Browsing by Author "Farnood, R."

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Catalyst- and Stabilizer-Free Rational Synthesis of Ionic Polymer Nanoparticles in One Step for Oil/Water Separation Membranes
(American Chemical Society, 2022) Gnani Peer Mohamed, S.I.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Ionic polymer nanoparticles (IPNs) were synthesized in one pot by quaternization precipitation polymerization (QPP) as a novel polymerization technique. QPP eliminated the usage of high-cost ionic monomers and reduced the number of steps for the preparation of IPN. The monomers 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) polymerized in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and underwent quaternization simultaneously, which yielded ionic poly(DMAEMA-co-VBC) nanoparticles in one step with the size of 50-80 nm without any stabilizer and catalyst. Similarly, 4-vinylpyridine (VP) and VBC polymerized in the presence of AIBN and underwent quaternization simultaneously, which yielded ionic poly(VP-co-VBC) nanoparticles in one step with the size of 70-90 nm without any stabilizer and catalyst. The as-synthesized IPN was further utilized for the fabrication of hydrophilic nanocomposite ultrafiltration membranes for oil/water separation. Fabricated hybrid membranes were characterized and studied for oil rejection properties. It exhibited an oil rejection of >96% with a pure water permeability of 219 L/m2 h bar. © 2022 American Chemical Society.
Continuous Production of Clean Hydrogen from Wastewater by Microbial Usage
(wiley, 2023) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Biohydrogen production from wastewater is a prominent way to address escalating global energy demand and alarming environmental pollution. The need for renewable, sustainable, economic, and environment-friendly pathways for energy generation is fulfilled by biohydrogen evolution. Wastewaters contain a vast array of organic contents, as well as microbes and are a suitable source for bioreactors. Treatment of wastewaters with hydrogen-generating bacteria significantly aids its purification process by reducing chemical oxygen demand with simultaneous hydrogen generation. Among the various methods that are available for hydrogen production from microbes, photo fermentation, dark fermentation, and microbial electrolysis cells are discussed thoroughly. Continuous hydrogen generation systems are most suitable for large scale commercial production. Uniform product quality is obtained in the case of continuous systems. Microbial electrolysis cells have been found to yield exceptionally good hydrogen purity. A variety of factors that affect hydrogen evolution in all the techniques are reviewed in detail. © 2023 Scrivener Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
Development of polymeric ionic poly(VBC-co-VI) nanoparticle incorporated thin film nanocomposite membranes for dye and salt rejection
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2025) Mendonca, N.R.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Water is an important life-sustaining liquid. However, due to the current anthropogenic activities, this resource is diminishing. This work explores a method for the potential reuse of textile wastewater containing salts by utilization of thin film composite (TFC) membranes fabricated by means of interfacial polymerization on a macroporous membrane substrate composed of 15% polysulfone (PSf). A relatively lesser known variety of nanoparticles termed ionic polymeric nanoparticles were integrated into the dense polyamide (PA) layer. The ionic poly(VBC-co-VI) nanoparticles were synthesized in the laboratory via quaternary precipitation polymerization (QPP) of the monomers 1-vinyl imidazole (VI) and 4-vinybenzyl chloride (VBC) by the utilization of 2,2?-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) as the free radical initiator in the solvent acetonitrile (ACN) in a single step. The synthesized nanoparticles existing in the PA layer improved the water permeability as well as the rejection capacity of the membranes. The fabricated membranes showed a dye rejection of 98% for Reactive Black 5 and >95% for Sunset Yellow FCF having a concentration of 100 ppm. The salt rejection for NaCl, MgCl, Na2SO4 and MgSO4 at 1000 ppm concentration was found to be 36%, >50%, 85% and 85%, respectively. © 2025 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Effective removal of hazardous atrazine and chlorpyrifos by waste PET bottles-derived linker having novel MIL-53(Al)/PMMA-nanofiber incorporated poly(vinylidene) fluoride membranes
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Prabhakar, N.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Synthesis of novel MIL-53(Al)/PMMA nanofiber and its incorporation into PVDF thin-film composite flat-sheet membranes for the rejection of hazardous herbicides and pesticides from water is the crux of this work. Initially, poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer dope solution with MIL-53(Al) dispersed in the matrix was subjected to electrospinning to get a novel nanofiber. The linker terephthalic acid, here was derived from waste PET bottles. Both the MOF and nanofibers were characterized using BET, FTIR, zeta potential, and XRD. The optimized nanofibers were used as additives in the TFC in different weight percentages using synthesized porous PVDF as support. TFC Membranes were analyzed by pure water flux, chlorpyrifos, and atrazine rejection. MPM-2 with 0.05 wt% nanofiber gave a pure water flux of 18.6824 Lm?2h?1. The rejection of chlorpyrifos (a hazardous pesticide) was 86.8 % for MPM-2 membranes and atrazine (a herbicide) gave rejection of 60.48 %. Further, membranes gave excellent antifouling property with FRR of 95.45 %. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd
Efficient removal of hazardous dyes/heavy-metal ions by in-house fabricated poly (vinylidene fluoride) thin-film nanocomposite membranes with functionalized Zr-based metal-organic framework
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Prabhakar, N.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.; A.F., A.F.
