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Dr. Ming Xie
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Membrane fouling
0 Membrane bioreactor
0 Membrane filtration for environmental application
0 Removal of emerging micropollutants
0 Mechanosynthesis with environmental application

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Journal article
Published: 09 September 2020 in Carbon
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Water security is a pressing issue for global citizens in the 21st century. Concerns over clean water supply, and the environmental impact of industrial waste water, make water treatment a world-wide problem requiring a simple and effective solution. Membrane distillation is an emerging water purification technique that complements state-of-the-art reverse osmosis processes. Membrane distillation achieves high rejection over a range of salt concentrations while maintaining flux, using a temperature differential as opposed to pressure across the membrane. Importantly the process can be driven using low grade waste heat energy. Current membranes used in membrane distillation do not guarantee stable membrane performance under harsh (high salt and acid or base concentrations) conditions. Here we report, a permeable graphene membrane operating in harsh conditions with no observable degradation. A permeate of pH neutral water with a flux of 25±1 L.m-2.h-1 is produced by this membrane through near (99.9±0.1%) ion rejection from 0.6 M sodium chloride at pH 1 and pH 13, over 144 hours. More complex ion solutions, including real acid mine drainage waste-water, were also successfully purified. These findings may present a membrane that is suitable to improve water supply and reduce the environmental impact of industrial waste-water.

ACS Style

Dong Han Seo; Ming Xie; Adrian T. Murdock; Timothy van der Laan; Malcolm Lawn; Myoung Jun Park; Yun Chul Woo; Shafique Pineda; Jung Mi Hong; Mihaela Grigore; Samuel Yick; Zhaojun Han; Graeme Millar; Stephen Gray; Kostya Ostrikov; Ho Kyong Shon; Avi Bendavid. Rejection of harsh pH saline solutions using graphene membranes. Carbon 2020, 171, 240 -247.

AMA Style

Dong Han Seo, Ming Xie, Adrian T. Murdock, Timothy van der Laan, Malcolm Lawn, Myoung Jun Park, Yun Chul Woo, Shafique Pineda, Jung Mi Hong, Mihaela Grigore, Samuel Yick, Zhaojun Han, Graeme Millar, Stephen Gray, Kostya Ostrikov, Ho Kyong Shon, Avi Bendavid. Rejection of harsh pH saline solutions using graphene membranes. Carbon. 2020; 171 ():240-247.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dong Han Seo; Ming Xie; Adrian T. Murdock; Timothy van der Laan; Malcolm Lawn; Myoung Jun Park; Yun Chul Woo; Shafique Pineda; Jung Mi Hong; Mihaela Grigore; Samuel Yick; Zhaojun Han; Graeme Millar; Stephen Gray; Kostya Ostrikov; Ho Kyong Shon; Avi Bendavid. 2020. "Rejection of harsh pH saline solutions using graphene membranes." Carbon 171, no. : 240-247.

Journal article
Published: 25 August 2020 in Journal of Membrane Science
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This study investigated the effects of surfactant addition to the draw solution on the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR). Forward osmosis (FO) tests were conducted with the addition of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), a representative surfactant, to both inorganic and ionic organic draw solutions, including sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium acetate (NaOAc), and sodium propionate (NaPro), to determine the desirable draw solution for OMBR operation. Results show that SDBS impacts were more notable for inorganic draw solution in comparison to its ionic organic counterparts at the same osmotic pressure (60 bar) in FO operation. In specific, SDBS addition up to 5 mM considerably reduced the reverse diffusion of NaCl draw solute (approximately 69.7%) with insignificant impact on water flux. Thus, salinity build-up in the bioreactor could be effectively mitigated when SDBS was added to the NaCl draw solution in OMBR operation. This mitigation led to stable sludge characteristics and biological treatment to sustain OMBR performance regarding water production (approximately 10 L/m2h) and contaminant removal (e.g. over 90% for pharmaceutically active compounds).

ACS Style

Zhicheng Xu; Xiaoye Song; Ming Xie; Yuting Wang; Nazmul Huda; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. Effects of surfactant addition to draw solution on the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor. Journal of Membrane Science 2020, 618, 118634 .

AMA Style

Zhicheng Xu, Xiaoye Song, Ming Xie, Yuting Wang, Nazmul Huda, Guoxue Li, Wenhai Luo. Effects of surfactant addition to draw solution on the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor. Journal of Membrane Science. 2020; 618 ():118634.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhicheng Xu; Xiaoye Song; Ming Xie; Yuting Wang; Nazmul Huda; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. 2020. "Effects of surfactant addition to draw solution on the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor." Journal of Membrane Science 618, no. : 118634.

