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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is often composed of a variety of natural medicines. Its composition is complex, and many of its components can not be analyzed and identified. The first step in the rational application of TCM is to successfully separate the effective components which is also a great inspiration for the development of new drugs. Among the many separation technologies of TCM, the traditional heating concentration separation technology has high energy consumption and low efficiency. As a new separation technology, membrane separation technology has the characteristics of simple operation, high efficiency, environment-friendly and so on. The separation effect of high molecular weight difference solution is better. The applications of several main membrane separation technologies such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis are reviewed, the methods of restoring membrane flux after membrane fouling are discussed, and their large-scale industrial applications in the future are prospected and summarized.

An integrated membrane separation process combining the tubular ceramic microfiltration (MF) membrane and the flat-sheet ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was developed to purify polysaccharides from Enteromorpha prolifera . The effects of membrane pore size, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), transmembrane pressure (TMP) and adding-water multiples on membrane performance were in-depth studied. The results indicated that the optimal membrane pore size and TMP of the tubular ceramic MF process were found to be 1.2 μm and 0.225 MPa, and the optimal MWCO and TMP of the flat-sheet UF process were found to be 100 kDa and 0.3 MPa. The yields of polysaccharides were increased and optimized while the adding-water multiples was 1 during the diafiltration procedure. Furthermore, the water fluxes could be completely recovered using the specialized membrane cleaning methods, which ensured the reuse of membrane elements and satisfied the demands of industrial production. After purification by this integrated membrane separation process, the content of polysaccharides reached to 96.3%. The purified polysaccharides exhibited the superior moisture absorption and moisture retention properties compared to glycerol, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and luffa water.

Tools that allow cost-effective screening of the susceptibility of cell lines to operating conditions which may apply during full scale processing are central to the rapid development of robust processes for cell-based therapies. In this paper, an ultra scale-down (USD) device has been developed for the characterization of the response of a human cell line to membrane-based processing, using just a small quantity of cells that is often all that is available at the early discovery stage. The cell line used to develop the measurements was a clinically relevant human fibroblast cell line. The impact was evaluated by cell damage on completion of membrane processing as assessed by trypan blue exclusion and release of intracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Similar insight was gained from both methods and this allowed the extension of the use of the LDH measurements to examine cell damage as it occurs during processing by a combination of LDH appearance in the permeate and mass balancing of the overall operation. Transmission of LDH was investigated with time of operation and for the two disc speeds investigated (6,000 and 10,000 rpm or ϵ max  ≈ 1.9 and 13.5 W mL -1 , respectively). As expected, increased energy dissipation rate led to increased transmission as well as significant increases in rate and extent of cell damage. The method developed can be used to test the impact of varying operating conditions and cell lines on cell damage and morphological changes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1241-1251. © 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Hypothesis: Most previous studies of membrane-based separations have shown no effect of DNA size on plasmid transmission through small pore size ultrafiltration membranes, consistent with the predicted behavior for flexible polymer chains. However, supercoiled plasmids are known to have a highly "branched" structure with the number of branches dependent on the DNA length. This difference in branching could lead to a significant dependence of the transmission on the plasmid size, providing opportunities for size-based separations using ultrafiltration., Experiments: Data were obtained with 3.0, 9.8, and 16.8 kbp plasmids using both cellulosic and polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes with different nominal molecular weight cutoffs. Initial experiments were performed with purified samples of the supercoiled and linear isoforms, with the results used to identify appropriate conditions for plasmid separation., Findings: Plasmid transmission increased with increasing filtrate flux due to elongation of the plasmids in the converging flow field. However, the flux dependence was different for each plasmid due to differences in the extent of branching of the twisted supercoiled DNA. This behavior provided a significant selectivity that could be used to separate the 3.0 and 16.8 kbp supercoiled plasmids using small pore size ultrafiltration membranes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

ABSTRACT The demand for lentiviral vectors (LVs) as tools for ex vivo gene therapies is ever‐increasing. Despite their promising applications, challenges in LV production remain largely due to the fragile envelope, which challenges the maintenance of vector stability. Thus, downstream processing optimization to enhance efficiency, yield, and product quality is necessary. This study investigated the influence of membrane types and filtration devices during ultrafiltration (UF). Nine different membrane materials consisting of polyethersulfone (PES), regenerated cellulose, or Hydrosart, with distinct molecular weight cutoffs, were evaluated in stirred cells, centrifugal ultrafilters, and crossflow cassettes. The evaluation was based on the ability to retain infectious LV particles and remove impurities. The analysis revealed that a reinforced 100 kDa PES and a 300 kDa Hydrosart membrane had the best overall ability to concentrate infectious LVs and remove DNA, especially when operated in a stirred cell. Challenges were seen in the nonoptimized crossflow cassette process, where infectious LV recovery was generally lower compared to other devices. We demonstrated that membrane material and filtration device have a direct impact on the efficiency of LV UF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread use of plastic products, microplastic (MP) pollution has become an important factor threatening the water environment and human health. Ultrafiltration (UF) technology, based on organic polymer membranes, is a common method to remove MPs in water treatment processes, offering high removal efficiency and scalability. However, in water treatment plants (WTPs), oxidation pretreatment is often applied before UF, and the presence of oxidants can affect membrane performance. In this study, we constructed a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane for a gravity filtration system to investigate the impact of sodium hypochlorite oxidation pretreatment on the removal of polystyrene (PS) MPs under gravity filtration. As a result, pre-chlorination reduced PS microplastic deposition on membranes by improving flux stability (15.1%) but significantly decreased the removal rate (from 36.6% to 22.6%). Pre-oxidation facilitated a shift in fouling behavior toward intermediate blocking while reducing standard blocking and enhancing irreversible fouling recovery. However, continuous chlorine exposure increased