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There is increasing evidence that ventilation heterogeneity and small airway disease are significant factors in asthma, with evidence suggesting that the small airways are involved from an early stage in childhood asthma. Spirometry is commonly used to monitor lung function in asthmatics; however, it is not sensitive to small airway disease. There has been renewed interest in multibreath washout (MBW) tests, with recognition of the lung clearance index (LCI) as a global index of abnormality in gas mixing of the lungs that therefore also reflects small airway disease. This review summarises the technical and practical aspects of the MBW/LCI in children, and the differences between commercially available equipment. Children with severe asthma are more likely to have an abnormal LCI, whereas most children with mild-to-moderate asthma have an LCI within the normal range, but slightly higher than age-matched healthy controls. Monitoring children with asthma with MBW alongside standard spirometry may provide useful additional information.

Nanofibrous membranes of Matrimid have been successfully fabricated using an electrospinning technique under optimized conditions. Nanofibrous membranes are found to be highly hydrophobic with a high water contact angle of 130. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and pore size distribution analysis revealed the big pore size structure of electrospun membranes to be greater than 2 lm and the pore size distribution is found to be narrow. Flat sheet Matrimid membranes were fabricated via casting followed by phase inversion. The morphology, pore size distribution, and water contact angle were measured and compared with the electrospun membranes. Both membranes fabricated by electrospinning and phase inversion techniques were tested in a direct contact membrane distillation process. Electrospun membranes showed high water vapor flux of 56 kg/m²-h, which is very high compared to the casted membrane as well as most of the fabricated and commercially available highly hydrophobic membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its simplicity, silt density index (SDI) is extensively used in reverse osmosis systems despite its limitations in predicting membrane fouling. Employing a reliable fouling index with good reproducibility and precision is necessary. The aim of this investigation is to assess the reliability of SDI in order to understand the reasons for the low level of precision and accuracy. Different commercial SDI membranes and feedwater quality were used in this study. Results showed the existence of membrane properties' variation within manufacturers, which then causes a lack of accuracy in fouling risk estimation. The nature of particles during SDI filtration provides information that particle concentration and size play a significant role in SDI quantification with substantial representation given by particles with size close to membrane nominal pore size. Moreover, turbidity-assisted SDI measurements along with determination of ultrafiltration permeate and clean water fouling potential, establish the indication of nonfouling-related phenomena involved on SDI measurement such as natural organic matter adsorption and hydrodynamic conditions that alters during filtration. Additionally, it was found that the latter affects the sensitivity of SDI by being represented by some portions of SDI values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectiveness of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) permeate backwash on fouling control of seawater ultrafiltration was investigated at a pilot scale. A standard membrane module was used in this pilot to represent full-scale desalination plants. Results of the pilot show a good reproducibility. When the UF permeate was used for backwash, the frequency of chemically enhanced backwash (CEB) was around once per day. However, results of the pilot show that SWRO permeate backwashing could significantly reduce the CEB frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional processes are widely used as pretreatment for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technology since its development. However, these processes require a large footprint and have some limitation issues such as difficulty to maintain a consistent silt density index, coagulation control at low total suspended solids, and management of higher waste sludge. Recently, there has been a rapid growth in the use of low-pressure membranes as pretreatment for RO systems replacing the conventional processes. However, despite the numerous advantages of using this integrated membrane system mainly providing good and stable water quality to RO membranes, many issues have to be addressed. The primary limitation is membrane fouling which reduces the permeate flux; therefore, higher pumping intensity is required to maintain a consistent volume of product. This paper aims to optimize the permeation flux and cleaning frequency by providing high permeate quality. Different low-pressure polyethersulfone membranes with different pore sizes ranging from 0.1 µm to 50 kDa were tested. Eight different filtration configurations have been applied including the variation of coagulant doses aiming to control membrane fouling. Results showed that all the configurations with/without coagulation, provided permeate with excellent water quality which improves the stability of RO performance. However, more stable fluxes with less-energy consumption were achieved by using the 0.1 µm and 100 kDa membranes with 1 mg/L FeCl3 coagulation. The use of UF membranes, having tight pores, without coagulation also proved to be an excellent option for Red Sea water RO pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a model for trace organic solute rejection in high-pressure membranes such as nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Uncharged organic solute rejection values are determined, as well as sigmoidal rejection curves for solutes with varying levels of hydrophobicity. The basis for the model is described, noting its similarity to a log-normal pore size distribution model. A model of charged organic solute rejection is also presented, which is based on uncharged pollutant rejection and charge concentration polarization. Issues related to the adaptation of the model in a full-scale environment are discussed, noting that the full-scale model uses convection-diffusion principles to pass organic solutes through the membranes and balance mass in the system.

