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Separations
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Preparation of Membranes and Their Application in Separation
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Preparation of Membranes and Their Application in Separation

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials in Separation Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2024) | Viewed by 4198

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aatif Ali Shah

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute (NRESI), University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Prince George, BC V2N4Z9, CA
Interests: membrane preparation; wastewater treatment; electrospinning; seawater desalination; forward osmosis; membrane separations; oil–water separation; organic solvent nanofiltration; electrolysis; ozonation; electrocoagulation; hydrogen production
Dr. Hosik Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Membrane Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Daejeon 34114, Republic of Korea
Interests: membrane fabrications; membrane chromatography; environmental remediation; forward osmosis; wastewater treatment; desalination; membrane distillation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to explore the diverse aspects of membrane preparation techniques and their subsequent applications in separation processes. Membranes play crucial roles in various industries, including water treatment, pharmaceuticals, food processing, energy production, gas separations, desalination, and environmental protection. Therefore, this issue seeks to showcase cutting-edge research and developments in membrane fabrication, characterization, and deployment for effective separation processes.

Topics covered in this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Advanced membrane fabrication techniques;
  2. Membrane material innovations;
  3. Membrane characterization and morphology;
  4. Membrane modification and surface functionalization;
  5. Membrane separation in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals;
  6. Membrane separation in gas;
  7. Membrane separation in water treatment;
  8. Membrane-based hybrid systems.

Researchers working in the field of membrane science and separation technology are invited to contribute their original research articles, reviews, and perspectives to this Special Issue. The aim of this Special Issue is to gather cutting-edge research and advancements, offering valuable insights into the development and application of membranes for effective separation processes.

I eagerly anticipate receiving your valuable contributions to this Special Issue.

Dr. Aatif Ali Shah
Dr. Hosik Park
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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

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

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3361 KiB  
Article
Packed-Nanofiber Solid-Phase Extraction Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Fluorescence for Determining Gut Microbiota–Host Cometabolites and Indoleamines in Human Urine
by Lanlan Wei and Xuejun Kang
Separations 2024, 11(5), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11050153 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 955
Abstract
Exercise reduces the risk of inflammatory diseases by modulating different tissue and cell types, including those within the gastrointestinal tract. Obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of pathophysiology requires monitoring of dynamic changes in cometabolites. This study aimed to develop a method for determining [...] Read more.
Exercise reduces the risk of inflammatory diseases by modulating different tissue and cell types, including those within the gastrointestinal tract. Obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of pathophysiology requires monitoring of dynamic changes in cometabolites. This study aimed to develop a method for determining gut microbiota–host cometabolites and indoleamines in human urine. Four key gut microbiota–host cometabolites were chromatographically separated by isocratic elution, with a running time of 10 min. The linearity of this method was confirmed over different concentration ranges: 1.0–400 ng/mL for melatonin (MEL), indole-3-propionic acid (3-IPA), indole (IND), and skatole (SKT). This method was extremely sensitive and stable and hence could be successfully applied to characterize the changes in gut microbiota–host cometabolites in human before- and after-running urine. The concentrations of MEL, 3-IPA, IND, and SKT in after-running urine were 84.0 ± 9.69, 25.9 ± 3.39, 343.7 ± 36.8, and 14.6 ± 1.36 ng/mL, respectively. Moreover, the concentrations in before-running urine were 54.2 ± 5.10, 14.4 ± 1.30, 250.8 ± 14.1, and 9.43 ± 1.07 ng/mL, respectively, which showed significantly less difference in concentrations (p < 0.05) in before- than after-running urine. Overall, the established method could simultaneously monitor gut microbiota–host cometabolites and hence can be further applied to clinical and comprehensive pathophysiological studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation of Membranes and Their Application in Separation)
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12 pages, 5211 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Polysilsesquioxane-Based CO2 Separation Membranes with Thermally Degradable Succinic Anhydride and Urea Units
by Katsuhiro Horata, Tsubasa Yoshio, Ryuto Miyazaki, Yohei Adachi, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru and Joji Ohshita
Separations 2024, 11(4), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11040110 - 2 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1314
Abstract
New polysilsesquioxane (PSQ)-based CO2 separation membranes with succinic anhydride and monoalkylurea units as thermally degradable CO2-philic units were prepared by the copolymerization of a 1:1 mixture of [3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]succinic anhydride (TESPS) or [3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]urea (TESPU) and bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE). The succinic anhydride and [...] Read more.
New polysilsesquioxane (PSQ)-based CO2 separation membranes with succinic anhydride and monoalkylurea units as thermally degradable CO2-philic units were prepared by the copolymerization of a 1:1 mixture of [3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]succinic anhydride (TESPS) or [3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]urea (TESPU) and bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE). The succinic anhydride and monoalkylurea units underwent thermal degradation to form ester and dialkylurea units, respectively, with the liberation of small molecules (e.g., CO2 and NH3) under N2 atmosphere. The effects of thermal degradation on the performance of the obtained membranes were investigated. The TESPS-BTESE- and TESPU-BTESE-based membranes calcined at 250 °C and 200 °C exhibited good CO2/N2 permselectivities of 20.2 and 14.4, respectively, with CO2 permeances of 7.7 × 10−8 and 7.9 × 10−8 mol m−2·s−1·Pa−1, respectively. When the membranes were further calcined at elevated temperatures of 350 °C and 300 °C, respectively, to promote the thermal degradation of the organic units, the CO2 permeances increased to 1.3 × 10−7 and 1.2 × 10−6 mol m−2·s−1·Pa−1 (3.9 × 102 and 3.6 × 103 GPU), although the CO2/N2 permselectivities decreased to 19.5 and 8.4, respectively. These data indicate that the controlled thermal degradation of the organic units provides a new methodology for possible tuning of the CO2 separation performance of PSQ membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation of Membranes and Their Application in Separation)
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Graphical abstract