membrane porosity and pore size, substituted fluorine with chlorine, and led to organic carbon leaching, indicating pre-oxidation jeopardizes membrane stability and separation performance. These findings provide insights into the development of novel strategies aimed at enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of membrane treatment processes in WTPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the integration of a 3D printed turbulence promoter into a stirred membrane separation cell during dairy wastewater ultrafiltration was investigated. Its effects, along with the effects of stirring, on the permeate flux and membrane fouling were examined. The experiments were carried out at different transmembrane pressures (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 MPa) and stirring speeds (RPM: 100–400 min−1), both with and without the application of the turbulence promoter. Various parameters were employed to characterize the membrane performance, such as the permeate flux, the flux decline ratio, and the fouling coefficient. To further investigate the membrane fouling mechanisms, mathematical models were used: the resistance-in-series model, the Makardij model, and the Hermia model. With the resistance-in-series model, we examined whether the membrane fouling was reversible (the deposit could be easily removed by washing operations) or irreversible (irreversible fouling) for each measurement, and with the Makardij model, we investigated whether the rate constant of the fouling or the rate constant of the deposit removal was the most important. In the case of the Hermia model, changes in the cake filtration rate constant were monitored. The results indicate that the combination of the 3D printed turbulence promoter and the stirring speed could effectively reduce membrane fouling during dairy wastewater ultrafiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to synthesize graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles and subsequently modify them with trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl). The modified GO was employed in the fabrication of a polysulfone-graphene oxide (PSf-GO) ultrafiltration mixed-matrix membrane for oil and water separation. PSf-GO ultrafiltration mixed-matrix membranes were fabricated using different amounts of modified GO. The structure, properties, and characteristics of the synthesized GO and fabricated membranes were studied using various techniques, including contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The performance of the membranes in the separation of oil and water and their antifouling affinities were evaluated and compared. Contact angle measurements indicated that the addition of GO nanoparticles increased the hydrophilicity of the membranes. The UF-0.50 (0.50%Wt GO@TMSCl) membrane demonstrated a water flux of 113.35 L/m2 h and oil rejection of 97.44% during the ultrafiltration process, representing the highest performance among the fabricated membranes. Membrane fouling analysis revealed that this membrane performed better than the others, which could be attributed to the proper and uniform nanoparticle loading. The most favorable UF membrane antifouling performance was observed for the UF-0.5 membrane with a flux recovery percentage of 96.30%. Because of the efficient and appropriate performance of the UF-0.5 membrane, it was revealed that this membrane can be used as an effective UF membrane for the oil-water separation process, as well as in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, different molecular weight cut-off ultrafiltration membranes (100 and 50 kDa) were used to concentrate and separate whey protein and blueberry juice fermented system by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to demonstrate that the mixed fermentation had a protective effect on LAB and antioxidant activity during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The antioxidant activity after gastrointestinal digestion, the survival rate of LAB after membrane filtration, and their ability to reflect ultraviolet light of the membrane concentrated fermented components were investigated. It was found that the ABTS cationic free radical scavenging ability of L. plantarum 67 and L. paracasei W125 fermented group increased by 7.85%, especially after digestion, which increased by 3.17% compared with the unfermented blueberry and whey protein mixed group. The survival rates of L. plantarum 67 and L. paracasei W125 in the blueberry-whey protein mixture were greater than 82.45% after digestion. The ultrafiltration membrane concentration process had little effect on the viability of LAB during 0–50 min. The mixture of L. bulgaricus 134 and S. thermophiles Grx02 fermented blueberry-whey protein showed strong UV reflection at 300 nm, reaching 27.39%. The mixture of L. plantarum 67 and L. paracasei W125 fermented blueberry-whey protein showed strong UV reflection at 335 nm, reaching 34.29%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enriching steviol glycosides derived from the stevia plant is an important step in producing stevia natural sweeteners. This study investigated the enrichment of Rebaudioside A and Stevioside compounds of aqueous and ethanol stevia extracts using cascade membrane filtration techniques. Accordingly, extracts from stevia leaves were processed using membrane filtration techniques such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration. In particular, the 30 kDa ultrafiltration membrane was highly effective in enriching steviol glycosides. The highest concentrations of Rebaudioside A (21.47 g L-1) and Stevioside (19.97 g L-1) compounds were reached at the 30 kDa ultrafiltration retentate fraction in both aqueous and ethanolic extracts. However, it was found that the permeate fluxes and the extracts obtained after the nanofiltration process had very low concentrations of these compounds. The findings highlight the importance of membrane selection in effectively enriching steviol glycosides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of lithium (Li) from complex brines presents significant challenges due to the interference of competing ions, particularly magnesium (Mg2⁺), which complicates the selective separation process. Herein, a strategy is introduced employing charge‐lock enhanced 2D heterogeneous channels for the rapid and selective uptake of Li⁺. This approach integrates porous ZnFe2O4/ZnO nanosheets into Ag+‐modulated sub‐nanometer interlayer channels, forming channels optimized for Li⁺ extraction. The novelty lies in the charge‐lock mechanism, which selectively captures Mg2⁺ ions, thereby facilitating the effective separation of Li from Mg. This mechanism is driven by a charge transfer during the formation of ZnFe2O4/ZnO, rendering O atoms in Fe‐O bonds more negatively charged. These negative charges strongly interact with the high charge density of Mg2⁺ ions, enabling the charge‐locking mechanism and the targeted capture of Mg2⁺. Optimization with Ag⁺ further improves interlayer spacing, increasing ion transport rates and addressing the swelling issue typical of 2D membranes. The resultant membrane showcases high water flux (44.37 L m⁻2 h⁻¹ bar⁻¹) and an impressive 99.8% rejection of Mg2⁺ in real brine conditions, achieving a Li⁺/Mg2⁺ selectivity of 59.3, surpassing existing brine separation membranes. Additionally, this membrane demonstrates superior cyclic stability, highlighting its high potential for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superiorities provided by polymeric composite membranes in comparison to the original membrane have generated increased attention, particularly in the field of protein separation applications. This work involved the fabrication of polysulfone composite membranes using variable loadings of activated carbon particle sizes, namely, 37 µm, 74 µm, 149 µm, and 297 µm. The membranes were fabricated via the