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Fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) is a potential alternative to recover and reuse water and nutrients from agricultural wastewater, such as palm oil mill effluent that consists of 95% water and is rich in nutrients. This study investigated the potential of commercial fertilizers as draw solution (DS) in FDFO to treat anaerobic palm oil mill effluent (An-POME). The process parameters affecting FO were studied and optimized, which were then applied to fertilizer selection based on FO performance and fouling propensity. Six commonly used fertilizers were screened and assessed in terms of pure water flux (Jw) and reverse salt flux (JS). Ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), and potassium chloride (KCl) were further evaluated with An-POME. MAP showed the best performance against An-POME, with a high average water flux, low flux decline, the highest performance ratio (PR), and highest water recovery of 5.9% for a 4-h operation. In a 24-h fouling run, the average flux decline and water recovered were 84% and 15%, respectively. Both hydraulic flushing and osmotic backwashing cleaning were able to effectively restore the water flux. The results demonstrated that FDFO using commercial fertilizers has the potential for the treatment of An-POME for water recovery. Nevertheless, further investigation is needed to address challenges such as JS and the dilution factor of DS for direct use of fertigation.
Ruwaida Abdul Wahid; Wei Ang; Abdul Mohammad; Daniel Johnson; Nidal Hilal. Evaluating Fertilizer-Drawn Forward Osmosis Performance in Treating Anaerobic Palm Oil Mill Effluent. Membranes 2021, 11, 566 .
AMA StyleRuwaida Abdul Wahid, Wei Ang, Abdul Mohammad, Daniel Johnson, Nidal Hilal. Evaluating Fertilizer-Drawn Forward Osmosis Performance in Treating Anaerobic Palm Oil Mill Effluent. Membranes. 2021; 11 (8):566.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRuwaida Abdul Wahid; Wei Ang; Abdul Mohammad; Daniel Johnson; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Evaluating Fertilizer-Drawn Forward Osmosis Performance in Treating Anaerobic Palm Oil Mill Effluent." Membranes 11, no. 8: 566.
Emerging technologies present many new possibilities for diversifying the desalination industry, which is currently dominated by thermal desalination, and reverse osmosis. In this review, we highlight recent developments in emerging desalination technologies, focusing on those nearing commercialization i.e. forward osmosis and membrane distillation, as well as electrochemical processes that hold potential for technological maturity and upscaling. Literature shows that emerging desalination technologies have benefited greatly from advances in nanomaterials. However, a membrane-based approach alone will not realize commercialization of forward osmosis or membrane distillation. In the case of forward osmosis, appropriate selection of draw solute as well as low-cost recovery of the draw solution towards low energy consumption will be important in full-scale commercialization. In membrane distillation, use of low-grade heat as well as hybrid systems driven by renewable energy sources are likely to facilitate growth. We also review advances in smart process monitoring and control through innovative in situ methods that can further lower operational costs associated with manual sampling and frequent membrane replacement, particularly in membrane distillation. Furthermore, breakthroughs in desalination batteries to remove salt ions using high capacity battery materials may lead to the revival of electrochemical processes for seawater desalination as well as niche desalination applications. Future work should be geared towards optimization of system design and economic assessment of upscaling.
Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Abdullah Khalil; Nidal Hilal. Emerging desalination technologies: Current status, challenges and future trends. Desalination 2021, 517, 115183 .
AMA StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed, Abdullah Khalil, Nidal Hilal. Emerging desalination technologies: Current status, challenges and future trends. Desalination. 2021; 517 ():115183.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed; Abdullah Khalil; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Emerging desalination technologies: Current status, challenges and future trends." Desalination 517, no. : 115183.
Ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes have attracted great research interest to treat dye wastewaters. However, UF membranes suffer from low dye rejection and NF membranes have low salt recovery. There is a tradeoff between the dye rejection and salt recovery in the UF and NF membranes. A novel membrane is required for dye rejection with high salt recovery. Herein, we report a novel UF conductive ceramic membrane made from nano-zeolite and carbon nanostructures (CNS) combined with an external electric potential to treat crystal violet (CV) dye/NaCl-Na2SO4 salt solution. The membrane showed trimodal hierarchical porosity, a water contact angle of ≈40°, good flexibility and high electrical conductivity. Voltages from 2 to 15 V were applied to the membrane acting as a cathode in a cross-flow filtration setup. High dye rejections ≈100% with a flux of 210 LMH at a voltage as low as 3 V were achieved. Contemporaneous dye degradation was observed with several intermediate compounds, identified through mass spectroscopy. It was observed that higher potentials produced nitrates/nitrites from organic intermediates as deduced from ion chromatography results. Donnan steric repulsion increased with higher potentials, leading to increased ion transfer resistance for anions and improved permeation for cations. Various permeate properties such as pH and conductivity were monitored, along with high salt recoveries, hence providing a huge advantage of using such a membrane for treating dye wastewaters with selective dye/salt rejection. The versatile properties, together with its facile fabrication process indicates tremendous prospect of zeolite/CNS membranes for multipurpose applications treating wastewaters containing charged molecules and ions.
Shaheen F. Anis; Boor S. Lalia; Alain Lesimple; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Electrically conductive membranes for contemporaneous dye rejection and degradation. Chemical Engineering Journal 2021, 428, 131184 .
AMA StyleShaheen F. Anis, Boor S. Lalia, Alain Lesimple, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Electrically conductive membranes for contemporaneous dye rejection and degradation. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2021; 428 ():131184.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShaheen F. Anis; Boor S. Lalia; Alain Lesimple; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Electrically conductive membranes for contemporaneous dye rejection and degradation." Chemical Engineering Journal 428, no. : 131184.
Fouling is major concern in several industries involving separation of heavy oil components such as crude and motor oils. In this work, a novel free-standing, conductive ceramic membrane, made from nanozeolite and carbon nanostructures (CNS) was fabricated. Various nano-zeolite: CNS ratios were studied. The membranes were tested for oil/water separation with oil concentration of 600 ppm using a dead-end filtration setup under an applied vacuum of 70 kPa on the permeate side. The zeolite nanoparticles provide excellent underwater oleophobicity and a hydrophilic interface, resulting in efficient oil/water separation with a high rejection of 98% for crude oil. The role of CNS in the composite membrane is three-fold; acting as a binder for zeolite nanoparticles, to provide flexibility and to make the membrane conductive. The hierarchical membrane structure formed from hydrophilic zeolite nanoparticles embedded with the CNS greatly facilitates the rapid permeation of water with a high flux of ˃400 L/m2 h for oil/water separation. With increasing zeolite composition relative to CNS, membrane separation performance was observed to increase till 60 wt. % zeolite content. However, higher percentage decreased the flux considerably while keeping the oil rejection constant. Membrane repeatability was studied by performing 10 filtration cycles, where a decrease in flux to about 50% was observed by the end of the 5th cycle. The conductive nature of the membrane (electrical conductivity = 4.9 × 103 S/m) allowed periodic electrolysis of the membrane, hence recovering the flux considerably after each cycle, and reaching about 80% by the end of the 10th cycle. This work provides a new way to develop ceramic based self-cleaning membranes which are applicable in various industries where fouling in ceramic membranes is a major drawback.
Shaheen Fatima Anis; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Hierarchical underwater oleophobic electro-ceramic/carbon nanostructure membranes for highly efficient oil-in-water separation. Separation and Purification Technology 2021, 275, 119241 .
AMA StyleShaheen Fatima Anis, Boor Singh Lalia, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Hierarchical underwater oleophobic electro-ceramic/carbon nanostructure membranes for highly efficient oil-in-water separation. Separation and Purification Technology. 2021; 275 ():119241.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShaheen Fatima Anis; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Hierarchical underwater oleophobic electro-ceramic/carbon nanostructure membranes for highly efficient oil-in-water separation." Separation and Purification Technology 275, no. : 119241.
Zeolites, in the form of monolithic and well-defined structures, offer great opportunity as potential adsorbents to remediate various environmental pollutants. In this work, zeolite-Y structures were fabricated via 3D printing technique and their potential was demonstrated for removing toxic heavy metals from wastewater. Using a lab-scale column-type configuration, the mesoporous 3D printed zeolite structures were tested as adsorbents for heavy metals such as lead and copper that are known toxic pollutants normally present in the variety of industrial wastewaters. The results indicate that 3D printed zeolite-Y structures can reduce the concentration of lead and copper by more than 90% under optimal pH and low flow rate conditions. In addition, the structures remained stable with a repeatable performance after several water treatment cycles. This study, therefore, demonstrates the potential of 3D printing technology to fabricate zeolites in the desired geometries that can be employed in the continuous flow systems for wastewater treatment and other similar applications.
