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Applied Sciences
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Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments
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Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2021) | Viewed by 18428

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hyun-Suk Oh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea
Interests: water treatment; membrane biofouling; biofilm; quorum sensing; microplastics; biogas production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jaewoo Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea
Interests: wastewater treatment; desalination; biogas recovery; membrane fabrication; antifouling; biofouling; quorum quenching; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Assist. Prof. Kibaek Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
Interests: biofilm; biofouling; quorum sensing; membrane bioreactor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water, an essential element to the survival of living organisms, is one of the most abundant natural resources on Earth. However, only 3% is in the form of fresh water suitable for consumption, of which only around one-third is accessible to humans. Furthermore, water consumption has been rapidly increasing while readily available water stocks have been decreasing due to water pollution and climate change.

Membrane technology has attracted much attention as an innovative technology for producing high-quality fresh water from wastewater and seawater. A variety of membrane technologies have been developed for water and wastewater treatment, ranging from pressure-driven processes such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) to advanced membrane technologies including membrane distillation (MD), membrane bioreactors (MBRs), capacitive deionization (CDI), electrodialysis (ED), and electrodeionization (EDI).

This Special Issue aims to cover recent progress in all aspects of membrane technologies for water and wastewater treatment, including membrane fabrication, fouling characterization, process design, and their applications. Both original research and review papers are welcome.

Dr. Hyun-Suk Oh
Dr. Jaewoo Lee
Dr. Kibaek Lee
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • membrane
  • water and wastewater treatment
  • membrane fouling
  • antifouling membranes
  • desalination
  • membrane bioreactor
  • nanocomposite membranes
  • water reclamation
  • water reuse