phase-inversion method, employing water as the coagulant. In this study, the impact of the AC powder particle sizes on membrane morphology, water contact angle, porosity, average pore size, molecular weight cutoff, pure water flux, and protein rejection was examined. Different membrane morphologies and properties were achieved by incorporating a variety of AC particle sizes. A porous membrane with the maximum pure water flux was generated by the loading of finer AC particles. Concurrently, protein rejection is increasing as a result of the use of AC particles as an infill in the composite membrane. In comparison to all fabricated membranes, the AC filler with a particle size of 149 µm exhibited the highest rejection of the lysozyme protein, reaching up to 73.9%, with a relatively high water permeability of 33 LMH/Bar. In conclusion, this investigation provides recommendations for the selection of AC particle sizes for protein separation in conjunction with PSF ultrafiltration membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Electrodialysis with Filtration Membrane (EDFM) system has shown promise in juice enrichment, but further optimization is needed. This study evaluated the effect of processing duration (3 and 6 h) on juice composition, process efficiency, and membrane fouling. Results demonstrated a significant impact of processing time on juice composition, especially anthocyanin and mineral content. Two anthocyanin-depleted juices (−18.94% and −30.70%) and two anthocyanin-enriched juices (26.21% and 44.21%) were produced. Similar energy (1512.13 Wh/g of anthocyanins) was required to migrate equivalent amounts of anthocyanins over both time periods, with no impediment due to fouling observed, although the system's resistance increased (2.5-fold after 3 h, 3.2-fold after 6 h). Membrane fouling was characterized through conductivity, thickness, ATR-FTIR, SEM-EDX, and foulant identification. Minimal anthocyanin accumulation occurred on cation-exchange membranes (CEM), while anthocyanins and PACs concentrated within the filtering layer of filtration membranes (FM). However, fouling did not increase with longer processing. Structural alterations were noted in anion-exchange membranes (AEMs), suggesting instability under high electric fields. Overall, EDFM effectively enriched cranberry juice with anthocyanins, but further research is necessary to address AEM degradation under limiting current density conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The separation of used engine oil (UEO) with an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane made of commercial copolymer of poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate) (P(AN-co-MA)) has been investigated. The P(AN-co-MA) sample was characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, 13C NMR spectroscopy, and XRD. The UF membrane with a mean pore size of 23 nm was fabricated by using of non-solvent-induced phase separation method—the casting solution of 13 wt.% P(AN-co-MA) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was precipitated in the water bath. Before the experiment, the used engine oil was diluted with toluene, and the resulting UEO solution in toluene (100 g/L) was filtered through the UF membrane in the dead-end filtration mode. Special attention was given to the evaluation of membrane fouling; for instance, the permeability of UEO solution was dropped from its initial value of 2.90 L/(m2·h·bar) and then leveled off at 0.75 L/(m2·h·bar). However, the membrane cleaning (washing with toluene) allowed a recovery of 79% of the initial pure toluene flux (flux recovery ratio), indicating quite attractive membrane resistance toward irreversible fouling with engine oil components. The analysis of the feed, retentate, and permeate by various analytical methods showed that the filtration through the UF membrane made of P(AN-co-MA) provided the removal of major contaminants of used engine oil including polymerization products and metals (rejection—96.3%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Slaughterhouse wastewater recycling using a combined process consisting of flotation, membrane bioreactor, and reverse osmosis. The implementation of research results in industrial applications is a crucial step in the development of innovative technologies. In this work, slaughterhouse wastewater recycling was successfully realized. The system, comprising a process combination of flotation, membrane bioreactor, and reverse osmosis, was able to treat the wastewater from a medium-sized poultry slaughterhouse in northwestern Tunisia. The process managed to treat approximately one-third of the wastewater to the required standard for agricultural irrigation. An additional 35% was purified to drinking-water quality. The remaining water was discharged as concentrate, meeting the necessary limits for indirect discharge. As a result, the slaughterhouse's fresh water consumption was reduced by 35% and the amount of wastewater by around 70%. With the combined system, average reductions of 99%, 98%, and 96% were achieved for the parameters COD, TN, and electrical conductivity, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising wastewater treatment technology, ultrafiltration membranes face challenges related to fouling and flux reduction. To enhance these membranes, various strategies have been explored. Among them, the incorporation of nano-activated carbon (nAC) powder has emerged as an effective method. In this study, composite polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration membranes were fabricated using nAC powder at concentrations ranging from 0 to 8 wt.%. These membranes underwent comprehensive investigation, including assessments of membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, pure water flux, equilibrium water content, porosity, average pore size, and protein separation. The addition of activated carbon improved several desirable properties. Specifically, the hydrophilicity of the PSF membranes was enhanced, with the contact angle reduced from 69° to 58° for 8 wt.% of nAC composite membranes compared to the pristine PSF membrane. Furthermore, the water flux test revealed that 6 wt.% activated carbon-based membranes exhibited the highest flux, with a nearly 3 times improvement at 2 bar. Importantly, this enhancement did not compromise the protein rejection. Additionally, the introduction of nAC had a significant effect on the membrane's pore size by improving lysozyme rejection up to 40%. Overall, these findings will guide the selection of the optimal concentration of nAC for PSF ultrafiltration membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulgarian rose oil is world famous for its high quality. Obtaining it makes the cultivation and processing of oil-bearing rose crops an important agricultural branch. There are more than 200 species of roses in the world, and in Bulgaria the species with the greatest agricultural importance are Rosa damascena Mill. f. trigintipetala Dieck. and Rosa alba L. Their qualitative composition is relatively constant and includes, in addition to essential oil, a variety of polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. Products from the processing of the rose flower are: rose oil, rose absolute, rose concrete, rose water and others from secondary processing. Hydrodistillation is the technological method for obtaining rose oil, but it generated huge amount of biocontaminated wastewater. The retention of the organic components will satisfy the ecological criteria for the purity of wastewater and will create an opportunity for full-fledged use of their bioactive properties. The developed conventional methods are not sufficiently precise, cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Membrane technology and ultrafiltration processes have proven their technological and economic efficiency for purification, separation, concentration