15 pages, 5953 KiB  
Article
Effect of Positively Charged Lipids (DOTAP) on the Insertion of Carbon Nanotubes into Liposomes and the Separation Performance of Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membranes
by Jianjun Zhao, Junqing Sun, Kefeng Zhang, Shan Wang, Wande Ding and Zhengping Li
Separations 2024, 11(3), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11030075 - 28 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1567
Abstract
A liposome vesicle is an ideal carrier for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) serving as the water channel that allows for the fast transport of water molecules, thus enhancing membrane permeability. However, a low quantity of CNTs inserted into the liposome vesicle is an important [...] Read more.
A liposome vesicle is an ideal carrier for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) serving as the water channel that allows for the fast transport of water molecules, thus enhancing membrane permeability. However, a low quantity of CNTs inserted into the liposome vesicle is an important factor that limits the further improvement of the membrane flux. In the present study, a positively charged lipid, (2,3-dioleoyloxy-propyl)-trimethylammonium-chloride (DOTAP), was introduced to 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamineon (DOPE) liposome vesicles to tailor the vesicle charge so as to evaluate the effect of positively charged DOTAP on the insertion of CNTs into liposomes and the separation performance of thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. The results show that the addition of DOTAP increased the quantity of CNTs inserted into the liposome vesicles, as the shrinkage rate (k) and permeability (Pf) of the liposome vesicles presented an obvious increase with the increased content of DOTAP in the liposome vesicles. Moreover, it contributed to a 252.3% higher water flux for TFN membranes containing DOPE/DOTAP2:1-CNT liposomes (the mass ratio between DOPE and DOTAP was 2:1) than thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. More importantly, it presented a 106.7% higher water flux for TFN membranes containing DOPE/DOTAP4:1-CNT liposomes (the mass ratio between DOPE and DOTAP was 4:1), which originated from the greater number of water channels that the CNTs provided in the liposome vesicles. Overall, positively charged DOTAP effectively tailored the vesicle charge, which provided a better carrier for the insertion of a greater quantity of CNTs and contributed to the higher permeability of the TFN membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation of Membranes and Their Application in Separation)
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