Abdullah Khalil; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 3D printed zeolite-Y for removing heavy metals from water. Journal of Water Process Engineering 2021, 42, 102187 .
AMA StyleAbdullah Khalil, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. 3D printed zeolite-Y for removing heavy metals from water. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2021; 42 ():102187.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbdullah Khalil; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "3D printed zeolite-Y for removing heavy metals from water." Journal of Water Process Engineering 42, no. : 102187.
Unmatched flexibility in terms of material selection, design and scalability, along with gradually decreasing cost, has led 3D printing to gain significant attention in various water treatment and desalination applications. In desalination, 3D printing has been applied to improve the energy efficiency of existing technologies. For thermal desalination, this involves the use of 3D printed components that enhance water evaporation and energy harvesting with new materials and designs. For membrane-based desalination, 3D printing offers membranes and other module components with customized materials and geometries for better fouling resistance and productivity. This review highlights the current status, advances and challenges associated with 3D printing in both thermal and membrane-based desalination technologies. Other unique benefits offered by 3D printing for water desalination along with the associated challenges are also discussed in this review. Finally, the future prospects and research directions are highlighted related to the application of 3D printing in the water desalination industry.
Abdullah Khalil; Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Nidal Hilal. The emerging role of 3D printing in water desalination. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 790, 148238 .
AMA StyleAbdullah Khalil, Farah Ejaz Ahmed, Nidal Hilal. The emerging role of 3D printing in water desalination. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 790 ():148238.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbdullah Khalil; Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "The emerging role of 3D printing in water desalination." Science of The Total Environment 790, no. : 148238.
Water constitutes one of the basic necessities of life. Around 71% of the Earth is covered by water, however, not all of it is readily available as fresh water for daily consumption. Fresh water scarcity is a chronic issue which poses a threat to all living things on Earth. Seawater, as a natural resource abundantly available all around the world, is a potential water source to fulfil the increasing water demand. Climate-independent seawater desalination has been touted as a crucial alternative to provide fresh water. While the membrane-based desalination process continues to dominate the global desalination market, the currently employed membrane fabrication materials and processes inevitably bring adverse impacts to the environment. This review aims to elucidate and provide a comprehensive outlook of the recent efforts based on greener approaches used for desalination membrane fabrication, which paves the way towards achieving sustainable and eco-friendly processes. Membrane fabrication using green chemistry effectively minimizes the generation of hazardous compounds during membrane preparation. The future trends and recommendations which could potentially be beneficial for researchers in this field are also highlighted.
Wei Lee; Pei Goh; Woei Lau; Ahmad Ismail; Nidal Hilal. Green Approaches for Sustainable Development of Liquid Separation Membrane. Membranes 2021, 11, 235 .
AMA StyleWei Lee, Pei Goh, Woei Lau, Ahmad Ismail, Nidal Hilal. Green Approaches for Sustainable Development of Liquid Separation Membrane. Membranes. 2021; 11 (4):235.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWei Lee; Pei Goh; Woei Lau; Ahmad Ismail; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Green Approaches for Sustainable Development of Liquid Separation Membrane." Membranes 11, no. 4: 235.
Membrane fouling is a major drawback in membrane-based separation processes. In this work, periodic electrolytic membrane cleaning was used for the first time on ceramic-based electrically conductive membranes made from nano-zeolite and carbon nanostructures (CNS). Highly conductive nano zeolite/CNS, hydrophilic microfiltration membranes were fabricated through vacuum filtration, with PVDF as a binder for improved mechanical strength. Membrane cross-section revealed a uniform nano-zeolite distribution within the CNS. The membrane was subjected to periodic electrolysis during the filtration of yeast and sodium alginate (SA) as model foulants. High flux recoveries were obtained, with flux increasing to 95% and 90% for yeast and SA after the first cycle compared to without electrolysis. Subsequent increase in flux was observed thereafter each cleaning cycle reducing the concentration boundary layer. The composite membrane possessed high electrical conductivity and good electrocatalytic behavior for hydrogen evolution, which enabled membrane surface cleaning through the generation of hydrogen bubbles which led to the sweeping away of the foulant layer during the electrocatalytic cleaning between each filtration cycle. The membrane also showed good anti-microbial properties with low bacterial proliferation for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. These electro-ceramic self-cleaning membranes hold immense potential in several types of separation processes where ceramic membranes are a choice of material, and where bio-fouling is a predominant factor for flux decline.