and decontamination of various liquid products. The aim of the study is to investigate the possibility of applying composite polyacrylonitrile membranes for the purification of wastewater from the hydrodistillation of oil rose flower and separated into the waste components. The membranes used were found to remove more than 60% of total organics and separate more than 70% of polyphenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have been widely applied in the advanced treatment of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) wastewater. However, membrane fouling persists in practical treatment processes. Herein, a hybrid coagulation-ultrafiltration (UF)-RO (CUR) system was used to control the fouling of the RO membrane, and a novel composite coagulant was developed to enhance the coagulation efficacy for CMP wastewater. Compared to traditional processes, the improved Coagulation-UF process exhibited a remarkable capacity, removing 98.62% of total silica and achieving complete turbidity removal in CMP wastewater. Furthermore, the aluminum residual was reduced by 76.47%, and the normalized flux of the RO membrane increased from 0.87 to 0.95. Moreover, the new coagulant achieved remarkable coagulation effectiveness, with silica and turbidity removal rates reaching 97.29% and 99.87%, respectively, while reducing residual aluminum to 15.50%. Notably, dissolved silica in CMP wastewater emerged as the primary contaminant on the surface of the RO membrane. The net sweep was the primary coagulation mechanism of the new coagulant, proving good performance in reducing the burden on both UF and RO membranes. These results exhibit significant implications for designing efficient pretreatment schemes for CMP wastewater and optimizing the longevity of RO membranes in semiconductor plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences is the property of Editorial Board of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Separation membranes with homogeneous charge channels are the mainstream to reject charged mass by forming electrical double layer (EDL). However, the EDL often compresses effective solvent transport space and weakens channel‐ion interaction. Here, built‐in electric fields (BIEFs) are constructed in lamellar membranes by assembling the heterostructured nanosheets, which contain alternate positively‐charged nanodomains and negatively‐charged nanodomains. We demonstrate that the BIEFs are perpendicular to horizontal channel and the direction switches alternately, significantly weakening the EDL effect and forces ions to repeatedly collide with channel walls. Thus, highly efficient rejection for charged mass (salts, dyes, and organic acids/bases) and ultrafast water transport are achieved. Moreover, for desalination on four‐stage filtration option, salt rejection reaches 99.9 % and water permeance reaches 19.2 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. Such mass transport behavior is quite different from that in homogeneous charge channels. Furthermore, the ion transport behavior in nanochannels is elucidated by validating horizontal projectile motion model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐efficiency and sustainable membrane purification technology is highly desirable but unattainable in the field of water treatment. 2D materials are emerging as very promising candidates for water treatment applications. However, membranes assembled by pure 2D materials lack reasonable structural and functional design, usually exhibiting relatively low water permeance, purification performance, and fouling resistance. Here, a mixed‐dimensional membrane is designed to solve the above‐mentioned problems by assembling two kinds of in situ grown 0D@2D functional building blocks of SiO2@GO and TiO2@MXene. Specifically, the obtained membrane exhibits high and maintainable water permeance of 2114 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 as well as high rejection rates toward organic dyes thanks to the plentiful firm water channels constructed by 0D@2D structures and the negative charges on both SiO2@GO and TiO2@MXene, respectively. Moreover, the 0D@2D TiO2@MXene serves as photocatalyst, rendering the composite membrane intriguing self‐cleaning function under UV irradiation, which is verified by the high recovery ratios of water permeance (97.5%) and dye interception rate (98.7%). Thus, this work offers a promising approach for the design of highly efficient and sustainable membrane for separation and purification purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research used polyethersulfone (PES) as a membrane material, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) k30 and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) as water-soluble additives, and dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as a solvent to prepare hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membranes through a nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) process. The hydrophilic nature of PVP-k30 and PEG caused them to accumulate on the membrane surface during phase separation. The morphology, chemical composition, surface charge, and pore size of the PES membranes were evaluated by SEM, FTIR, zeta potential, and dextran filtration experiments. The paper also investigated how different spinning solution compositions affected membrane morphology and performance. The separation efficiency of membranes with four different morphologies was tested in single-protein and double-protein mixed solutions. The protein separation effectiveness of the membrane was studied through molecular weight cutoff, zeta potential, and static protein adsorption tests. In addition, the operating pressure and pH value were adjusted to improve ultrafiltration process conditions. The PES membrane with an intact sponge-like structure showed the highest separation factor of 11, making it a prime candidate membrane for the separation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LYS). The membrane had a minimal static protein adsorption capacity of 48 mg/cm2 and had excellent anti-fouling properties. When pH = 4, the BSA retention rate was 93% and the LYS retention rate was 23%. Furthermore, it exhibited excellent stability over a pH range of 1–13, confirming its suitability for protein separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Industrial Water Treatment is the property of CNOOC Tianjin Chemical Research & Design Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: A potential alternative to lactic acid production through sugar fermentation is its recovery from grass silage leachate. The separation and purification of lactic acid from fermentation broths remain a key issue, as it amounts to up to 80% of its industrial production cost. In this study, a genetically engineered E. coli strain (A1:ldhA), that cannot catabolize lactic acid, has been used to selectively remove impurities from a synthetic medium comprising typical components (i.e., glucose and acetic acid) of green grass silage leachate. A systematic approach has been followed to provide a proof-of-concept for a bio-purification process of lactic acid solutions in a membrane bioreactor operating in semi-continuous mode. Results: The synthetic medium composition was initially optimized in shake-flasks experiments, followed by scale-up in bench-scale bioreactor. Complete (i.e., 100%) and 60.4% removal for glucose and acetic acid, respectively, has been achieved in batch bioreactor experiments with a synthetic medium comprising 0.5 g/L glucose and 0.5 g/L acetic acid as carbon sources, and 10 g/L lactic acid; no lactic acid catabolism was observed in all batch fermentation tests. Afterwards, a hybrid biotechnological process combining semi-continuous bioreactor fermentation and ultrafiltration membrane separation (membrane bioreactor) was applied to in-situ separate purified