Low-pressure (microfiltration/ultrafiltration (MF/UF)) membranes are being increasingly used as pre-treatment, prior to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO). The objective of pre-treatment before reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is to remove undesirable and particulate fouling materials (algae, suspended and colloidal particles). Also, a pre-treatment barrier reduces organics and provides better feed water quality for RO membranes. MF and UF pre-treatment prior to SWRO provides Low Silt Density Index (SDI) values recommended for RO operation. Ceramic membranes are more attractive as they made of more chemically resistant materials, which allow for more stable operation and aggressive backwashing (BW) and cleaning. A pilot plant with a monolith ceramic MF membrane (0.1 μm pore size) from METAWATER was used to carry out the study. Red Sea water pumped from a distance of 700m offshore from Thuwal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) was used as feed water. The pilot plant was operated automatically at constant flux of 150LMH that involved BW, air flushing and forward flushing at the end of filtration cycle. Seawater permeates were used for hydraulic BW, while sodium hypochlorite, citric acid and sodium hydroxide were used for chemical cleaning (CIP) to restore the membrane permeability after use. Filtration cycles of 2.5 h were adopted for initial experiments. Aggressive BW flux of 1,800LMH for 15 s, air flushing of 4 bars for 10 s and forward flushing of 300LMH for 40 s were applied for regular membrane hydraulic cleaning. The increase of membrane resistances over time was monitored. Further studies were also performed by using Anopore ceramic membranes AAO100 (pore sizes of 0.1 μm) using a constant pressure bench-scale set-up. The feed water and permeate were analysed using an SDI unit, flow cytometre (FCM) and liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). The results showed that ceramic membrane filtration reduced the SDI15 of seawater from 6.1 to 2.1 which conform to the requirement of SDI < 3 needed for SWRO feed. The removal of bacteria corresponded to 3.7 log removal, while turbidity improved from 0.6 NTU (feed) to 0.05 NTU (permeate). However, ceramic membranes showed low recovery after BW and significant increase of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) during operation with the membranealone, without coagulation. This increase of TMP can be related to the presence of sticky polysaccharide-like material called transparent exopolymers particles (TEP) that are known to be in abundance in seawater and contribute to organic fouling and eventually bio fouling. TEP showed resistance and stickiness on the membrane surface (AAO100) even after aggressive BW. This may be responsible for the low flux recovery observed after BW in both bench-scale and pilot experiments. To improve membrane filtration, coagulation was performed by using iron III chloride. Continuous addition of iron III chloride (4 mg/L Fe) through inline coagulation showed almost complete control of irreversible fouling and reduces reversible fouling after 30 h of operation, based on 2.5 h intervals of filtration cycle. Also, biopolymers removal improved to 51-71%, with improved removal at low pH, while for stabilization of flux, a dose of 1 mg/L Fe3+ was sufficient. Reduction of high molecular weight Natural organic matters (NOM) is essential for controlling or reducing irreversible fouling. Therefore, coagulation is recommended for smooth operation of ceramic membranes and for provision of low-fouling feed water, prior to SWRO membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface iron removal (SIR), or in-situ iron removal, is an established treatment technology to remove soluble iron (Fe(2+)) from groundwater. Besides the adsorptive-catalytic oxidation theory, it has also been proposed that the injection of O(2)-rich water onsets the exchange of adsorbed Fe(2+) with other cations, such as Ca(2+) and Na(+). In sand column experiments with synthetic and natural groundwater it was found that cation exchange (Na(+)-Fe(2+)) occurs during the injection-abstraction cycles of subsurface iron removal. The Fe(2+) exchange increased at higher Na(+) concentration in the injection water, but decreased in the presence of other cations in the groundwater. Field results with injection of elevated O(2) concentrations (0.55 mM) showed increased Fe removal efficacy; the operational parameter V/Vi (abstraction volume with [Fe]<2 μM divided by the injection volume) increased from an average 7 to 16, indicating that not the exchangeable Fe(2+) on the soil material is the limiting factor during injection, but it is the supply of O(2) to the available Fe(2+)., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper investigates the impact of the ionic environment on the charge of colloidal natural organic matter (NOM) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes (charge screening effect) and the calcium adsorption/bridging on new and fouled membranes (calcium bridging effect) by measuring the zeta potentials of membranes and colloidal NOM. Fouling experiments were conducted with natural water to determine whether the reduction of the charge screening effect and/or calcium bridging effect by backwashing with demineralized water can explain the observed reduction in fouling. Results show that the charge of both membranes and NOM, as measured by the zeta potential, became more negative at a lower pH and a lower concentration of electrolytes, in particular, divalent electrolytes. In addition, calcium also adsorbed onto the membranes, and consequently bridged colloidal NOM and membranes via binding with functional groups. The charge screening effect could be eliminated by flushing NOM and membranes