Shaheen Fatima Anis; Boor Singh Lalia; Mostafa Khair; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Electro-ceramic self-cleaning membranes for biofouling control and prevention in water treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal 2021, 415, 128395 .
AMA StyleShaheen Fatima Anis, Boor Singh Lalia, Mostafa Khair, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Electro-ceramic self-cleaning membranes for biofouling control and prevention in water treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2021; 415 ():128395.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShaheen Fatima Anis; Boor Singh Lalia; Mostafa Khair; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2021. "Electro-ceramic self-cleaning membranes for biofouling control and prevention in water treatment." Chemical Engineering Journal 415, no. : 128395.
Nano zeolite-Y ultrafiltration (UF) membrane, with mean pore diameter of 28 nm was fabricated using a simple isostatic pressing technique. Zeolite-Y has preferential water pathways and a unique 3-D microporous structure. The zeolite-Y used in this study has an Al to Si (Al/Si) ratio of 0.07 which renders the membrane superhydrophilic with complete wetting of water in air. Whereas, when it is underwater, the membrane is superoleophobic with a contact angle of 156°. This study compared membranes with two different zeolite particle sizes, above and below 100 nm for their membrane morphology, and wetting properties, directly affecting the separation of oil-in-water separation. The membrane separation capabilities were tested for 600 mg/L of xylene, motor oil and crude oil mixture in water. There are limited studies on treating oil/water mixtures having nanoemulsions with stand-alone zeolite membranes, and thus this study provides a deeper insight on utilizing such a ceramic material for improved separation processes. A flux of 45−70 L/m2.h was obtained for the nano-zeolite membrane, depending upon the type of oil, with the motor oil giving the lowest flux due to its heavy components. The nano-zeolite membranes produced ∼ 20 % higher flux than the micro-zeolite membrane at a membrane pressure of 70 kPa. A higher flux was attributed to the higher membrane porosity and favored nano-channel pathways along the zeolite pores for the water molecules. In addition, oil rejections as high as 99.8 % with oil content as low as 1.57 ± 0.2 mg/L were obtained. Thus, the membrane was found to be very effective in nanoemulsion oil-water separation owing to its exceptional structural properties and superoleophobicity of oil under water.
Shaheen F. Anis; Boor S. Lalia; Alain Lesimple; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic nano zeolite membranes for efficient oil-in-water nanoemulsion separation. Journal of Water Process Engineering 2020, 40, 101802 .
AMA StyleShaheen F. Anis, Boor S. Lalia, Alain Lesimple, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic nano zeolite membranes for efficient oil-in-water nanoemulsion separation. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2020; 40 ():101802.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShaheen F. Anis; Boor S. Lalia; Alain Lesimple; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic nano zeolite membranes for efficient oil-in-water nanoemulsion separation." Journal of Water Process Engineering 40, no. : 101802.
With limited resources as a driver, the search for novel materials for improved desalination processes has been a major component of water research in recent years. Graphene and its derivatives are one such promising material. Graphene is a 2D material, which exhibits remarkable strength and durability, has a very high specific surface area, is easily modified and has high thermal and electrical conductivity. As a result, it is a candidate material for a remarkable range of desalination applications, including in membranes for separation processes, direct solar thermal desalination and electrolytic desalination processes. This review paper describes the background and properties of interest for desalination processes and reviews the recent literature for graphene compounds used in membrane processes (including reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, pervapouration, electrodialysis), capacitive deionisation and solar desalination. Overall, high permeability combined with high salt rejection compared with conventional materials for these applications, suggest that these materials could potentially revolutionise desalination if they can be produced at commercial scales at competitive costs.
Daniel J. Johnson; Nidal Hilal. Can graphene and graphene oxide materials revolutionise desalination processes? Desalination 2020, 500, 114852 .