Paper
Published: 08 August 2020 in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
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This study investigated the techno-economic feasibility of forward osmosis (FO) for onsite recycling of saline–alkaline soil washing water with an all-purpose liquid fertiliser as a draw solution.

ACS Style

Zhicheng Xu; Ming Xie; Jung Eun Kim; Nazmul Huda; Zideng Gao; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. Emerging investigator series: onsite recycling of saline–alkaline soil washing water by forward osmosis: techno-economic evaluation and implication. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 2020, 6, 1 .

AMA Style

Zhicheng Xu, Ming Xie, Jung Eun Kim, Nazmul Huda, Zideng Gao, Guoxue Li, Wenhai Luo. Emerging investigator series: onsite recycling of saline–alkaline soil washing water by forward osmosis: techno-economic evaluation and implication. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. 2020; 6 (10):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhicheng Xu; Ming Xie; Jung Eun Kim; Nazmul Huda; Zideng Gao; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. 2020. "Emerging investigator series: onsite recycling of saline–alkaline soil washing water by forward osmosis: techno-economic evaluation and implication." Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6, no. 10: 1.

Journal article
Published: 29 July 2020 in Journal of Membrane Science
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We developed a novel amphiphilic copolymer architecture for thin-film composite (TFC) membranes to integrate “resistant” and “release” strategies against membrane fouling. Two materials were sequentially grafted on TFC reverse osmosis membrane surfaces via dual surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP): zwitterionic polymer, poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl-dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide] (pMEDSAH) with strong hydrophilicity and poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (pTFEMA) with low surface energy. According to MD simulation and theoretical quantification, the p(MEDSAH-b-TFEMA)-grafted membranes (i.e. amphiphilic TFC membranes) possess not only strong hydration, but also lower surface energy, which yield the features of both fouling resistant and fouling release properties. The superiority of possessing multi-defense properties was further confirmed by the long-term, multi-cycle membrane fouling and cleaning filtration. Compared with pristine TFC and hydrophilic TFC membranes, the amphiphilic TFC membranes showed not only less water flux decline during the fouling filtration, but also higher water flux recovery after cleaning by water. Both theoretical and experimental results strongly suggest that the amphiphilic TFC membrane is a novel candidate for improving membrane antifouling properties.

ACS Style

Zhe Yang; Xinyu Zhang; Ming Xie; Hao-Chen Wu; Tomohisa Yoshioka; Daisuke Saeki; Hideto Matsuyama. Antifouling thin-film composite membranes with multi-defense properties by controllably constructing amphiphilic diblock copolymer brush layer. Journal of Membrane Science 2020, 614, 118515 .

AMA Style

Zhe Yang, Xinyu Zhang, Ming Xie, Hao-Chen Wu, Tomohisa Yoshioka, Daisuke Saeki, Hideto Matsuyama. Antifouling thin-film composite membranes with multi-defense properties by controllably constructing amphiphilic diblock copolymer brush layer. Journal of Membrane Science. 2020; 614 ():118515.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhe Yang; Xinyu Zhang; Ming Xie; Hao-Chen Wu; Tomohisa Yoshioka; Daisuke Saeki; Hideto Matsuyama. 2020. "Antifouling thin-film composite membranes with multi-defense properties by controllably constructing amphiphilic diblock copolymer brush layer." Journal of Membrane Science 614, no. : 118515.

Journal article
Published: 26 July 2020 in Journal of Membrane Science
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Anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor (AnOMBR) holds promise for simultaneous wastewater purification and biogas production, allowing for an energy and carbon-neutral treatment facility. In a typical AnOMBR, reverse osmosis (RO) is employed for re-concentrating draw solution for continuous operation and cost saving. We compared membrane fouling behaviors between AnOMBR-RO hybrid system and AnOMBR without RO unit. We concluded that the porous support layer was susceptible to both inorganic scaling and biofouling in the closed-loop AnOMBR-RO system. We also explored two cleaning approaches to mitigate inorganic scaling and biofouling. Specifically, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was introduced into draw solution for minimizing inorganic scaling, but biofouling was deteriorated as EDTA provided extra nutrients for bacterial proliferation and biofouling. On the other hand, chemical cleaning of membrane support layer was performed using NaClO solution for biofouling control, but such cleaning efficacy attenuated after several cleaning cycles, because inorganic minerals accumulated and grew within membrane porous layer which could not be flushed by NaClO cleaning. Our finding highlighted the complexity and courter intuitive perspective to membrane fouling and cleaning in AnOMBR-RO hybrid system for inorganic scaling and biofouling management.

ACS Style

Xinhua Wang; Hailong Wang; Ming Xie. Secret underneath: Fouling of membrane support layer in anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor (AnOMBR). Journal of Membrane Science 2020, 614, 118530 .