The need for effective solutions to address removal of dyes and heavy metal ions from water has driven significant interest in membrane science and separation technology. This work explores the potential of EDTA-modified MOF-808 as a novel additive to enhance the performance of PVDF supported TFC membranes. The innovation lies in aiming the unique properties of MOF and the chelating properties of EDTA in rejecting the target pollutants. The thin film nanocomposite membranes fabricated in this study with optimized MOF-EDTA loading demonstrated remarkable improvement in hydrophilicity, surface smoothness, porosity, and morphology as confirmed by water contact angle, atomic force microcopy, water uptake, and scanning electron microscopy. The optimized membrane with 0.1wt% MOF-808-EDTA exhibited a water flux of 37.36 Lm-2h-1, a 2.7-fold increment compared to the unmodified one. This was complemented by 98.6%, 91.48%, 88.7%, and 88.96% rejections in hazardous heavy metal ions namely lead, arsenite, cadmium and mercury respectively along with more than 95% rejections for 50ppm of sunset yellow and reactive black 5 dyes. The study also highlights the significant enhancement in antifouling properties with a reduction in irreversible fouling from 41.5% to 5.68% along with a flux rejection ratio of 94.3%. These findings underscore the potential of EDTA-modified MOF as an additive in enhancing the performance and durability of TFC membranes paving the way for efficient and sustainable water treatment. The current study explores an innovative approach for mitigating heavy metal ion and dye pollution in water via fabrication of. © 2025 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Expansive Applications of Chitosan and Its Derivatives in Membrane Technology
(CRC Press, 2023) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
The membrane separation technique is gaining constant importance due to its efficacy and wide applications. Among the large pool of polymers that are available for membrane preparation, biopolymers like chitosan are of great interest. Chitosan is biodegradable, nontoxic, and shows good biocompatibility. Chitosan membranes have been utilized in a variety of water purification applications which include the removal of dye, heavy metals, and proteins from wastewater. Chitosan membranes also have been used in forward osmosis desalination and oil-in-water emulsion separation. In carbon dioxide capture and air filtration, chitosan membranes have been employed. Proton exchange membranes made up of chitosan have been reported in the case of fuel cells. The biocompatibility of chitosan helped in the development of membranes for bone generation. This review chapter encompasses a large number of applications in which chitosan membranes have been productively utilized. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Anil Kumar Pabby; S. Ranil Wickramasinghe; and Ana- Maria Sastre; individual chapters, the contributors.
Fabrication and incorporation of MIL-53(Fe)-zwitterionic brushes into PVDF thin film composite membranes for enhancing heavy metal/dye rejection from aqueous body
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Prabhakar, N.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.; Fauzi Ismail, A.