AMA StyleDaniel J. Johnson, Nidal Hilal. Can graphene and graphene oxide materials revolutionise desalination processes? Desalination. 2020; 500 ():114852.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel J. Johnson; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Can graphene and graphene oxide materials revolutionise desalination processes?" Desalination 500, no. : 114852.
Forward osmosis (FO) has been recognized as the preferred alternative membrane-based separation technology for conventional water treatment technologies due to its high energy efficiency and promising separation performances. FO has been widely explored in the fields of wastewater treatment, desalination, food industry and bio-products, and energy generation. The substrate of the typically used FO thin film composite membranes serves as a support for selective layer formation and can significantly affect the structural and physicochemical properties of the resultant selective layer. This signifies the importance of substrate exploration to fine-tune proper fabrication and modification in obtaining optimized substrate structure with regards to thickness, tortuosity, and porosity on the two sides. The ultimate goal of substrate modification is to obtain a thin and highly selective membrane with enhanced hydrophilicity, antifouling propensity, as well as long duration stability. This review focuses on the various strategies used for FO membrane substrate fabrication and modification. An overview of FO membranes is first presented. The extant strategies applied in FO membrane substrate fabrications and modifications in addition to efforts made to mitigate membrane fouling are extensively reviewed. Lastly, the future perspective regarding the strategies on different FO substrate layers in water treatment are highlighted.
Nur Diyana Suzaimi; Pei Sean Goh; Ahmad Fauzi Ismail; Stanley Chinedu Mamah; Nik Ahmad Nizam Nik Malek; Jun Wei Lim; Kar Chun Wong; Nidal Hilal. Strategies in Forward Osmosis Membrane Substrate Fabrication and Modification: A Review. Membranes 2020, 10, 332 .
AMA StyleNur Diyana Suzaimi, Pei Sean Goh, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Stanley Chinedu Mamah, Nik Ahmad Nizam Nik Malek, Jun Wei Lim, Kar Chun Wong, Nidal Hilal. Strategies in Forward Osmosis Membrane Substrate Fabrication and Modification: A Review. Membranes. 2020; 10 (11):332.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNur Diyana Suzaimi; Pei Sean Goh; Ahmad Fauzi Ismail; Stanley Chinedu Mamah; Nik Ahmad Nizam Nik Malek; Jun Wei Lim; Kar Chun Wong; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Strategies in Forward Osmosis Membrane Substrate Fabrication and Modification: A Review." Membranes 10, no. 11: 332.
Nowadays, integrated microfiltration (MF) membrane systems treatment is becoming widely popular due to its feasibility, process reliability, commercial availability, modularity, relative insensitivity in case of wastewater of various industrial sources as well as raw water treatment and lower operating costs. The well thought out, designed and implemented use of membranes can decrease capital cost, reduce chemical usage, and require little maintenance. Due to their resistance to extreme operating conditions and cleaning protocols, ceramic MF membranes are gradually becoming more employed in the drinking water and wastewater treatment industries when compared with organic and polymeric membranes. Regardless of their many advantages, during continuous operation these membranes are susceptible to a fouling process that can be detrimental for successful and continuous plant operations. Chemical and microbial agents including suspended particles, organic matter particulates, microorganisms and heavy metals mainly contribute to fouling, a complex multifactorial phenomenon. Several strategies, such as chemical cleaning protocols, turbulence promoters and backwashing with air or liquids are currently used in the industry, mainly focusing around early prevention and treatment, so that the separation efficiency of MF membranes will not decrease over time. Other strategies include combining coagulation with either inorganic or organic coagulants, with membrane treatment which can potentially enhance pollutants retention and reduce membrane fouling.
Mohammed Wali Hakami; Abdullah Alkhudhiri; Sirhan Al-Batty; Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof; Jon Maddy; Nidal Hilal. Ceramic Microfiltration Membranes in Wastewater Treatment: Filtration Behavior, Fouling and Prevention. Membranes 2020, 10, 248 .
AMA StyleMohammed Wali Hakami, Abdullah Alkhudhiri, Sirhan Al-Batty, Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof, Jon Maddy, Nidal Hilal. Ceramic Microfiltration Membranes in Wastewater Treatment: Filtration Behavior, Fouling and Prevention. Membranes. 2020; 10 (9):248.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMohammed Wali Hakami; Abdullah Alkhudhiri; Sirhan Al-Batty; Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof; Jon Maddy; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Ceramic Microfiltration Membranes in Wastewater Treatment: Filtration Behavior, Fouling and Prevention." Membranes 10, no. 9: 248.
