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Item 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.Item 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.Item 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.