AMA Style

Xinhua Wang, Hailong Wang, Ming Xie. Secret underneath: Fouling of membrane support layer in anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor (AnOMBR). Journal of Membrane Science. 2020; 614 ():118530.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xinhua Wang; Hailong Wang; Ming Xie. 2020. "Secret underneath: Fouling of membrane support layer in anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor (AnOMBR)." Journal of Membrane Science 614, no. : 118530.

Paper
Published: 11 May 2020 in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
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Anti-fouling and durability are two important parameters that are closely associated with the development and deployment of membrane distillation (MD).

ACS Style

Rui Huang; Zhiquan Liu; Yun Chul Woo; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray; Ming Xie. Emerging investigator series: engineering membrane distillation with nanofabrication: design, performance and mechanisms. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 2020, 6, 1786 -1793.

AMA Style

Rui Huang, Zhiquan Liu, Yun Chul Woo, Wenhai Luo, Stephen R. Gray, Ming Xie. Emerging investigator series: engineering membrane distillation with nanofabrication: design, performance and mechanisms. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. 2020; 6 (7):1786-1793.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rui Huang; Zhiquan Liu; Yun Chul Woo; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray; Ming Xie. 2020. "Emerging investigator series: engineering membrane distillation with nanofabrication: design, performance and mechanisms." Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6, no. 7: 1786-1793.

Journal article
Published: 29 December 2019 in Journal of Membrane Science
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Precious metals, such as platinum group metals (PGMs) with distinct catalytic activity, are widely used as active components in various industrial catalysts. It is, therefore, highly desirable to recover these valuable components from the end-of-life products. We explored treatment of refining wastewater from precious metals recovery using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The role of various initial pH of refining wastewater on DCMD performance was assessed. Results suggested that hydrochloride acid (HCl) and high-quality water can be reclaimed from the real refining wastewater by adjusting initial pH. Furthermore, DCMD water flux decline was mainly caused by silica and chromium (III) scaling, which was dependent on initial pH of refining wastewater. Silica scaling was responsible for the decrease of DCMD performance when the initial pH of refining wastewater increased from original 0.03 to 5 and 7. Silica oligomers in the concentrated feed with various initial pH were identified using mass spectra. Dichlorotetraaquochromiun was identified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet and visible absorbance spectra as the main species contributing to the green colour and scaling on the PTFE membrane surface. Our results suggest that DCMD can be used as a promising and feasible solution for resource recovery from acidic refining waste stream.

ACS Style

Gang Chen; Lihua Tan; Ming Xie; Yanbiao Liu; Yanli Lin; Wenjin Tan; Manhong Huang. Direct contact membrane distillation of refining waste stream from precious metal recovery: Chemistry of silica and chromium (III) in membrane scaling. Journal of Membrane Science 2019, 598, 117803 .

AMA Style

Gang Chen, Lihua Tan, Ming Xie, Yanbiao Liu, Yanli Lin, Wenjin Tan, Manhong Huang. Direct contact membrane distillation of refining waste stream from precious metal recovery: Chemistry of silica and chromium (III) in membrane scaling. Journal of Membrane Science. 2019; 598 ():117803.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gang Chen; Lihua Tan; Ming Xie; Yanbiao Liu; Yanli Lin; Wenjin Tan; Manhong Huang. 2019. "Direct contact membrane distillation of refining waste stream from precious metal recovery: Chemistry of silica and chromium (III) in membrane scaling." Journal of Membrane Science 598, no. : 117803.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2019 in Journal of Environmental Management
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We systematically investigated the transport mechanisms of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in a fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) membrane process. Four representative OMPs, i.e., atenolol, atrazine, primidone, and caffeine, were chosen for their different molecular weights and structural characteristics. All the FDFO experiments were conducted with the membrane active layer on the feed solution (FS) side using three different fertilizer draw solutions (DS): potassium chloride (KCl), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), and diammonium phosphate (DAP) due to their different properties (i.e., osmotic pressure, diffusivity, viscosity and solution pH). Using KCl as the DS resulted in both the highest water flux and the highest reverse solute flux (RSF), while MAP and DAP resulted in similar water fluxes with varying RSF. The pH of the FS increased with DAP as the DS due to the reverse diffusion of NH4+ ions from the DS toward the FS, while for MAP and DAP DS, the pH of the FS was not impacted. The OMPs transport behavior (OMPs flux) was evaluated and compared with a simulated OMPs flux obtained via the pore-hindrance transport model to identify the effects of the OMPs structural properties. When MAP was used as DS, the OMPs flux was dominantly influenced by the physicochemical properties (i.e., hydrophobicity and surface charge). Those OMPs with positive charge and more hydrophobic, exhibited higher forward OMP fluxes. With DAP as the DS, the more hydrated FO membrane (caused by increased pH) as well as the enhanced RSF hindered OMPs transport through the FO membrane. With KCl as DS, the structural properties of the OMPs were dominant factors in the OMPs flux, however the higher RSF of the KCl draw solute may likely hamper the OMPs transport through the membrane especially those with higher MW (e.g., atenolol). The pore-hindrance model can be instrumental in understanding the effects of the hydrodynamic properties and the surface properties on the OMPs transport behaviors.