medium from the active cells. The process was assessed under different semi-continuous operating conditions, resulting in a bacteria-free effluent and 100% glucose and acetic acid depletion, with no lactic acid catabolism, thus increasing the purity of the synthetic lactic acid solution. Conclusions: The study clearly demonstrated that a bio-purification process for lactic acid employing the engineered E. coli strain cultivated in a membrane bioreactor is a technically feasible concept, paving the way for further technological advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global water scarcity is a threat that can be alleviated through membrane filtration technologies. However, the widespread adoption of membranes faces significant challenges, primarily due to membrane biofouling. This is the reason why membrane modifications have been under increasing investigation to address the fouling issues. Antibacterial membranes, designed to combat biofouling by eliminating microorganisms, offer a promising solution. Within this study, flat sheet ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with integrated photocatalytic zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were developed, characterized, and assessed through filtration and fouling tests. The antibacterial properties of the membranes were conducted in static tests using Gram-negative bacteria—Escherichia coli—and natural tap water biofilm. The results demonstrated a notable enhancement in membrane surface wettability and fouling resistance. Furthermore, the incorporation of ZnO resulted in substantial photocatalytic antibacterial activity, inactivating over 99.9% of cultivable E. coli. The antibacterial activity persisted even in the absence of light. At the same time, the persistence of natural tap water organisms in biofilms of modified membranes necessitates further in-depth research on complex biofilm interactions with such membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane technology has been extensively applied for protein separation. A membrane with reliable filtration performance and high removal efficiency is required. In this study, an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was fabricated by dry‐wet phase inversion to incorporate copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) with a different ratio of L‐cysteine (Cys) in polysulfone (PSf). The characterization of the membrane involves using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle, water content, pore size, and porosity analysis. The membrane performance evaluation includes flux permeation and bovine serum albumin (BSA) removal as a protein foulant. The membrane antifouling feature was examined by dynamic filtration of BSA. It was found that the Cys to CuO NPs ratio of 1.7:1 gives an optimal value on flux permeation and protein removal. The membrane exhibited high removal of BSA with 96.3%, and optimum water flux was achieved at 173.3 L/m2h, respectively. The highest permeability of aqueous BSA permeate at 500 ppm was about 111 L/m2h and 82.5 L/m2h for 1000 ppm. The enhancement of PSf‐Cys‐CuO membrane performance could be due to its lower contact angle (68.7°), high porosity (68%), and ideal pore size (46 nm) as well as showing good morphological structure. Most significantly, the inclusion of Cys improves antifouling capabilities. The membrane showed a lower chance of fouling based on the evaluation of the relative flux reduction and flux recovery ratio. Hence, the availability of Cys has a better impact on the polymer‐based membrane and seems promising for protein separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional polymeric membranes usually suffer from serious oil fouling and quick decline of water flux when separating oil-in-water emulsions. In this work, we report the fabrication of the sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) blended polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane which behaves hydrophilicity, underwater low-oil-adhesive superoleophobicity and outstanding anti-oilfouling ability even for viscous crude oil. The blend membrane was fabricated via a two-step method, including the nonsolvent-induced phase inversion of PVDF/polyacrylic acid-grafted-PVDF (PVDF/PAA-g-PVDF) blend membrane and the subsequent in-situ ionization of PAA into PAAS. The two-step method improves the affinity between the strong hydrophilic additive PAAS and the hydrophobic polymer matrix PVDF, thus endowing the blend membrane with long-term stable superwetting property for 1,100 days. The PVDF/PAAS-g-PVDF blend membrane can efficiently separate multiple emulsifier-stabilized oil-inwater emulsions with ultrahigh separation efficiency of 99.97% (the residual oil content in the filtrate is lower than 3 ppm after one-step separation) and high water flux of 350 Lm-2 h-1 bar-1. The blend membrane also shows good cycling performance, and can be easily cleaned by water washing during several separation cycles of the crude oil-in-water emulsion. This work inspires a feasible route of fabricating stable anti-oil-fouling membranes for separation of emulsified oily water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated a hybrid membrane and electro-membrane separation process for producing demineralized water from tertiary petrochemical effluent, reusing it as feeding water for high-pressure boilers for steam generation. The effluents were treated in a pilot plant with a 1 m3 h−1 capacity by using a hybrid process of ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and electrodeionization (EDI). The physicochemical parameters of interest and maximum limits in industrial water were pre-determined by the industries. Operating parameters such as flow rate, pressure, percentage of recovery, and electric current were monitored, along with the frequency of chemical cleaning. The UF and RO systems operated with average permeate fluxes of 17 ± 4.06 L h−1 m−2 and 20.1 ± 1.9 L h−1 m−2, respectively. Under optimal operating conditions (flow rate of 600 L h−1, voltage of 22.2 ± 0.7 V, and electric current of 1.3 A), EDI produced high-quality water with an average electrical conductivity of 0.22 μS cm−1. Thus, the industrial water produced reached the quality required for reuse as make-up water for high-pressure boilers in the petrochemical industry. In addition, the specific energy consumption; the use of chemicals, spare materials, equipment; and labor costs were determined to support the technical feasibility study for implementing an industrial plant with a 90 m3 h−1 producing capacity. This resulted in a cost of USD 0.64 per cubic meter of demineralized water produced, a cost similar to values reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a lab scale direct membrane filtration (DMF) system using ultrafiltration membranes was operated to compare synthetic and real wastewater to evaluate their membrane fouling propensity and the partitioning of organics and nutrients during concentration. For fouling prevention, cyclic operation was used which consisted of 90 s of filtration followed by 15 s of relaxation and backwashing conducted every 15 min. The system was tested at a high initial flux of 80 LMH (L/m2·h), and the trials were run until a 90% volume reduction was achieved for each batch. Both the synthetic and real wastewater showed similar fouling propensities and organic and nutrient partitioning. The synthetic and real wastewater had an average flux of 46.3 LMH and 28.5 LMH and an average total chemical oxygen demand rejection of 90.3% and 83.1% after 30 h of operation, respectively. The recovery of organics was similar in both influents, resulting in 65.5% and 64.0% of the total chemical oxygen demand concentrations in the concentrate stream for synthetic and real wastewaters, respectively. The total phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations were also similar in terms