Separators are a vital component to ensure the safety of lithium-ion batteries. However, the commercial separators employed in lithium ion batteries are inefficient due to their low porosity. In the present study, a simple electrospinning technique is adopted to prepare highly porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based membranes with a higher concentration of lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP) ceramic particles, as a viable alternative to the commercialized separators used in lithium ion batteries. The effect of the LATP particles on the morphology of the porous membranes is demonstrated through Field emission scattering electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra studies suitably demonstrate the mixing of PAN and LATP particles in the polymer matrix. PAN with 30 wt% LATP (P-L30) exhibits an enhanced porosity of 90% and is more thermally stable, with the highest electrolyte uptake among all the prepared membranes. Due to better electrolyte uptake, the P-L30 membrane demonstrates an improved ionic conductivity of 1.7 mS/cm. A coin cell prepared with a P-L30 membrane and a LiFePO4 cathode demonstrates the highest discharge capacity of 158 mAh/g at 0.5C rate. The coin cell with the P-L30 membrane also displays good cycling stability by retaining 87% of the initial discharge capacity after 200 cycles of charging and discharging at 0.5C rate.

In this study, the microbiomes linked with the operational parameters in seven mesophilic full-scale AD plants mainly treating food waste (four plants) and sewage sludge (three plants) were analyzed. The results obtained indicated lower diversity and evenness of the microbial population in sludge digestion (SD) plants compared to food digestion (FD) plants. Candidatus Accumulibacter dominated (up to 42.1%) in SD plants due to microbial immigration from fed secondary sludge (up to 89%). Its potential activity in SD plants was correlated to H₂ production, which was related to the dominance of hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanococcus). In FD plants, a balance between the hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic pathways was found, while Flavobacterium and Levilinea played an important role during acidogenesis. Levilinea also expressed sensitivity to ammonia in FD plants. The substantial differences in hydraulic retention time (HRT), organic loading rate (OLR), and total ammonium nitrogen (TAN) among the studied FD plants did not influence the archaeal methane production pathway. In addition, the bacterial genera responsible for acetate production through syntrophy and homoacetogenesis (Smithella, Treponema) were present in all the plants studied.