon YN. Review on Blueprint of Designing Anti-Wetting Polymeric Membrane Surfaces for Enhanced Membrane Distillation Performance. Polymers (Basel) 2019; 12:E23. [PMID: 31877628 PMCID: PMC7023606 DOI: 10.3390/polym12010023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, membrane distillation (MD) has emerged as a versatile technology for treating saline water and industrial wastewater. However, the long-term use of MD wets the polymeric membrane and prevents the membrane from working as a semi-permeable barrier. Currently, the concept of antiwetting interfaces has been utilized for reducing the wetting issue of MD. This review paper discusses the fundamentals and roles of surface energy and hierarchical structures on both the hydrophobic characteristics and wetting tolerance of MD membranes. Designing stable antiwetting interfaces with their basic working principle is illustrated with high scientific discussions. The capability of antiwetting surfaces in terms of their self-cleaning properties has also been demonstrated. This comprehensive review paper can be utilized as the fundamental basis for developing antiwetting surfaces to minimize fouling, as well as the wetting issue in the MD process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saikat Sinha Ray
- School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Hyung-Kae Lee
- School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Young-Nam Kwon
- School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
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New Trends in Biopolymer-Based Membranes for Pervaporation. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24193584. [PMID: 31590357 PMCID: PMC6803837 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24193584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Biopolymers are currently the most convenient alternative for replacing chemically synthetized polymers in membrane preparation. To date, several biopolymers have been proposed for such purpose, including the ones derived from animal (e.g., polybutylene succinate, polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalcanoates), vegetable sources (e.g., starch, cellulose-based polymers, alginate, polyisoprene), bacterial fermentation products (e.g., collagen, chitin, chitosan) and specific production processes (e.g., sericin). Particularly, these biopolymer-based membranes have been implemented into pervaporation (PV) technology, which assists in the selective separation of azeotropic water-organic, organic-water, organic-organic mixtures, and specific separations of chemical reactions. Thereby, the aim of the present review is to present the current state-of-the-art regarding the different concepts on preparing membranes for PV. Particular attention is paid to the most relevant insights in the field, highlighting the followed strategies by authors for such successful approaches. Finally, by reviewing the ongoing development works, the concluding remarks and future trends are addressed.
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