The bioaccumulation of heavy metal ions is a serious concern for researchers. The dyes and heavy metal ions also aquatic life impacting the biodiversity adversely. Synthesis of novel MIL-53(Fe)-PSBMA particles, and its incorporation into PVDF-based thin-film composite membranes is the crux of this work. Firstly, H2N-MIL-53(Fe) was synthesized by metal displacement reaction which was then modified into MIL-53(Fe)-PSBMA brushes. The brushes were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization method. The amine groups of the NH2-MIL-53(Fe) help connecting the MOF to the polymeric moiety. The as-synthesized material and the fabricated TFCs were characterized by BET, FTIR, XRD, XPS, TGA, AFM, FE-SEM, zeta potential, and DLS particle sizer. The presence of sulphur groups on the XPS spectrum of modified MOF ensured the successful polymer grafting on it. Zwitterionic moieties have both positive and negative charges within a single molecule which gave a resultant zeta potential of ?13.1 mV for the brushes. A pure water flux of 26.32 Lm?2 h?1 and 97.33 %, 95.19 %, 82.06 %, and 78.47 % rejections for Pb2+, Hg2+, As3+, Cd2+ ions and 96.23 % and 94.04 % rejection for 100 ppm reactive black-5 and sunset yellow dyes respectively were obtained for the optimized membrane having 0.035 wt% loading of zwitterionic MOF. This result was attributed to the enhanced membrane hydrophilicity which was also correlated with contact angle and water uptake studies. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Fabrication of 2D Vanadium MXene Polyphenylsulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane for Enhancing the Water Flux and for Effective Separation of Humic Acid and Dyes from Wastewater
(American Chemical Society, 2024) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Rao, L.N.; Farnood, R.
MXene, a new 2D transition metal carbide-based material, is gaining outstanding attention in recent days in the area of separation and purification. In this study, we have successfully synthesized vanadium-based MXene-V2CTx (where T represents functional groups such as -OH, O, and F) by etching an aluminum layer from V2AlC. For the first time, a vanadium-based MXene-V2CTx-embedded mixed matrix membrane was fabricated and utilized for removal of hazardous dye and humic acid from wastewater. With an increase in V2CTx loading, the hydrophilicity of the polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) membrane reasonably improved, and its water contact angle was reduced from 82.8 to 70.9°. V2CTx nanosheet-embedded PPSU membrane exhibited an excellent pure water permeability of 247 L m-2 h-1, which was 266% elevated than the pristine PPSU membrane. The V2CTx-PPSU membrane revealed a good antifouling nature, thermal stability, and 98.5% removal of humic acid. The optimal membrane exhibited 96.6 and 82.02% expulsion of Reactive Black 5 (RB 5) dye and Reactive Orange 16 (RO 16) dye, respectively. The flux for RO 16 and RB 5 dyes and humic acid were remarkable with a value of 202.02, 161.61, and 141.41 L m-2 h-1, respectively. This work provides a new V2CTx-incorporated PPSU ultrafiltration membrane to effectively treat humic acid and dye wastewater. © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
Fabrication of niobium MXene-polyphenylsulfone membranes: Advancement in humic acid and dye separation from wastewater
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Around the globe there is a great urge for the supply of water which is free from pollutants for the intensely growing population. In this work, a two-dimensional metal carbide namely niobium MXene possessing attractive properties is utilized first time for the fabrication of mixed matrix polyphenyl sulfone ultrafiltration membranes. Niobium MXene nanosheets are well synthesized by etching aluminium layer from its precursor. Incorporation of hydrophilic niobium MXene particles in to the polyphenyl sulfone membranes tremendously escalated its pure water permeability from 93.4 L m?2 h?1 to 256.01 L m?2 h?1 when compared to neat polyphenyl sulfone membrane. Niobium MXene embedded membranes displayed appreciable improvement in antifouling properties, water uptake capacity, and hydrophilicity with decrement in water contact angle from 82.8° to 65.4°. The optimal niobium MXene incorporated membrane showed 98.84 % rejection of humic acid. It also exhibited 97.2 % and 85.6 % removal of hazardous dye molecules, namely reactive black 5 and reactive orange 16, respectively. This work brings forth a new niobium MXene embedded ultrafiltration mixed matrix membrane for the productive removal of dyes and humic acid from wastewater. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd
Fundamentals and basics of reverse osmosis
(Elsevier Inc., 2019) Gnani Peer Mohamed, G.P.S.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
This chapter endows an inclusive introduction to the fundamentals and basics of the reverse osmosis (RO) process. It starts from the short history, plants, and theoretical contextual of RO. A concise summary of the recent advances in RO membranes and materials then follows. Lastly, the usage of different types of modules such as spiral wound prepared from flat sheet membranes and hollow fiber membranes used in RO desalination is discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
High performance 2D molybdenum MXene polyphenylsulfone membranes for boosting water flux and efficient removal of humic acid, antibiotic and dyes from wastewater
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
MXene, a leading two-dimensional material, is attracting scientists due to its rich polar surface termination and compatibility. Through the etching of an aluminum layer from Mo3AlC2, we have effectively produced molybdenum MXene Mo3C2Tx (where T stands for polar moieties like –OH and ?F) and used it to fabricate a new Mo3C2Tx embedded mixed matrix membrane. By the incorporation of highly hydrophilic Mo3C2Tx MXene into polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) membrane, its water flux tremendously increased to a peak value of 290 L m-2h?1 and is higher than 300 % compared to pristine polyphenylsulfone membrane without Mo3C2Tx MXene. Water contact angle study of Mo3C2Tx MXene embedded membranes showed improvement in hydrophilicity with an increase in its loading. Mo3C2Tx-PPSU membrane demonstrated appreciable antifouling nature and pollutant separation efficacy. The optimal membrane revealed 98.68 %, 96.7 %, 84.72 %, and 80.2 % removal of toxic contaminants like humic acid, RB 5 dye, RO 16 dye, and tetracycline antibiotic, respectively. This study offers a novel Mo3C2Tx embedded polyphenylsulfone membrane for wastewater treatment that eliminates potentially harmful humic acid, antibiotics, and dyes. © 2025
Hydrophilic nano-aluminum oxide containing polyphenylsulfone hollow fiber membranes for the extraction of arsenic (As-V) from drinking water
(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Kumar, M.; Isloor, A.M.; Todeti, S.R.; A.F., A.F.; Farnood, R.
In the present work, hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes were fabricated by incorporating intensified dosages of nano?aluminum oxide (nano-Al2O3; 0.6 wt%, 1.0 wt% and 1.5 wt%) into cellulose acetate (CA)/polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) and cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP)/PPSU by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process. The topological structures and the morphologies were investigated using atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The crystalline and morphological structures of the nano-Al2O3 were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) respectively. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscope (FTIR) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis have been carried out to validate the dosages of nano-Al2O3, CA and CAP on PPSU membranes. The membrane's surface charge measurement of 1.5 wt% of nano-Al2O3 in CA/PPSU (ALCA-1.5) was scrutinized by zeta potential analysis. Membranes removed more arsenate oxide as the removal rate from membranes ALCA-1.5 and 1.0 wt% of nano-Al2O3 in CA/PPSU (ALCA-1) was 98.67% and 94.89% with retention permeabilities of 88.41 L/m2h bar and 53.53 L/m2h bar respectively from laboratory prepared 1 ppm of aqueous arsenic solution with pH in the range 6.8 ± 0.2 at 1 bar transmembrane pressure. In addition, membrane's antifouling analysis was performed using laboratory prepared 0.8 g/L (Bovine Serum Albumin) BSA as standard protein solution. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Innovative membrane engineering: Polyphenylsulfone/silver-doped zinc oxide for high-efficiency protein rejection
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Panchami, H.R.; Isloor, A.M.; Vijesh, A.M.; Farnood, R.