ACS Style

Youngjin Kim; Sheng Li; Sherub Phuntsho; Ming Xie; Ho Kyong Shon; Noreddine Ghaffour. Understanding the organic micropollutants transport mechanisms in the fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis process. Journal of Environmental Management 2019, 248, 109240 .

AMA Style

Youngjin Kim, Sheng Li, Sherub Phuntsho, Ming Xie, Ho Kyong Shon, Noreddine Ghaffour. Understanding the organic micropollutants transport mechanisms in the fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis process. Journal of Environmental Management. 2019; 248 ():109240.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Youngjin Kim; Sheng Li; Sherub Phuntsho; Ming Xie; Ho Kyong Shon; Noreddine Ghaffour. 2019. "Understanding the organic micropollutants transport mechanisms in the fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis process." Journal of Environmental Management 248, no. : 109240.

Journal article
Published: 30 August 2019 in Journal of Membrane Science
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We compared the performance of conventional and aquaporin thin-film composite forward osmosis (FO) membranes (denoted as HTI and AQP membrane, respectively) for concentration of digested manure centrate. Results show that the two FO membranes were capable to concentrate digested centrate for resource recovery. During concentration of digested manure centrate, a cohesive fouling layer formed on the HTI membrane surface, resulting in more dramatic flux decline and less fouling reversibility in comparison to the AQP membrane. The two FO membranes exhibited effective and comparable rejection of bulk organic matter, total phosphorus, and heavy metals, leading to their notable enrichment in digested manure centrate. By contrast, ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) was only retained by approximately 40% using the two FO membranes with a slightly higher retention by the HTI membrane, since it was less negatively charged. As a result, total nitrogen was ineffectively rejected by the two FO membranes. It is noteworthy that the HTI membrane also contributed to higher rejection of most antibiotics than the AQP membrane, possibly due to enhanced retention by the fouling layer and retarded forward diffusion. Results from this study evidence the outperformance of the AQP membrane as a new generation FO membrane over its conventional counterpart with respect to antifouling property, while further improvement in membrane selectivity, particularly of monovalent cations (e.g. NH4+-N), is needed to advance FO applications in resource recovery from challenging waste streams.

ACS Style

Yun Li; Zhicheng Xu; Ming Xie; Bangxi Zhang; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. Resource recovery from digested manure centrate: Comparison between conventional and aquaporin thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes. Journal of Membrane Science 2019, 593, 117436 .

AMA Style

Yun Li, Zhicheng Xu, Ming Xie, Bangxi Zhang, Guoxue Li, Wenhai Luo. Resource recovery from digested manure centrate: Comparison between conventional and aquaporin thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes. Journal of Membrane Science. 2019; 593 ():117436.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yun Li; Zhicheng Xu; Ming Xie; Bangxi Zhang; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. 2019. "Resource recovery from digested manure centrate: Comparison between conventional and aquaporin thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes." Journal of Membrane Science 593, no. : 117436.

Research article
Published: 09 May 2019 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
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Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is hindered by severe fouling occurred within porous support of the FO membranes. We designed a novel double-skinned FO membrane containing a polyamide salt-rejecting layer and a zwitterionic brushes-decorated, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT/PSBMA) foulant-resisting layer on the back side. Our results demonstrated that the coating of MWCNT/PSBMA layer on the porous polyketone (PK) support imparted enhanced hydrophilicity and smaller membrane pore size, thereby providing excellent resistance toward both protein adhesion and bacterial adsorption. We also further evaluated this resultant double-skinned membrane (i.e., TFC-MWCNT/PSBMA) in dynamic PRO fouling experiments, using protein and alginate as model organic foulants. Comparing to the pristine TFC-PK and hydrophobic TFC-MWCNT membranes, the TFC-MWCNT/PSBMA membrane exhibited not only the lowest water flux decline but also the highest water flux recovery after simple physical flushing. These results shed light on fabrication of antifouling PRO membranes for water purification purposes.

ACS Style

Xinyu Zhang; Ming Xie; Zhe Yang; Hao-Chen Wu; Chuanjie Fang; Langming Bai; Li-Feng Fang; Tomohisa Yoshioka; Hideto Matsuyama. Antifouling Double-Skinned Forward Osmosis Membranes by Constructing Zwitterionic Brush-Decorated MWCNT Ultrathin Films. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2019, 11, 19462 -19471.

