Water is needed for food processing facilities to carry out a number of tasks, including moving goods, washing, processing, and cleaning operations. This causes them to produce wastewater effluent, and they are typically undesirable since it contains a high volume of suspended solids, bacteria, dyestuffs, salts, oils, fats, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand. Therefore, treatment of food industry wastewater effluent is critical in improving process conditions, socio-economic benefits and our environmental. This short review summarizes the role of available membrane technologies that have been employed for food wastewater treatment and analyse their performance. Particularly, electrospun nanofiber membrane technology is revealed as an emerging membrane science and technology area producing materials of increasing performance and effectiveness in treating wastewater. This review reveals the challenges and perspectives that will assist in treating the food industry wastewater by developing novel membrane technologies.

Using an environmentally friendly approach for eliminating methylene blue from an aqueous solution, the authors developed a unique electrospun nanofiber membrane made of a combination of polyethersulfone and hydroxypropyl cellulose (PES/HPC). SEM results confirmed the formation of a uniformly sized nanofiber membrane with an ultrathin diameter of 168.5 nm (for PES/HPC) and 261.5 nm (for pristine PES), which can be correlated by observing the absorption peaks in FTIR spectra and their amorphous/crystalline phases in the XRD pattern. Additionally, TGA analysis indicated that the addition of HPC plays a role in modulating their thermal stability. Moreover, the blended nanofiber membrane exhibited better mechanical strength and good hydrophilicity (measured by the contact angle). The highest adsorption capacity was achieved at a neutral pH under room temperature (259.74 mg/g), and the pseudo-second-order model was found to be accurate. In accordance with the Langmuir fitted model and MB adsorption data, it was revealed that the adsorption process occurred in a monolayer form on the membrane surface. The adsorption capacity of the MB was affected by the presence of various concentrations of NaCl (0.1–0.5 M). The satisfactory reusability of the PES/HPC nanofiber membrane was revealed for up to five cycles. According to the mechanism given for the adsorption process, the electrostatic attraction was shown to be the most dominant in increasing the adsorption capacity. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that this unique membrane may be used for wastewater treatment operations with high efficiency and performance.

A notable level of apprehension exists over the adverse impacts of dye pollution on aquatic ecosystems and human well‐being. The primary objective of this research is to assess the effectiveness of Fenton catalytic reactions in degrading 14 different commercial azo dyes (both single and double) present in aqueous solutions. The investigation focused on the function of dye structures, using a combination of experimental data and examination of theoretical factors. Dye degradation process was carried out at pH 3, and the concentrations of Fe²⁺ (10⁻⁴ mol/L), H₂O₂ (2 × 10⁻³ mol/L), and dye (0.05 g/L). The findings revealed that dyes with a larger molecular weight were more effective at degrading (D%), with the overall degradation efficiency varying from 0% to 94%. Functional groups played an important role in degradation efficiency; for example, dyes with higher aromatic rings led to less D%, while a higher number of sulfonic, methyl, and nitro groups was responsible for better D%. Notably, the presence of OH groups in the backbone of dyes (AB 24, ABE 113, and MB 9) formed the Fe complex during the catalytic process, and the D% was minimal. On the other hand, theoretical quantum calculations such as the greater the JCLogP, highest occupied molecular orbital, and Dipole moment value, the higher the degradation efficiency. And dyes with low lowest unoccupied molecular orbital tended to have a better degradation efficiency. To some extent, UV–Vis spectral analysis was investigated to determine the degradation pathway, and the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model fitted better in the degradation process. The overall experimental and theoretical findings suggested that dye degradation efficiency by the Fenton process is structure‐dependent.Practitioner Points: Insights into the role of azo dye structures‐properties on degradation efficiency. Higher molecular weight and sulfonic groups containing dyes showed better degradation efficiency. Hydroxyl groups play the formation of the Fe complex during the degradation process. Higher values of HOMO and lower values of LUMO enhanced degradation efficiency. The pseudo‐second‐order (PSO) kinetic model obeyed the Fenton process.

The Chinese pharmaceutical industry and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are both vital components of Chinese culture. Some traditional methods used to prepare TCMs have lost their conformity, and as a result, are producing lower-quality medicines. In this regard, the TCM sector has been looking for new ways to boost productivity and product quality. Membrane technology is environmentally-friendly, energy-saving technology, and more efficient than traditional technologies. Membrane separation is the most effective method for separating and cleaning the ingredients of the non-pharmaceutical common compounds from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Membrane technology is currently being employed for the concentration, purification, and separation of TCMs. This review paper discusses how membranes are fabricated and their role in non-pharmaceutical common compound separation and TCM purification. Accordingly, the membrane applicability and the technological advantage were also analyzed in non-pharmaceutical common compound separation. Researchers pay attention to the choice of membrane pore size when selecting membranes but often ignore the influence of membrane materials and membrane structure on separation, resulting in certain blindness in the membrane selection process.