Membrane distillation (MD) lags behind other desalination processes such as reverse osmosis due to relatively high energy consumption. Heating in membrane distillation forms a significant component of total energy consumption. This review provides an overview of the various conventional and non-conventional heating methods used in the MD process, focusing on its application for water desalination. To make MD competitive with existing technologies, research should be directed at low-cost energy sources or alternative heating methods. Development of alternative heating methods is based on the direct heating of feed water where the driving force for distillation can be generated inside the membrane module, as is the case for photothermal heating, electrothermal heating or induction heating. Direct heating of the feed near the membrane surface can improve the thermal efficiency and economics of the MD process. Through this literature survey, we have identified some areas to guide future research in alternative heating techniques for membrane distillation.
Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Alternative heating techniques in membrane distillation: A review. Desalination 2020, 496, 114713 .
AMA StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed, Boor Singh Lalia, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Alternative heating techniques in membrane distillation: A review. Desalination. 2020; 496 ():114713.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Alternative heating techniques in membrane distillation: A review." Desalination 496, no. : 114713.
Desalinated water is not suitable for direct use as it is prone to corrosion and has adverse effects on human health and the environment. Desalinated water is slightly acidic, lacks minerals and cannot be used un-buffered, thus making remineralization an important component downstream of desalination. We systematically review remineralization requirements and regulations with respect to corrosion control, human health and agriculture needs. This includes not only concentrations of specific ions, but also relative ratios. We compare and contrast existing remineralization methods with emerging, energy-efficient methods that require less chemicals. The impact of the lack of certain minerals such as magnesium, calcium and sulfate, on health and environment are evaluated in order to guide regulatory bodies towards maintaining safe standards. Emerging methods include harvesting minerals from seawater or brine through the combination of nanofiltration membranes with others (CIX, UF, Diananofiltration) and using them to re-mineralize the product stream. This reduces the need for chemicals from an external source and thus lowers the environmental impact. This review is to be used as a tool for guiding readers in proper remineralization choices depending on their application.
Alain Lesimple; Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Nidal Hilal. Remineralization of desalinated water: Methods and environmental impact. Desalination 2020, 496, 114692 .
AMA StyleAlain Lesimple, Farah Ejaz Ahmed, Nidal Hilal. Remineralization of desalinated water: Methods and environmental impact. Desalination. 2020; 496 ():114692.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlain Lesimple; Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Remineralization of desalinated water: Methods and environmental impact." Desalination 496, no. : 114692.
Further reduction in energy consumption is an attractive prospect for both well-established technologies such as reverse osmosis and electrodialysis, and for emerging desalination technologies struggling to reach commercialization. One way of reducing energy consumption and meeting target water demands is by playing on the strengths of two or more processes through hybridization. Other key objectives of hybridization include flexible operation, increased plant capacity and/or meeting specific water quality requirements. Here, we provide a critical review of hybrid desalination systems, and methods used to optimize such systems with respect to these objectives. Providing a brief overview of current status and energy consumption in both mature and developing desalination processes, we review the advantages and challenges of hybridization of these processes to overcome limitations of standalone systems. For instance, coupling of electrodialysis with reverse osmosis helps overcome the low recovery of reverse osmosis systems. On the other hand, reverse osmosis can be coupled with membrane distillation for treatment of hypersaline feed solutions or for zero liquid discharge brine treatment. Forward osmosis relies on hybridization with a low-cost separation process to recover the draw solution. Some promising candidates for this have been nanofiltration and membrane distillation. Membrane distillation hybrids are suitable when thermal energy can be supplied at very low costs. We also review the applicability of salinity gradient power technologies with desalination systems and identify gaps that need to be addressed for effective upscaling and implementation of such hybrid systems.
Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Hybrid technologies: The future of energy efficient desalination – A review. Desalination 2020, 495, 114659 .
AMA StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Hybrid technologies: The future of energy efficient desalination – A review. Desalination. 2020; 495 ():114659.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Hybrid technologies: The future of energy efficient desalination – A review." Desalination 495, no. : 114659.