AMA Style

Xinyu Zhang, Ming Xie, Zhe Yang, Hao-Chen Wu, Chuanjie Fang, Langming Bai, Li-Feng Fang, Tomohisa Yoshioka, Hideto Matsuyama. Antifouling Double-Skinned Forward Osmosis Membranes by Constructing Zwitterionic Brush-Decorated MWCNT Ultrathin Films. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2019; 11 (21):19462-19471.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xinyu Zhang; Ming Xie; Zhe Yang; Hao-Chen Wu; Chuanjie Fang; Langming Bai; Li-Feng Fang; Tomohisa Yoshioka; Hideto Matsuyama. 2019. "Antifouling Double-Skinned Forward Osmosis Membranes by Constructing Zwitterionic Brush-Decorated MWCNT Ultrathin Films." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 11, no. 21: 19462-19471.

Journal article
Published: 19 March 2019 in Water Research
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Forward osmosis (FO) has gained increasing interests in wastewater treatment and reclamation. However, membrane fouling has become one major obstacle hindering FO application. A novel mitigation approach for FO membrane fouling via in situ extracting Ca2+ binding with the organic foulants using the gradient diffusion thin-films (DGT) was proposed in this study. The DGT could effectively adsorb the Ca2+ binding with the sodium alginate via the chelation of the Chelex functional groups, and its adsorption amount of Ca2+ correspondingly increased as a function of the Ca2+ concentration in the feed solution. Owing to the extraction of Ca2+ from the fouling layer by the DGT, the FO membrane fouling was effectively mitigated evident by significant enhancement of water flux, and at the same time, foulants became easily removed by physical cleaning. The alleviation of FO membrane fouling by the DGT could be attributed to the fact that the structure of the fouling layer became more porous and looser after in situ removing Ca2+ from the alginate-Ca2+ gel networks. The feasibility of fouling control strategy via in situ removing Ca2+ binding with the foulants in the fouling layer was demonstrated, which provides new insights into fouling control mechanisms during FO treating wastewater.

ACS Style

Ling Li; Xinhua Wang; Ming Xie; Zhiwei Wang; Xiufen Li; Yueping Ren. In situ extracting organic-bound calcium: A novel approach to mitigating organic fouling in forward osmosis treating wastewater via gradient diffusion thin-films. Water Research 2019, 156, 102 -109.

AMA Style

Ling Li, Xinhua Wang, Ming Xie, Zhiwei Wang, Xiufen Li, Yueping Ren. In situ extracting organic-bound calcium: A novel approach to mitigating organic fouling in forward osmosis treating wastewater via gradient diffusion thin-films. Water Research. 2019; 156 ():102-109.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ling Li; Xinhua Wang; Ming Xie; Zhiwei Wang; Xiufen Li; Yueping Ren. 2019. "In situ extracting organic-bound calcium: A novel approach to mitigating organic fouling in forward osmosis treating wastewater via gradient diffusion thin-films." Water Research 156, no. : 102-109.

Journal article
Published: 20 February 2019 in Journal of Membrane Science
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Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology for wastewater treatment and reclamation. However, membrane fouling remains a strong hindrance to FO application. We proposed a novel approach for alleviating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing Ca2+ binding with organic foulants using the EDTA-based adsorption layer. Results suggested that the EDTA-based adsorption layer can effectively remove the Ca2+ binding with sodium alginate, and its adsorption capacity correspondingly increased as a function of Ca2+ concentration in the feed solution. Owing to the effective extraction of Ca2+ from the fouling layer by the EDTA-based adsorption layer, water flux of FO membrane was significantly enhanced, and fouling layer became easily removed by physical flushing, suggesting a remarkable alleviation of FO membrane fouling. Mitigation of FO membrane fouling by the EDTA-based adsorption layer was attributed to the fact that the fouling layer structure became more porous and looser after in situ removing Ca2+ from the alginate-Ca2+ gel networks. This study demonstrated a novel fouling control strategy via in situ removing Ca2+ binding with the organic foulants, providing a new avenue for FO membrane fouling management.

ACS Style

Ling Li; Xinhua Wang; Ming Xie; Hailong Wang; Xiufen Li; Yueping Ren. EDTA-based adsorption layer for mitigating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing calcium binding with organic foulants. Journal of Membrane Science 2019, 578, 95 -102.