with demineralized water, since a cation-free environment was established. However, only a limited amount of the calcium bridging connection was removed with demineralized water backwashes, so the calcium bridging effect mostly could not be eliminated. As demineralized water backwash was found to be effective in fouling control, it can be concluded that the reduction of the charge screening is the dominant mechanism for this., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Natural organic matter (NOM) in water samples from a drinking water treatment train was characterized using fluorescence excitation emission matrices (F-EEMs) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). A seven component PARAFAC model was developed and validated using 147 F-EEMs of water samples from two full-scale water treatment plants. It was found that the fluorescent components have spectral features similar to those previously extracted from F-EEMs of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from diverse aquatic environments. Five of these components are humic-like with a terrestrial, anthropogenic or marine origin, while two are protein-like with fluorescence spectra similar to those of tryptophan-like and tyrosine-like fluorophores. A correlation analysis was carried out for samples of one treatment plant between the maximum fluorescence intensities (F(max)) of the seven PARAFAC components and NOM fractions (humics, building blocks, neutrals, biopolymers and low molecular weight acids) of the same sample obtained using liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). There were significant correlations (p < 0.01) between sample DOC concentration, UVA(254), and F(max) for the seven PARAFAC components and DOC concentrations of the LC-OCD fractions. Three of the humic-like components showed slightly better predictions of DOC and humic fraction concentrations than UVA(254.) Tryptophan-like and tyrosine-like components correlated positively with the biopolymer fraction. These results demonstrate that fluorescent components extracted from F-EEMs using PARAFAC could be related to previously defined NOM fractions and that they could provide an alternative tool for evaluating the removal of NOM fractions of interest during water treatment., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Subsurface iron and arsenic removal has the potential to be a cost-effective technology to provide safe drinking water in rural decentralized applications, using existing shallow tube wells. A community-scale test facility in Bangladesh was constructed for injection of aerated water (∼1 m(3)) into an anoxic aquifer with elevated iron (0.27 mmolL(-1)) and arsenic (0.27μmolL(-1)) concentrations. The injection (oxidation) and abstraction (adsorption) cycles were monitored at the test facility and simultaneously simulated in the laboratory with anoxic column experiments. Dimensionless retardation factors (R) were determined to represent the delayed arrival of iron or arsenic in the well compared to the original groundwater. At the test facility the iron removal efficacies increased after every injection-abstraction cycle, with retardation factors (R(Fe)) up to 17. These high removal efficacies could not be explained by the theory of adsorptive-catalytic oxidation, and therefore other ((a)biotic or transport) processes have contributed to the system's efficacy. This finding was confirmed in the anoxic column experiments, since the mechanism of adsorptive-catalytic oxidation dominated in the columns and iron removal efficacies did not increase with every cycle (stable at R(Fe)=∼8). R(As) did not increase after multiple cycles, it remained stable around 2, illustrating that the process which is responsible for the effective iron removal did not promote the co-removal of arsenic. The columns showed that subsurface arsenic removal was an adsorptive process and only the freshly oxidized adsorbed iron was available for the co-adsorption of arsenic. This indicates that arsenic adsorption during subsurface treatment is controlled by the amount of adsorbed iron that is oxidized, and not by the amount of removed iron. For operational purposes this is an important finding, since apparently the oxygen concentration of the injection water does not control the subsurface arsenic removal, but rather the injection volume. Additionally, no relation has been observed in this study between the amount of removed arsenic at different molar Fe:As ratios (28, 63, and 103) of the groundwater. It is proposed that the removal of arsenic was limited by the presence of other anions, such as phosphate, competing for the same adsorption sites., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Solute hydrophobicity, polarizability, aromaticity and the presence of H-bond donor/acceptor groups have been identified as important solute properties that affect the adsorption on activated carbon. However, the adsorption mechanisms related to these properties occur in parallel, and their respective dominance depends on the solute properties as well as carbon characteristics. In this paper, a model based on multivariate linear regression is described that was developed to predict equilibrium carbon loading on a specific activated carbon (F400) for solutes reflecting a wide range of solute properties. In order to improve prediction accuracy, groups (bins) of solutes with similar solute properties were defined and solute removals were predicted for each bin separately. With these individual linear models, coefficients of determination (R(2)) values ranging from 0.61 to 0.84 were obtained. With the mechanistic approach used in developing this predictive model, a strong relation with adsorption mechanisms is established, improving the interpretation and, ultimately, acceptance of the model.