The world is facing the third coronavirus caused pandemic in less than twenty years. The SARS-CoV-2 virus not only affects the human respiratory system, but also the gastrointestinal tract. The virus has been found in human feces, in sewage and in wastewater treatment plants. It has the potential to become a panzootic disease, as it is now proven that several mammalian species become infected. Since it has been shown that the virus can be detected in sewage even before the onset of symptoms in the local population, Wastewater Based Epidemiology should be developed not only to localize infection clusters of the primary wave but also to detect a potential second, or subsequent, wave. To prevent a panzootic, virus removal techniques from wastewater need to be implemented to prevent the virus dissemination into the environment. In that context, this review presents recent improvements in all the fields of wastewater treatment from treatment ponds to the use of algae or nanomaterials with a particular emphasis on membrane-based techniques.
Alain Lesimple; Saad Y. Jasim; Daniel J. Johnson; Nidal Hilal. The role of wastewater treatment plants as tools for SARS-CoV-2 early detection and removal. Journal of Water Process Engineering 2020, 38, 101544 -101544.
AMA StyleAlain Lesimple, Saad Y. Jasim, Daniel J. Johnson, Nidal Hilal. The role of wastewater treatment plants as tools for SARS-CoV-2 early detection and removal. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2020; 38 ():101544-101544.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlain Lesimple; Saad Y. Jasim; Daniel J. Johnson; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "The role of wastewater treatment plants as tools for SARS-CoV-2 early detection and removal." Journal of Water Process Engineering 38, no. : 101544-101544.
The utilization of seawater for drinking purposes is limited by the high specific energy consumption (SEC) (kW-h/m3) of present desalination technologies; both thermal and membrane-based. This is in turn exasperated by high water production costs, adding up to the water scarcity around the globe. Most technologies are already working near their thermodynamic limit, while posing challenges in further SEC reductions. Understanding the current energy status and energy breakdowns of leading desalination technologies will further help in realizing limitations and boundaries imposed while working for improved system performances. This paper comprehensively reviews the energy requirements and potential research areas for reduced SEC of various thermal, membrane-based and emerging desalination technologies. For thermal desalination processes, which consume a large chunk of energy for heating, renewable energy sources can be a viable option for bringing down the energy requirements. Hence, this review also focuses on the potential of desalination-renewable energy integrations. The review extends beyond conventional energy reduction possibilities to utilizing novel, advanced membranes and innovative techniques for energy offsets. The future of desalination for optimized energy requirements is projected to include ultra-high permeability membranes, fouling resistant membranes, hybrid systems, and renewable-energy driven desalination.
Haya Nassrullah; Shaheen Fatima Anis; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Energy for desalination: A state-of-the-art review. Desalination 2020, 491, 114569 .
AMA StyleHaya Nassrullah, Shaheen Fatima Anis, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Energy for desalination: A state-of-the-art review. Desalination. 2020; 491 ():114569.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHaya Nassrullah; Shaheen Fatima Anis; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Energy for desalination: A state-of-the-art review." Desalination 491, no. : 114569.
Membrane-based desalination technologies for agricultural applications are widely applied in many countries around the world. Sustainable and cost-effective desalination technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), membrane distillation, forward osmosis, membrane bioreactor, and electrodialysis, are available to provide treated water, but the pure water product does not contain the required level of nutrients to supply agricultural fields. This can be overcome by the use of blended water to meet the required quality of irrigation water for crop production, which is expensive in areas lacking in freshwater resources. The adoption of a hybrid system offers many advantages, such as generating drinking water and water enriched with nutrient at low cost and energy consumption if natural power is used. This review focusses on summarizing the current and recent trends in membrane desalination processes used for agricultural purposes. The challenges being faced with desalinating seawater/brackish water and wastewater are discussed. A specific focus was placed on the viability of hybrid desalination processes and other advanced recovery systems to obtain valuable irrigation water. A comparison between various membrane desalination technologies in terms of treatment efficiency and resource recovery potential is discussed. Lastly, concluding remarks and research opportunities of membrane technologies are analyzed. We concluded that the ED process can be utilized to minimize the energy requirements of other membrane technologies. The MD coupled with ED system can also be utilized to generate high quality irrigation water at low energy requirement. The FO-ED hybrid system exhibited excellent performance and very low energy consumption as compared to other hybrid systems.