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2408 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Initial Attachment and Biofilm Formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on Microplastic Surfaces
by Purevdash Tsend Ayush, Je-Hyeon Ko and Hyun-Suk Oh
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 5245; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12105245 - 22 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3619
Abstract
The toxic effect of microplastics on living organisms is emerging as a serious environmental issue nowadays. The biofilm formed on their surface by microorganisms can further increase the toxicity, but the mechanism of biofilm formation on microplastics is not yet fully understood because [...] Read more.
The toxic effect of microplastics on living organisms is emerging as a serious environmental issue nowadays. The biofilm formed on their surface by microorganisms can further increase the toxicity, but the mechanism of biofilm formation on microplastics is not yet fully understood because of the complexities of other factors. This study aimed to identify the factors with an important influence on biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces. The microtiter plate assay was used to evaluate the biofilms formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, a model microorganism, on four types of microplastics, including polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polytetrafluoroethylene. The density of microplastics was found to be a key factor in determining the amount of biofilm formation because the density relative to water has a decisive effect on the behavior of microplastics. Biofilm formation on plastics with densities similar to that of water showed remarkable differences based on surface characteristics, whereas biofilm formation on plastics with a higher density was significantly influenced by particle movement in the experimental environment. Furthermore, biofilm formation was inhibited by adding a quorum quenching enzyme, suggesting that QS is critical in biofilm formation on microplastics. This study provides useful information on biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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8 pages, 1079 KiB  
Article
A Facile HPLC-UV-Based Method for Determining the Concentration of the Bacterial Universal Signal Autoinducer-2 in Environmental Samples
by Kibaek Lee, Chung-Hak Lee and Kwang-Ho Choo
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 9116; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11199116 - 30 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1837
Abstract
As a universal quorum sensing (QS) signal, autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is utilized by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to coordinate several group behaviors, such as biofilm formation, virulence, and motility, when the bacterial cell density exceeds the thresholds. The determination of the AI-2 level [...] Read more.
As a universal quorum sensing (QS) signal, autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is utilized by both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to coordinate several group behaviors, such as biofilm formation, virulence, and motility, when the bacterial cell density exceeds the thresholds. The determination of the AI-2 level is essential to understand the physiological and biochemical processes involved in bacterial communication. However, the current methods for AI-2 determination are complicated, time-consuming, and require costly equipment, such as a mass spectrometer (MS) or fluorescence detector (FLD). In this study, we present a new and easily applicable method for AI-2 determination. This method, based on the primary derivatization of AI-2 with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN), uses an affordable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instrument with a UV detector. Under optimized conditions, our method showed a good linearity (r2 = 0.999) and demonstrated the effective detection of AI-2 levels in various environmental samples, as follows: 0.38 (±0.05) μM for E. coli K12, 0.48 (±0.05) μM for Aeromonas sp. YB-2, 0.32 (±0.06) μM for the Enterobacter sp. YB-3, and 0.28 (±0.16) μM for activated sludge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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9 pages, 1219 KiB  
Communication
On the Control Strategy to Improve the Salt Rejection of a Thin-Film Composite Reverse Osmosis Membrane
by Jaewoo Lee and Yu Jie Lim
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7619; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11167619 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2440
Abstract
Since the specific energy consumption (SEC) required for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination has been steeply reduced over the past few decades, there is an increasing demand for high-selectivity membranes. However, it is still hard to find research papers empirically dealing with increasing the [...] Read more.
Since the specific energy consumption (SEC) required for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination has been steeply reduced over the past few decades, there is an increasing demand for high-selectivity membranes. However, it is still hard to find research papers empirically dealing with increasing the salt rejection of RO membranes and addressing the SEC change possibly occurring while increasing salt rejection. Herein, we examined the feasibility of the process and material approaches to increase the salt rejection of RO membranes from the perspective of the SEC and weighed up a better approach to increase salt rejection between the two approaches. A process approach was confirmed to have some inherent limitations in terms of the trade-off between water permeability and salt rejection. Furthermore, a process approach is inappropriate to alter the intrinsic salt permeability of RO membranes, such that it should be far from a fundamental improvement in the selectivity of RO membranes. Thus, we could conclude that a material approach is necessary to make a fundamental improvement in the selectivity of RO membranes. This paper also provides discussion on the specific demands for RO membranes featuring superior mechanical properties and excellent water/salt permselectivity to minimize membrane compaction while maximizing the selectivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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15 pages, 5996 KiB  
Article
Relationships among Permeability, Membrane Roughness, and Eukaryote Inhabitation during Submerged Gravity-Driven Membrane (GDM) Filtration
by Dongwhi Lee, Yun Jeong Cha, Youngbin Baek, Shin Sik Choi and Yunho Lee
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(22), 8111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10228111 - 16 Nov 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3776
Abstract
Gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration is one of the promising technologies for decentralized water treatment systems due to its low cost, simple operation, and convenient maintenance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the permeability of submerged GDM filtration with three different membranes, [...] Read more.
Gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration is one of the promising technologies for decentralized water treatment systems due to its low cost, simple operation, and convenient maintenance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the permeability of submerged GDM filtration with three different membranes, i.e., polyethersulfone and polyvinylidene difluoride ultrafiltration (PES-UF and PVDF-UF) and polytetrafluoroethylene microfiltration membrane (PTFE-MF). The GDM system was operated using lake water for about one year. The determined average permeability values were high for PVDF-UF (192.9 L/m2/h/bar (LMH/bar)) and PTFE-MF (80.6 LMH/bar) and relatively lower for PES-UF (46.1 LMH/bar). The observed higher permeability for PVDF-UF and PTFE-MF was thought to be related to the rougher surface of these two membranes compared to PES-UF. The fouling layers of PVDF-UF and PTFE-MF were characterized by high biomass and the presence of a number of nematodes, while PES-UF showed a thin fouling layer with no nematode. The relatively high and fluctuated permeability of PVDF-UF and PTFE-MF could thus be attributed to the high biological activity of nematodes making the fouling layer more loose and porous. This was supported by a good linear relationship among the permeability, biomass concentration, and the number of nematodes in the fouling layers. These results provide important insights into membrane selection as a critical factor affecting the flux performance of the GDM filtration system for a decentralized drinking water supply. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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11 pages, 1427 KiB  
Communication
Sialic Acids: An Important Family of Carbohydrates Overlooked in Environmental Biofilms
by Ingrid S.M. Pinel, Hugo B.C. Kleikamp, Martin Pabst, Johannes S. Vrouwenvelder, Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht and Yuemei Lin
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7694; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10217694 - 30 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2647
Abstract
Sialic acids in the structural matrix of biofilms developing in engineered water systems constitute a potential target in the battle against biofouling. This report focuses specifically on the presence of sialic acids as part of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of biofilms forming [...] Read more.
Sialic acids in the structural matrix of biofilms developing in engineered water systems constitute a potential target in the battle against biofouling. This report focuses specifically on the presence of sialic acids as part of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of biofilms forming in cooling towers and the potential effect of nutrient starvation on sialic acid presence and abundance. Two cooling water compositions were compared in parallel pilot-scale cooling towers, one poor in nutrients and one enriched in nutrients. Fresh deposits from the two cooling towers were collected after a five-week operation period. EPS extractions and analyses by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing were performed. The results of MS analyses showed the presence of pseudaminic/legionaminic acids (Pse/Leg) and 2-keto-3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-nononic acid (KDN) in both biofilm EPS samples. FTIR measurements showed the characteristic vibration of sialic acid-like compounds ν(C=O)OH in the nutrient poor sample exclusively. Our findings, combined with other recent studies, suggest that bacterial sialic acids are common compounds in environmental biofilms. Additionally, the conservation of sialic acid production pathways under nutrient starvation highlights their importance as constituents of the EPS. Further in-depth studies are necessary to understand the role of sialic acids in the structural cohesion and protection of environmental biofilm layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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16 pages, 2680 KiB  
Perspective
Membrane Contactors for Maximizing Biomethane Recovery in Anaerobic Wastewater Treatments: Recent Efforts and Future Prospect
by Yechan Lee, Kang Hee Yun, Dilhara Sethunga and Tae-Hyun Bae
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1372; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11041372 - 03 Feb 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3113
Abstract
Increasing demand for water and energy has emphasized the significance of energy-efficient anaerobic wastewater treatment; however, anaerobic effluents still containing a large portion of the total CH4 production are discharged to the environment without being utilized as a valuable energy source. Recently, [...] Read more.
Increasing demand for water and energy has emphasized the significance of energy-efficient anaerobic wastewater treatment; however, anaerobic effluents still containing a large portion of the total CH4 production are discharged to the environment without being utilized as a valuable energy source. Recently, gas–liquid membrane contactors have been considered as a promising technology to recover such dissolved methane from the effluent due to their attractive characteristics such as high specific mass transfer area, no flooding at high flow rates, and low energy requirement. Nevertheless, the development and further application of membrane contactors were still not fulfilled due to their inherent issues such as membrane wetting and fouling, which lower the CH4 recovery efficiency and thus net energy production. In this perspective, the topics in membrane contactors for dissolved CH4 recovery are discussed in the following order: (1) operational principle, (2) potential as waste-to-energy conversion system, and (3) technical challenges and recent efforts to address them. Then, future efforts that should be devoted to advancing gas–liquid membrane contactors are suggested as concluding remarks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Membrane Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatments)
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