AMA Style

Ling Li, Xinhua Wang, Ming Xie, Hailong Wang, Xiufen Li, Yueping Ren. EDTA-based adsorption layer for mitigating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing calcium binding with organic foulants. Journal of Membrane Science. 2019; 578 ():95-102.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ling Li; Xinhua Wang; Ming Xie; Hailong Wang; Xiufen Li; Yueping Ren. 2019. "EDTA-based adsorption layer for mitigating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing calcium binding with organic foulants." Journal of Membrane Science 578, no. : 95-102.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2018 in Water Research
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We employed synchrotron infrared (IR) mapping to resolve forward osmosis (FO) membrane fouling in osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR). Synchrotron IR mapping offers a unique perspective to elucidate the fouling mechanisms and associated consequences in OMBR operation. We demonstrated the spatial distribution and relative intensity of carbohydrate and protein longitudinally along of the fouled FO membrane at the conclusion of OMBR operation. Both transmission and attenuated total reflection (ATR) modes were used to map the cross-section and surface of the fouled FO membrane. Micro X-ray computed tomography revealed patchy, “sand-dune” features on the membrane surface at the conclusion of OMBR operation. Synchrotron IR-ATR mapping demonstrated that the development of membrane fouling layer in OMBR operation was initiated by polysaccharide-like carbohydrate, followed by layering with protein-like substance, resulting in a characteristic “sand-dune” three dimensional feature. Synchrotron FTIR mapping shed light on foulant occurrence and accumulation in the draw solution. Strong penetration of protein-like substance into membrane matrix was visualised, resulting the detection of protein adsorption in the region of membrane supporting layer.

ACS Style

Wenhai Luo; Benedicta Arhatari; Stephen Gray; Ming Xie. Seeing is believing: Insights from synchrotron infrared mapping for membrane fouling in osmotic membrane bioreactors. Water Research 2018, 137, 355 -361.

AMA Style

Wenhai Luo, Benedicta Arhatari, Stephen Gray, Ming Xie. Seeing is believing: Insights from synchrotron infrared mapping for membrane fouling in osmotic membrane bioreactors. Water Research. 2018; 137 ():355-361.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wenhai Luo; Benedicta Arhatari; Stephen Gray; Ming Xie. 2018. "Seeing is believing: Insights from synchrotron infrared mapping for membrane fouling in osmotic membrane bioreactors." Water Research 137, no. : 355-361.

Review
Published: 01 June 2018 in Bioresource Technology
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Osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR), which integrates forward osmosis (FO) with biological treatment, has been developed to advance wastewater treatment and reuse. OMBR is superior to conventional MBR, particularly in terms of higher effluent quality, lower membrane fouling propensity, and higher membrane fouling reversibility. Nevertheless, advancement and future deployment of OMBR are hindered by salinity build-up in the bioreactor (e.g., up to 50 mS/cm indicated by the mixed liquor conductivity), due to high salt rejection of the FO membrane and reverse diffusion of the draw solution. This review comprehensively elucidates the relative significance of these two mechanisms towards salinity build-up and its associated effects in OMBR operation. Recently proposed strategies to mitigate salinity build-up in OMBR are evaluated and compared to highlight their potential in practical applications. In addition, the complementarity of system optimization and modification to effectively manage salinity build-up are recommended for sustainable OMBR development.

ACS Style

Xiaoye Song; Ming Xie; Yun Li; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. Salinity build-up in osmotic membrane bioreactors: Causes, impacts, and potential cures. Bioresource Technology 2018, 257, 301 -310.

AMA Style

Xiaoye Song, Ming Xie, Yun Li, Guoxue Li, Wenhai Luo. Salinity build-up in osmotic membrane bioreactors: Causes, impacts, and potential cures. Bioresource Technology. 2018; 257 ():301-310.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xiaoye Song; Ming Xie; Yun Li; Guoxue Li; Wenhai Luo. 2018. "Salinity build-up in osmotic membrane bioreactors: Causes, impacts, and potential cures." Bioresource Technology 257, no. : 301-310.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Water Research
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We investigated transport mechanisms of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) through aquaporin thin-film composite membrane in forward osmosis (FO), and membrane stability under extreme conditions with respect to TrOC rejections. Morphology and surface chemistry of the aquaporin membrane were characterised to identify the incorporation of aquaporin vesicles into membrane active layer. Pore hindrance model was used to estimate aquaporin membrane pore size as well as to describe TrOC transport. TrOC transport mechanisms were revealed by varying concentration and type of draw solutions. Experimental results showed that mechanism of TrOC transport through aquaporin-embedded FO membrane was dominated by solution-diffusion mechanism. Non-ionic TrOC rejections were molecular-weight dependent, suggesting steric hindrance mechanisms. On the other hand, ionic TrOC removal was less sensitive to molecular size, indicating electrostatic interaction. TrOC transport through aquaporin membrane was also subjected to retarded forward diffusion where reverse draw solute flux could hinder the forward diffusion of feed TrOC solutes, reducing their permeation through the FO membrane. Aquaporin membrane stability was demonstrated by either heat treatment or ethanol solvent challenges. Thermal stability of the aquaporin membrane was manifested as a relatively unchanged TrOC rejection before and after the heat treatment challenge test. By contrast, ethanol solvent challenge resulted in a decrease in TrOC rejection, which was evident by the disappearance of the lipid tail of the aquaporin vesicles from infrared spectrum and a notable decrease in the membrane pore size.