Wafa Suwaileh; Daniel Johnson; Nidal Hilal. Membrane desalination and water re-use for agriculture: State of the art and future outlook. Desalination 2020, 491, 114559 .
AMA StyleWafa Suwaileh, Daniel Johnson, Nidal Hilal. Membrane desalination and water re-use for agriculture: State of the art and future outlook. Desalination. 2020; 491 ():114559.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWafa Suwaileh; Daniel Johnson; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Membrane desalination and water re-use for agriculture: State of the art and future outlook." Desalination 491, no. : 114559.
Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven separation process with great potential, but is currently limited by low energy efficiency. Heating of the entire circulating feed represents a major source of energy consumption in MD. Here, we present electrically conductive carbon nanostructure (CNS-) coated polypropylene (PP) membranes as a possible candidate to mitigate energy consumption through selected electrothermal heating of the membrane surface. A membrane for MD was coated with CNS using a tape casting technique. The resulting CNS-PP membrane is hydrophobic, and its smaller pore size and narrow pore size distribution resulted in a higher liquid entry pressure compared to the uncoated PP membrane. An increase in surface temperature was observed when a current was passed through the conductive CNS layer. The CNS layer on the PP membrane acts as an electrothermal heater when an AC potential is applied, and the rate of heating is proportional to the amplitude of applied AC potential. We applied electrothermal heating of these membranes to desalination by direct contact membrane distillation, in conjunction with heating of the circulating feed, and compared the performance with and without application of AC bias at three feed temperatures viz. 40, 50 and 60 °C. Applying a potential across the CNS layer increased permeate flux by 75, 76 and 61% at feed temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 °C respectively, while maintaining a salt rejection of >99%. This increase in flux is accompanied by a reduction in specific energy consumption of greater than 50% for all three feed temperatures. By combining electrothermal surface heating with MD, this study paves the way for smart, low-energy MD systems.
Farah Ejaz Ahmed; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. Enhanced performance of direct contact membrane distillation via selected electrothermal heating of membrane surface. Journal of Membrane Science 2020, 610, 118224 .
AMA StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed, Boor Singh Lalia, Raed Hashaikeh, Nidal Hilal. Enhanced performance of direct contact membrane distillation via selected electrothermal heating of membrane surface. Journal of Membrane Science. 2020; 610 ():118224.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFarah Ejaz Ahmed; Boor Singh Lalia; Raed Hashaikeh; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Enhanced performance of direct contact membrane distillation via selected electrothermal heating of membrane surface." Journal of Membrane Science 610, no. : 118224.
Recently, Forward Osmosis (FO) desalination process has been widely investigated as a potential technology that could minimize the drawbacks of traditional desalination processes. To review the past, current, and future research scope of the FO desalination process, a statistical analysis that gives insights on the FO topics of interest is needed to assist researchers in the development of the FO technology. The main objective of this work is to conduct a survey highlighting the general and specific research trends in FO technology topics. The level of research interest is quantified based on the number of publications in each area collected from Science Direct and Scopus databases from 1999 to 2020. This survey indicated an increasing number of publications on the FO processes and membranes technology. The topics of interest are fouling phenomenon, draw solutions, membrane fabrication and modification. Some potential research areas highlighted in this review to help researchers to further advance the FO technology. This review reveals that recycling the draw solution and energy consumption are the most important research areas that have shown growth in the number of publications over the last eight years. An increase of publications was also found in the treatment of the organic matter over the last decade. To further promote FO process in industry, developing FO membranes, optimizing the energy consumption, and establishing an effective recovery system are the most essential topics. Thus, the interest in this process is expected to be continued in the future.
Wafa Suwaileh; Nirenkumar Pathak; Hokyong Shon; Nidal Hilal. Forward osmosis membranes and processes: A comprehensive review of research trends and future outlook. Desalination 2020, 485, 114455 .
AMA StyleWafa Suwaileh, Nirenkumar Pathak, Hokyong Shon, Nidal Hilal. Forward osmosis membranes and processes: A comprehensive review of research trends and future outlook. Desalination. 2020; 485 ():114455.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWafa Suwaileh; Nirenkumar Pathak; Hokyong Shon; Nidal Hilal. 2020. "Forward osmosis membranes and processes: A comprehensive review of research trends and future outlook." Desalination 485, no. : 114455.