of rejection rates resulting in 85% and 78% for the synthetic and 89% and 65% for the fresh WWs, respectively. The comparison revealed that synthetic wastewater, though not identical to real wastewater, can serve as a surrogate in DMF studies. This will help to remove one of the key sources of variability in current DMF studies and will allow for more rapid development of DMF technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) followed by microsieving and direct membrane filtration (DMF) as ultrafiltration, was evaluated on pilot scale at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. In addition, a granular activated carbon (GAC) filter downstream of DMF was evaluated for the removal of organic micropollutants. Up to 80% of the total organic carbon (TOC) and 96% of the total phosphorus were removed by CEPT with microsieving. The additional contribution of subsequent DMF was minor, and only five days of downstream GAC filtration was possible due to fouling of the membrane. Of the 21 organic micropollutants analysed, all were removed (≥ 98%) by the GAC filter until 440 bed volumes, while CEPT with microsieving and DMF removed only a few compounds. Measurements of the oxygen uptake rate indicated that the required aeration for supplementary biological treatment downstream of CEPT with microsieving, both with and without subsequent DMF, was 20−25% of that in the influent wastewater. This study demonstrated the potential of using compact physicochemical processes to treat municipal wastewater, including the removal of organic micropollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a granulometric analysis of the size of particles of Aeroxide® P25 and P90 titanium oxides in the context of their retention in low-pressure membrane processes (microfiltration, ultrafiltration). Measurements of the particle size using a laser granulometer showed that the particle size of TiO2 Aeroxide® P25 dispersed in water is in the range from approx. 0.3 µm to approx. 150 µm. The particles with dimensions smaller than 1.0 µm constituted about 7.0%, and the largest particles, with dimensions above 30 µm, constituted about 0.9% of the volume of all the particles in the suspension, respectively. In the case of TiO2 Aeroxide® P90, a double curve of grain size distribution was observed. For the main curve, the particle size ranged from approx. 0.3 µm to approx. 18.7 µm. The particles with dimensions smaller than 1.0 µm constituted approx. 3.0% by volume of all particles in the sample. The second curve, which can be described as oversized/supersized grains, was comprised of particles ranging in size from about 21 to 170 µm, and they accounted approximately for 3.9% by volume of the total particles in the sample. The specific surface area for the samples was 0.56 m²/g for TiO2 P25 and 0.48 m²/g for TiO2 P90. It was found that the observed large particle sizes of titanium oxide particles in aqueous solutions may be the result of their agglomeration, which gives one hundred percent certainty that they will be retained by ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes with pore sizes above 0.3 µm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixing in gas separation membranes has received much less attention than in membrane liquid separation because gas molecules have much smaller viscosity, allowing them to diffuse easily through membranes without requiring significant flow mixing. However, due to advancements in membrane fabrication technologies aimed at improving material properties, concentration polarization (CP) might become an issue in gas separation due to enhanced membrane efficiency and permeability. Consequently, a 2D CFD analysis is conducted to evaluate the impact of spacer-induced mixing on membrane gas concentration polarization for typical CO 2 /CH 4 gas separation. Results show that spacers generally enhance flux performance while reducing CP in the membrane channel when compared to the case without spacers. Furthermore, the effectiveness of spacer-flux-to-pressure-loss-ratio (SPFP) reaches a peak for a Reynolds number in the range of 5 < Re h < 200 because of the trade-off between flux and pressure drop. This mixing-induced flux enhancement is most effective under high CP conditions (less mixing) within the membrane channel. Similarly, flux enhancement due to spacers can be observed as membrane selectivity, pressure ratio and feed gas concentration increase due to enhanced CP. [Display omitted] • 2D CFD analysis of the impact of spacer-induced mixing on membrane gas separation. • The spacer-flux-to-pressure-loss-ratio reaches a peak at 5 < Re h < 200. • Spacer reduces CP and enhances gas permeation flux compared with empty channel. • Spacer is most effective in enhancing gas permeate flux under high CP conditions. • Spacer enhances flux as selectivity, pressure ratio and feed concentration increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial pollutants in water streams, such as heavy metals, are among the most important issues for ecosystem and human health. Membrane filtration is an appealing technique for the removal of these contaminants from wastewater. In this study, composite ultrafiltration polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were fabricated by implementing poly (acrylic acid‐co‐N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) grafted mesoporous carbon nitride (MCN) nanoparticles to improve the performance of membranes. Polymer grafted MCN was synthesized through (3‐methacryloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane and (3‐Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane treatment and subsequent in situ radical polymerization on MCN. Modified membranes exhibited significantly improved hydrophilicity; the contact angle decreased from 66° for the PES membrane to 36° for the modified membranes. In addition, the morphology, surface roughness, thermal stability, and mechanical stability of membranes were studied. The results revealed that the pure water flux of membranes was improved from 82.6 to 329. 8 L/m2 h by increasing the nano‐additive content. Moreover, the membranes showed a maximum rejection of 92.3% for Cd2+ metal ions. Studying the fouling resistance of membranes showed a significant increase in fouling ratio recovery from 42.77% to 87.64%. It was also found that the irreversible fouling values were remarkably reduced because of the higher hydrophilicity of fabricated composite membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-flocculation and ozone were applied as pretreatments of ultrafiltration to treat sodium alginate (SA) and humic acid (HA) simulated water, respectively, to investigate the effects of different pretreatments of ultrafiltration (UF) on filtration flux and removal of organic matters. Regarding the SA simulated water, micro-flocculation helped to improve the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal efficiency highly, maximum DOC removal efficiency reached to 79.77%, due to the rejection of gel layer introduced by the alginate-aluminum complexes, but the gel layer had a negative impact on membrane flux. Compared with micro-flocculation, ozone as pretreatments had better ability to enhance the membrane specific flux, the maximum final specific flux remained as 0.786, larger than that of MF-UF process (0.574). Ozonation oxidizing SA into small organic molecules significantly reduced membrane fouling and filtration resistance, but also produced some dissolved organic matters hindering DOC removal of effluent. As for HA simulated water, both the micro-flocculation and ozone could effectively improve the specific flux, the final specific flux of MF-UF and ozone-UF were about 0.930, but MF-UF exhibited better DOC removal than ozone-UF, which avoided the introduction of additional dissolved organic matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater contaminant removal using ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes is complex due to limitations such as low selectivity-permeability and membrane fouling tendency. In this study, we fabricated a thin film composite (TFC) membrane over a highly permeable mixed matrix support UF membrane using sulfonic acid functionalized graphene oxide (SGO) and polyethersulfone (PES) for groundwater remediation application. The pure water permeability of the PES-SGO-TFC membrane was threefold (3.09 LMH bar−1) compared to the pristine PES-TFC membrane. The membrane showed excellent organic fouling resistance with more than 95% flux recovery. The salts and contaminant removal were checked in a cross-flow mode to understand a more practical approach to the applicability of the developed PES-SGO-TFC membrane. The membrane rejected Cr(VI), As(V), and fluoride to the extent of ∼89%, ⁓99%, and ∼77%, respectively, at pH ⁓7. The membrane separation performance varied as a function of pH, with more than 90% removal for monovalent fluoride at higher pH values. In a simulated groundwater matrix, the membrane demonstrated promising results for rejecting these ions. However, the simultaneous rejection of As(V) and fluoride may be impacted by interfering co-ions. This study offers a novel approach for developing highly permeable support UF-modified TFC membranes for better separation for groundwater remediation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water purification by ultrafiltration (UF) requires regular membrane cleaning via backwashing. In the case of chemically enhanced backwashing (CEB), it can result in the formation of unwanted by-product precursors due to reactions with organic matters present in the backwashing water and accumulating on the membrane. After subsequent disinfection, these precursors are prone to generate trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), posing potential risks to the chemical safety of drinking water. However, limited information was available regarding the removal of these disinfection by-products. In this study, biological activated carbon (BAC) pretreatment followed by UF with chemically enhanced backwashing (CEB) (BAC-UF-CEB) was investigated to mitigate membrane fouling and reduce by-product formation. It was tested in parallel with UF with CEB (UF-CEB) and UF with sole physical backwashing. Compared to UF-CEB, BAC pretreatment prior to UF-CEB reduced transmembrane pressure (TMP) by 49.0%. BAC achieved high removals of dissolved organic carbon (59.99%) and UV254 absorbance (80.82%) in the BAC-UF-CEB effluent. Moreover, BAC-UF-CEB substantially decreased trihalomethane and haloacetic acid formation potentials by 83.28% compared to UF-CEB. BAC alleviated irreversible membrane fouling by 78.7%. By removing disinfection by-product precursors, BAC-UF-CEB markedly improved treated water quality and chemical safety. This study demonstrates BAC pretreatment effectively mitigates membrane fouling and controls disinfection by-products during UF water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane separation has been widely utilized to eliminate pollutants from wastewater. Among them, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane has presented outstanding stability, and distinguished chemical and thermal properties. However, UF membranes inevitably incur fouling issues during their operation procedure caused by contaminant adhesion on the membrane surface, which would restrict the operational efficiency and increase the maintenance cost. The conventional physical and chemical cleaning is not an effective technique to reduce the fouling due to the additional chemical addition and inevitable structure damage. Recently, UF membranes combined with photocatalytic materials are suggested to be a useful approach to conquer the membrane fouling issues. Herein, TiO2 nanoparticles were utilized to blend with a PAN casting solution for fabricating a composite UF membrane via a phase inversion method. With a certain TiO2 addition, the obtained membranes presented an enhancement of hydrophilicity, which could promote the water permeability and antifouling performance. The optimized M3 membrane prepared with 15.0 wt% PAN and 0.6 wt% TiO2 exhibited an excellent water permeability up to 207.0 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 with an outstanding 99.0% BSA rejection and superior antifouling property. In addition, the photocatalytic TiO2 nanoparticles endowed the M3 membrane with a remarkable self-cleaning ability under the UV irradiation. This facile construction method offered new insight to enhance the UF membrane separation performance with an enhanced antifouling ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities for process intensification have made continuous biomanufacturing an area of active research. While tangential flow filtration (TFF) is typically employed within the biologics purification train to increase drug substance concentration, single‐pass TFF (SPTFF) modifies its format by enabling continuity of this process and achieving a multifold concentration factor through a single‐pass over the filtration membranes. In continuous processes feed concentration and flow rate are determined by the preceding unit operations. Therefore, tight control of SPTFF output concentration must be achieved through precise design of the membrane configuration, unlike TFF. However, predictive modeling can be utilized to identify configurations that achieve a desired target concentration across ranges of possible feed conditions with minimal experimental data, hence enabling accelerated process development and design flexibility. We hereby describe the development of a mechanistic model predicting SPTFF performance across a wide design space using the well‐established stagnant film model, which we demonstrate is more accurate at higher feed flow rates. The flux excursion dataset was generated within time constraints and with minimal material consumption, showing the method's ability to be quickly adapted. While this approach eliminates characterizing complex physicochemical model variables or the need for users with specialized training, the model and its assumptions become inaccurate at low flow rates, below 25 L/m2/h, and high conversions, above 0.9. As this low flow rate, high conversion operating regime is relevant for continuous biomanufacturing, we explore the assumptions and challenges involved in predicting and modeling SPTFF processes, while suggesting added characterization to gain further process insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, membrane has played an important role in wastewater treatment. However, high membrane cost and membrane fouling has hindered the developing of conventional membrane separation technology. With low-cost supporting membrane and easy operation, dynamic membrane (DM) technology presents a new route for pollutants separation in wastewater treatment. Similar pollutants removal and high separation efficiency made it more suitable for application in wastewater pretreatment and sludge separation. To have a full understanding of recent development of membrane separation technology, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and dynamic membrane filtration were briefly introduced and compared in this study. The filtration and pollutants removal performance in membrane bioreactor and dynamic membrane bioreactor were also evaluated. Besides, future perspectives of membrane separation technology with membrane fouling control, membrane cost and maintenance were presented for better application of membrane technology. Overall, DM technology indicates one potential developing direction of membrane separation technology in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance to regulate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed in the separation layer of membranes to improve the properties of membranes. In this work, ferric oxides coated carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4@CNTs) are prepared by solvothermal method, and then are added to the casting solution to prepare Fe3O4@CNTs/poly(ethersulfone)/sulfonated polysulfone composite ultrafiltration membranes. The result shows that Fe3O4@CNTs migrate to the separation layer of membranes under the induction of a low‐intensity magnetic field. The surface and overall porosity of the membranes increase and the surface roughness of the membranes decreases. The contact angle of composite ultrafiltration membranes decreases from 78.0° to 60.1°, indicating an improvement of hydrophilicity. The pure water permeance of the composite ultrafiltration membranes increases from 240.1 to 524.7 L m−2 h−1 while retaining a high bovine serum albumin rejection (>96.8%). Moreover, the antifouling property of the composite ultrafiltration membranes is significantly improved, and the flux recovery ratio increased from 56.2% to 80.