ACS Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Hao Guo; Long D. Nghiem; Chuyang Y. Tang; Stephen R. Gray. Trace organic contaminant rejection by aquaporin forward osmosis membrane: Transport mechanisms and membrane stability. Water Research 2018, 132, 90 -98.

AMA Style

Ming Xie, Wenhai Luo, Hao Guo, Long D. Nghiem, Chuyang Y. Tang, Stephen R. Gray. Trace organic contaminant rejection by aquaporin forward osmosis membrane: Transport mechanisms and membrane stability. Water Research. 2018; 132 ():90-98.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Hao Guo; Long D. Nghiem; Chuyang Y. Tang; Stephen R. Gray. 2018. "Trace organic contaminant rejection by aquaporin forward osmosis membrane: Transport mechanisms and membrane stability." Water Research 132, no. : 90-98.

Journal article
Published: 14 February 2018 in Nature Communications
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The inability of membranes to handle a wide spectrum of pollutants is an important unsolved problem for water treatment. Here we demonstrate water desalination via a membrane distillation process using a graphene membrane where water permeation is enabled by nanochannels of multilayer, mismatched, partially overlapping graphene grains. Graphene films derived from renewable oil exhibit significantly superior retention of water vapour flux and salt rejection rates, and a superior antifouling capability under a mixture of saline water containing contaminants such as oils and surfactants, compared to commercial distillation membranes. Moreover, real-world applicability of our membrane is demonstrated by processing sea water from Sydney Harbour over 72 h with macroscale membrane size of 4 cm2, processing ~0.5 L per day. Numerical simulations show that the channels between the mismatched grains serve as an effective water permeation route. Our research will pave the way for large-scale graphene-based antifouling membranes for diverse water treatment applications. Intrinsic limitations of nanoporous graphene limit its applications in water treatment. Here the authors produce post-treatment-free, low-cost graphene-based membranes from renewable biomass and demonstrate their high water permeance and antifouling properties using real seawater.

ACS Style

Dong Han Seo; Shafique Pineda; Yun Chul Woo; Ming Xie; Adrian T. Murdock; Elisa Y. M. Ang; Yalong Jiao; Myoung Jun Park; Sungil Lim; Malcolm Lawn; Fabricio Frizera Borghi; Zhao Jun Han; Stephen Gray; Graeme Millar; Aijun Du; Ho Kyong Shon; Teng Yong Ng; Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov. Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination. Nature Communications 2018, 9, 1 -12.

AMA Style

Dong Han Seo, Shafique Pineda, Yun Chul Woo, Ming Xie, Adrian T. Murdock, Elisa Y. M. Ang, Yalong Jiao, Myoung Jun Park, Sungil Lim, Malcolm Lawn, Fabricio Frizera Borghi, Zhao Jun Han, Stephen Gray, Graeme Millar, Aijun Du, Ho Kyong Shon, Teng Yong Ng, Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov. Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination. Nature Communications. 2018; 9 (1):1-12.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dong Han Seo; Shafique Pineda; Yun Chul Woo; Ming Xie; Adrian T. Murdock; Elisa Y. M. Ang; Yalong Jiao; Myoung Jun Park; Sungil Lim; Malcolm Lawn; Fabricio Frizera Borghi; Zhao Jun Han; Stephen Gray; Graeme Millar; Aijun Du; Ho Kyong Shon; Teng Yong Ng; Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov. 2018. "Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination." Nature Communications 9, no. 1: 1-12.

Published erratum
Published: 01 November 2017 in Water Research
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Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray; Wenli Qin. Corrigendum to “Synchrotron Fourier transformed infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization” [Water Res. 111 (2017) 375–381]. Water Research 2017, 124, 729 .

