An Overview of Recent Progress in Nanofiber Membranes for Oily Wastewater Treatment

Progress in cardiac tissue engineering and regeneration: Implications of gelatin-based hybrid scaffolds

Cardiovascular diseases, particularly myocardial infarction (MI), remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current treatments for MI, more palliative than curative, have limitations in reversing the disease completely. Tissue engineering (TE) has emerged as a promising strategy to address this challenge and may lead to improved therapeutic approaches for MI. Gelatin-based scaffolds, including gelatin and its derivative, gelatin methacrylate (GelMA), have attracted significant attention in cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) due to their optimal physical and biochemical properties and capacity to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). CTE mainly recruits two classes of gelatin/GelMA-based scaffolds: hydrogels and nanofibrous. This article reviews state-of-the-art gelatin/GelMA-based hybrid scaffolds currently applied for CTE and regenerative therapy. Hybrid scaffolds, fabricated by combining gelatin/GelMA hydrogel or nanofibrous scaffolds with other materials such as natural/synthetic polymers, nanoparticles, protein-based biomaterials, etc., are explored for enhanced cardiac tissue regeneration functionality. The engraftment of stem/cardiac cells, bioactive molecules, or drugs into these hybrid systems shows great promise in cardiac tissue repair and regeneration. Finally, the role of gelatin/GelMA scaffolds combined with the 3D bioprinting strategy in CTE will also be briefly highlighted.

Asymmetric Nanoporous Alumina Membranes for Nanofluidic Osmotic Energy Conversion

The potential of harnessing osmotic energy from the interaction between seawater and river water has been recognized as a promising, eco-friendly, renewable, and sustainable source of power. The reverse electrodialysis (RED) technology has gained significant interest for its ability to generate electricity by combining concentrated and diluted streams with different levels of salinity. Nanofluidic membranes with tailored ion transport dynamics enable efficient harvesting of renewable osmotic energy. In this regard, anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with abundant nanochannels provide a cost-effective nanofluidic platform to obtain structures with a high density of ordered pores. AAO can be utilized in constructing asymmetric composite membranes with enhanced ion flux and selectivity to improve output power generation. In this review, we first present the fundamental structure and properties of AAO, followed by summarizing the fabrication techniques for asymmetric membranes using AAO and other nanostructured materials. Subsequently, we discuss the materials employed in constructing asymmetric structures incorporating AAO while emphasizing how material selection and design can resist and promote efficient energy conversion. Finally, we provide an outlook on future applications and address the challenges that need to be overcome for successful osmotic energy conversion.

Recent developments in the application of membrane separation technology and its challenges in oil-water separation: A review

In the development and production process of domestic and foreign oil fields, large amounts of oil-bearing wastewater with complex compositions containing toxic and harmful pollutants are generated. These oil-bearing wastewaters will cause serious environmental pollution if they are not effectively treated before discharge. Among these wastewaters, the oily sewage produced in the process of oilfield exploitation has the largest content of oil-water emulsion. In order to solve the problem of oil-water separation of oily sewage, the paper summarizes the research of many scholars in many aspects, such as the use of physical and chemical methods such as air flotation and flocculation, or the use of mechanical methods such as centrifuges and oil booms for sewage treatment. Comprehensive analysis shows that among these oil-water separation methods, membrane separation technology has higher separation efficiency in the separation of general oil-water emulsions than other methods and also exhibits a better separation effect for stable emulsions, which has a broader application prospect for future developments. To present the characteristics of different types of membranes more intuitively, this paper describes the applicable conditions and characteristics of various types of membranes in detail, summarizes the shortcomings of existing membrane separation technologies, and offers prospects for future research directions.

Recent Development of Nanocomposite Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment

The field of membrane technology has experienced significant growth in recent years, especially in the areas of wastewater treatment and desalination [...].

Modification of Liquid Separation Membranes Using Multidimensional Nanomaterials: Revealing the Roles of Dimension Based on Classical Titanium Dioxide

Membrane technology has become increasingly popular and important for separation processes in industries, as well as for desalination and wastewater treatment. Over the last decade, the merger of nanotechnology and membrane technology in the development of nanocomposite membranes has emerged as a rapidly expanding research area. The key motivation driving the development of nanocomposite membranes is the pursuit of high-performance liquid separation membranes that can address the bottlenecks of conventionally used polymeric membranes. Nanostructured materials in the form of zero to three-dimensions exhibit unique dimension-dependent morphology and topology that have triggered considerable attention in various fields. While the surface hydrophilicity, antibacterial, and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 are particularly attractive for liquid separation membranes, the geometry-dependent properties of the nanocomposite membrane can be further fine-tuned by selecting the nanostructures with the right dimension. This review aims to provide an overview and comments on the state-of-the-art modifications of liquid separation membrane using TiO2 as a classical example of multidimensional nanomaterials. The performances of TiO2-incorporated nanocomposite membranes are discussed with attention placed on the special features rendered by their structures and dimensions. The innovations and breakthroughs made in the synthesis and modifications of structure-controlled TiO2 and its composites have enabled fascinating and advantageous properties for the development of high-performance nanocomposite membranes for liquid separation.