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafiltration treatment of algae-laden water is the biggest challenge of membrane fouling. In this study, a bi-layer composite dynamic membrane was constructed by depositing anion exchange resin (AER) and quartz sand on the surface of UF membrane to enhance the separation performance and reduce membrane fouling. AER deposition layers improve contaminants removal and reduce membrane fouling based on retention and ion exchange effect, however, the large porosity results in less than optimal efficiency gains. Deposition of quartz sand on the AER deposit layer significantly enhanced pollutants removal rate and reduced the fouling resistance of the membrane. Compared to AER deposition alone, the bi-layer significantly improved the removal of DOC (20%), UV 254 (22%), protein (18%), polysaccharide (13%), MC-LR (11%), GSM (18%) and 2-MIB (3%) and slowed down the development of fouling resistance when the amount of quartz sand deposited reached 68.6 g/m2. As the quartz sand deposition increased to 91.4 g/m2, the presence of a critical value was found, and although the pollutants retention rate increased further, reversible fouling appeared to increase. SEM image analysis of the dense sediment layer traps too much contaminants, resulting in a gel-like layer of contamination that increases membrane fouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrated skim (CSk) latex was prepared from raw skim (RSk) latex of Hevea brasilliensis via membrane separation process. Since the properties of CSk latex have not been reported previously, this work aims to study the properties of CSk latex and juxtapose it with raw skim (RSk), field (FNR) and high ammonia (HANR) latexes. The physicochemical properties of the latexes, such as total solid content (TSC), zeta potential, and pH, were analogous to FNR latex. CSK and RSk latexes were composed of small rubber particles as confirmed by SEM, with low molecular weight polymer as determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The Fourier infra-red transform (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that CSk film contained high fatty acid ester, nitrogen and gel contents. After the ultra-filtration (UF) membrane separation, TSC increased from 7.3 wt% to 39.6 wt%. The non-rubber components and metal ion content were markedly decreased by 50%, respectively. About 85% of fatty acid esters were removed by acetone extraction (AE) while nitrogen and gel content remained the same in CSk film. This could be attributed to proteins forming cross-links that lead to high gel content of skim latex. In addition, CSk film showed marked improvement in thermal stability as compared to that of RSk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates the effectiveness of two new designed module‐integrated three‐dimensional (3D) printed spacers in enhancing wastewater ultrafiltration efficiencies using vibratory shear‐enhanced processing (VSEP). The study investigates the star‐shaped spacer filled module channel (star spacer) and the column‐shaped herringbone spacer filled module channel with the same position as the flow direction (column spacer) and with the opposite position as the flow direction (rev column spacer). It compares the VSEP module‐integrated spacers with membrane module vibration (module vibration) and empty membrane module channel (control) configurations. The results show that the module integration of the 3D printed spacers can greatly improve the specific, average, and constant permeate fluxes and can contribute to reducing the total, reversible and irreversible resistance values, and specific energy consumption of the ultrafiltration membrane separation experiments. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into improving the performance of wastewater ultrafiltration systems and fouling mitigation through the module integration of 3D printed spacers and membrane module vibration. Practitioner Points: Vibratory shear‐enhanced processing (VSEP) ultrafiltration module‐integrated 3D printed spacers were successfully fabricated and evaluated for improved wastewater treatment.Two spacer designs, a star‐shaped and a column‐shaped herringbone, were compared with an empty membrane module channel with and without vibration.Two configurations of the column‐shaped spacer, in the same and reversed flow direction, were tested.Specific energy consumption was calculated and compared for all configurations.Significant improvements in ultrafiltration performance were observed with the use of spacers compared with an empty module channel, including enhanced permeate fluxes and reductions in both total and reversible, as well as irreversible, resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, due to the increase in population and the number of industrial sites, water reclaim has become more relevant. Dynamic membrane filtration systems can play an important role for water reuse. Therefore, process monitoring of dynamic membrane systems is of great importance to ensure the water quality while considering environmental and economic factors. The exploitation of on-line monitoring of dynamic membrane systems in industrial operation is challenged by intentional disturbances such as backflush and backshock (i.e. used as cleaning strategies) and unintentional input fluctuations. Consequently, process inherent behaviour is hidden within very complex sensors signals. Therefore, critical flux identification or fouling characterization for process monitoring is not straightforward, leading to suboptimal operation. The present study establishes a fault detection framework from a classification viewpoint, capable of handling industrial data that is prone to noise and disturbances, while offering an effective yet straightforward approach. The case study is a pilot-scale dynamic ultrafiltration process which has been tested previously within an industrial facility for produced water reclamation. The dataset contains 18 experiments, where three of the experiments are faulty. These experiments were implemented in an oil recovery facility located in the Orinoquía region, Colombia. A feature analysis approach based on wavelets is developed to identify the key characteristics of the installed sensors while alleviating the noise effects. The process conditions are pinpointed by feeding the extracted features into several widely used classification methods including Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based classifiers. The results indicated that the MLPNN classifier has the highest detection accuracy of 99.7% with a low percentage of false alarms. The framework developed in this study is a vital part of a membrane system digitalization strategy, which can be integrated into automated surveillance strategies for monitoring of membrane systems toward effective fault detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]