AMA Style

Ming Xie, Wenhai Luo, Stephen R. Gray, Wenli Qin. Corrigendum to “Synchrotron Fourier transformed infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization” [Water Res. 111 (2017) 375–381]. Water Research. 2017; 124 ():729.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray; Wenli Qin. 2017. "Corrigendum to “Synchrotron Fourier transformed infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization” [Water Res. 111 (2017) 375–381]." Water Research 124, no. : 729.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2017 in Water Research
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Imparting water treatment membrane with surface pattern by nanoimprint offered a novel approach to fouling resistance. We employed nanoimprint to fabricate line-shape nanostructure on membrane distillation (MD) membrane surface. Patterned MD membrane exhibited strong antifouling property to Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein during MD separation. Water flux decline and protein deposition were substantially minimized on the patterned MD membrane in comparison with the pristine one. Such lower fouling propensity on the patterned MD membrane was mainly driven by the weak hydrophobic interaction between BSA protein and patterned MD membrane surface. Weaker adhesion force mapping of the patterned MD membrane was quantified. Representative force-distance curve of pristine MD membrane showed a strong attractive depletion force comparing with that of patterned one. The simple, chemical-free, and scalable nanofabrication approach enables varying designs on membrane surface for special membrane properties.

ACS Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen Gray. Surface pattern by nanoimprint for membrane fouling mitigation: Design, performance and mechanisms. Water Research 2017, 124, 238 -243.

AMA Style

Ming Xie, Wenhai Luo, Stephen Gray. Surface pattern by nanoimprint for membrane fouling mitigation: Design, performance and mechanisms. Water Research. 2017; 124 ():238-243.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen Gray. 2017. "Surface pattern by nanoimprint for membrane fouling mitigation: Design, performance and mechanisms." Water Research 124, no. : 238-243.

Journal article
Published: 27 September 2017 in Bioresource Technology
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In this study, we investigated the performance of an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR) enabled by a novel biomimetic aquaporin forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Membrane performance and removal of 30 trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) were examined. Results show that the aquaporin FO membrane had better transport properties in comparison with conventional cellulose triacetate and polyamide thin-film composite FO membranes. In particular, the aquaporin FO membrane exhibited much lower salt permeability and thus smaller reverse salt flux, resulting in a less severe salinity build-up in the bioreactor during OMBR operation. During OMBR operation, the aquaporin FO membrane well complemented biological treatment for stable and excellent contaminant removal. All 30 TrOCs selected here were removed by over 85% regardless of their diverse properties. Such high and stable contaminant removal over OMBR operation also indicates the stability and compatibility of the aquaporin FO membrane in combination with activated sludge treatment.

ACS Style

Wenhai Luo; Ming Xie; Xiaoye Song; Wenshan Guo; Hao H. Ngo; John L. Zhou; Long Nghiem. Biomimetic aquaporin membranes for osmotic membrane bioreactors: Membrane performance and contaminant removal. Bioresource Technology 2017, 249, 62 -68.

AMA Style

Wenhai Luo, Ming Xie, Xiaoye Song, Wenshan Guo, Hao H. Ngo, John L. Zhou, Long Nghiem. Biomimetic aquaporin membranes for osmotic membrane bioreactors: Membrane performance and contaminant removal. Bioresource Technology. 2017; 249 ():62-68.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wenhai Luo; Ming Xie; Xiaoye Song; Wenshan Guo; Hao H. Ngo; John L. Zhou; Long Nghiem. 2017. "Biomimetic aquaporin membranes for osmotic membrane bioreactors: Membrane performance and contaminant removal." Bioresource Technology 249, no. : 62-68.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2017 in Water Research
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We described a synchrotron-based infrared (IR) microscopic method to characterize fouling layer induced by organic foulants and colloidal silica in membrane distillation (MD). This technique, utilizing the ultrahigh brightness of synchrotron infrared source, enables spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio that was obtained from micrometer-sized samples. Our results showed that synchrotron IR mapping was able to resolve the foulant spatial distribution in combined fouling in MD. Synchrotron IR mapping showed the spatial distribution of binary foulant (i.e., colloidal silica with alginate, bovine serum albumin (BSA) or humic acid, respectively) of the cross-section of MD membrane fouling layer. The well-resolved synchrotron IR mapping is also able to quantify the foulant distribution along the cross-section of the fouled MD membrane, providing detailed information regarding the transport and accumulation of specific foulant, which is of paramount importance to elucidate fouling mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that the synchrotron IR mapping method was a powerful method and had significant potential for both qualitative and quantitative characterization of membrane fouling layer.

ACS Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray. Synchrotron Fourier transform infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization. Water Research 2017, 111, 375 -381.

AMA Style

Ming Xie, Wenhai Luo, Stephen R. Gray. Synchrotron Fourier transform infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization. Water Research. 2017; 111 ():375-381.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ming Xie; Wenhai Luo; Stephen R. Gray. 2017. "Synchrotron Fourier transform infrared mapping: A novel approach for membrane fouling characterization." Water Research 111, no. : 375-381.