In the present study, the nanocomposite polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) flat sheet membranes containing silver-doped zinc oxide (Ag–ZnO) was synthesized by the dry/wet phase inversion technique. Spectroscopic characterizations confirmed the nanoparticle incorporation into the membrane matrix. Microscopic characterization validates that, Ag–ZnO nanoparticles were distributed uniformly throughout the membrane. The Ag–ZnO modified PPSU membranes were evaluated for their protein rejection performances against BSA, egg albumin and pepsin from their aqueous solutions. PPSU composite membranes with 1.5wt% Ag–ZnO nanoparticles showed enhanced pure water permeability and protein rejection properties compared to the neat membrane. Increased permeability, antifouling nature and rejection of proteins were attributed to the cumulative effects of adding Ag–ZnO nanoparticle into the membrane. The highest protein rejection was exhibited by the membrane AZM-2 for BSA, egg albumin and pepsin were 92.1 %, 86.8 % and 73.4 %, respectively. © 2025 The Authors
Mixed Matrix Membranes Containing Green Synthesized Poly(MBAAm-co-VSPI) Zwitterionic Nanoparticles for the Removal of Reactive Dyes
(American Chemical Society, 2025) Mendonca, N.R.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
Reactive dyes are well known for their color fastness. However, they also display a tendency toward carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. Hence, among the many methods for their removal from dye wastewater, membrane technology appears to be the most viable. In this work, zwitterionic polymeric nanoparticles poly(MBAAm-co-VSPI) were synthesized via precipitation polymerization following a free radical mechanism using N,N?-methylene bis(acrylamide) (MBAAm) as a cross-linker and laboratory-synthesized 1-vinyl-3-(3-sulfanatopropyl)-1H-imidazole-3-ium (VSPI) as the monomer. The reaction was carried out in water by utilizing a water-soluble free radical initiator 2,2?-azobis-2-methylpropionamide dichloride (V-50). The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed using FTIR, SEM, EDS, XRD, TGA, zeta potential, DLS, and BET studies. Mixed matrix membranes were fabricated by the incorporation of laboratory-synthesized nanoparticles in the polysulfone (PSf) polymer matrix. Among the series of membranes fabricated, PM-2 showed the highest rejection of the reactive dyes, Reactive Black 5 (RB5 98%) and Reactive Orange 16 (RO16 86%), at 20 ppm concentration along with good pure water permeability of 82.34 L m–2 h–1 bar–1. Hence, this membrane has potential for the treatment of textile wastewater. © 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
Nanocomposite Membranes for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
(wiley, 2023) Satishkumar, P.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
The development of green technologies like fuel cell is need of the day because of their zero emission and as an efficient technology to produce electrical energy. Among the different varieties of fuel cells, enhancing the performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is emphasized because of their numerous advantages such as easy portability, less corrosive nature, and leakage-free convenient setup. Generally used Nafion membranes in PEM fuel cells show few limitations such as the inability to work at high temperature and low relative humidity. Nanocomposite membranes play an indispensable role in overcoming these flaws. Incorporating numerous nanoadditives like silica, titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, graphene oxide, zirconium phosphate, heteropolyacids, and metal-organic frameworks into the variety of polymer matrix such as Nafion, sulfonated polybenzimidazole, polysulfone, sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone), and biopolymers involving polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan is assessed with its characteristic properties of proton conductivity, mechanical stability, oxidative stability, and power density. Nanocomposite membranes aid to increase the mechanical stability of the PEMs by the combination of two or more polymer layers and especially with a solid support layer. Development of natural, biodegradable polymer-based PEMs with enhanced proton conducting ability and chemical stability was possible only because of the nanocomposite model; otherwise, it was not possible. Certain hygroscopic inorganic additives improved the water uptake capacity of the nanocomposite membranes even at elevated temperatures. A large pool of nanocomposite membranes that can meet the desired characteristics of PEMs for fuel cell applications is reviewed in detail. © 2023 Scrivener Publishing LLC.
One-step synthesis of zwitterionic graphene oxide nanohybrid: Application to polysulfone tight ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane
(Nature Research, 2020) Gnani Peer Mohamed, G.P.; Isloor, A.M.; A.F., A.F.; Farnood, R.
In this paper, novel zwitterionic graphene oxide (GO) nanohybrid was synthesized using monomers [2-(Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA) and N,N?-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBAAm) (GO@poly(SBMA-co-MBAAm), and incorporated into polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membrane for the effectual rejection of dye from the wastewater. The synthesized nanohybrid was characterized using FT-IR, PXRD, TGA, EDX, TEM and zeta potential analysis. The occurrence of nanohybrid on the membrane matrix and the elemental composition were analyzed by XPS. The as-prepared tight ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane exhibited high rejection of reactive black 5 (RB-5, 99%) and reactive orange 16 (RO-16, 74%) at a dye concentration of 10 ppm and pure water flux (PWF) of 49.6 L/m2h. Fabricated nanocomposite membranes were also studied for their efficacy in the removal of both monovalent (NaCl) and divalent salts (Na2SO4). The results revealed that the membrane possesses complete permeation to NaCl with less rejection of Na2SO4 (<5%). In addition, the nanocomposite membrane revealed outstanding antifouling performance with the flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 73% towards bovine serum albumin (BSA). Therefore, the in-house prepared novel nanocomposite membrane is a good candidate for the effective decolorization of wastewater containing dye. © 2020, The Author(s).
Removal of toxic arsenic from aqueous media using polyphenylsulfone/cellulose acetate hollow fiber membranes containing zirconium oxide
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) Kumar, M.; Isloor, A.M.; Somasekhara Rao, T.; A.F., A.F.; Farnood, R.; Nambissan, P.M.G.
Arsenic is one of the highly dangerous metalloid present in the polluted water, it's effective and economical removal is one of the major challenges to the researchers. It was planned to prepare hollow fiber membranes using polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) as a polymer, cellulose acetate (CA) and cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) as additives with increased dosages (0.6, 1 and 1.5 wt%) of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoparticle. The fabricated hollow fiber membranes were characterized by SEM, AFM, zeta potential, ATR-FTIR and XPS to analyze the membrane's morphologies (cross-section and surface), topography, surface charge and assessment of different functional groups. As used ZrO2 was characterized by TEM and XRD to analyze the morphology and crystallinity. The positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) analysis was carried out for neat and ZrO2 contained membranes, to study the expansion of free-volume in membrane morphology. Leaching studies of the used zirconium with respect to different pH from the ZrO2 contained hollow fiber membrane was also examined. The enhancement of membrane hydrophilicity was confirmed by contact angle, porosity, water uptake and pure water permeability measurements. Membranes prepared by 1 wt% of ZrO2 in PPSU/CA (PZCA-1) and 0.6 wt% of ZrO2 in PPSU/CAP (PZCAP-0.6) were proved to be efficient as arsenic removal membranes (i.e. PZCA-1 as 87.24% and PZCAP-0.6 as 70.48% and permeability of 89.94 L/m2h bar and 70.59 L/m2h bar respectively) using lab-prepared 1 ppm standard arsenic solution at pH range of 6.8 ± 0.2. Also, there is a decrease in the arsenic removal tendency was observed with the excessive dosages of ZrO2, which is due to the concentration polarization on surfaces of the membranes. Antifouling behavior of the prepared hollow fiber membranes was also studied using bovine serum albumin (BSA). © 2020
Reverse osmosis pretreatment techniques, fouling, and control strategies
(Elsevier Inc., 2019) Gnani Peer Mohamed, G.P.S.; Isloor, A.M.; Farnood, R.
In recent times, many commercial-scale seawater desalination plants have been constructed in water-stressed countries, which are expected to increase in the near future to increase the availability of potable water. In spite of many developments in the desalination technologies, seawater desalination using reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is being considered as the state-of-the-art technology. However, there are also some limitations to the RO membrane desalination such as the unavoidable membrane fouling, which increase the operating cost and transmembrane pressure. Here, we review the potential way to the RO membrane fouling control strategies, which includes the role of advanced materials, surface modification and feed water pretreatment that are emphasized based on the extensive up-to-date literature. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Tuning the surface properties of Fe3O4 by zwitterionic sulfobetaine: application to antifouling and dye removal membrane
(Springer, 2020) Gnani Peer Mohamed, G.P.; Isloor, A.M.; Siddique, I.; Asiri, A.M.; Farnood, R.
In this paper, zwitterionic polysulfobetaine@Fe3O4 (PSBMA@Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via covalent grafting and free radical polymerization and characterized. The PSBMA@Fe3O4 noparticles had a zeta potential of ? 36 mV (pH 6.3), which guaranteed the high colloidal stability. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were employed as a nanofiller to prepare superior antifouling polysulfone hybrid hollow fiber membranes. The FM-2 membrane exhibited the maximum pure water permeability of 61.1 L/m2 h bar with humic acid (HA) removal efficiency of 98%. The fouling resistance was evaluated using HA as a foulant, and the results suggested that the FM-2 membrane had less amount of HA adsorption with flux recovery ratio of 88.4%. Furthermore, the FM-2 membrane was demonstrated the reactive black-5 and reactive orange-16 removal of above 99% and 84% without much reduction in the dye solution permeability. © 2020, Islamic Azad University (IAU).