Electrospun nanofibrous membranes for membrane distillation application-A dynamic life cycle assessment (dLCA) approach

Membrane distillation (MD) for water desalination and purification has been gaining prominence to address the issues relating to water security and the destruction of aquatic ecosystems globally. Recent advances in electrospun membranes for MD application have improved antifouling and anti-wetting performance. However, the environmental impacts associated with producing novel electrospun membranes still need to be clarified. It is imperative to quantify and analyze the tradeoffs between membrane performance and impacts at the early stages of research on these novel membranes. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an appropriate tool to systematically account for environmental performance, all the way from raw material extraction to the disposal of any product, process, or technology. The inherent lack of detailed datasets for emerging technologies contributes to significant uncertainties, making the adoption of traditional LCA challenging. A dynamic LCA (dLCA) is performed to guide the sustainable design and selection of emerging electrospun poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) electrospun membrane (E-PH) and hybridizing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on E-PH membrane (E-PDMS) for dyeing wastewater treatment technologies. The associated environmental impacts are related to the high energy demands required for fabricating electrospun nanofibrous membranes. After LCA analysis, the E-PDMS membrane emerges as a promising membrane, due to the relatively low impact/benefit ratio and the high performance achieved in treating dyeing wastewater.

Influence of ligands on metal speciation, transport and toxicity in a tropical river during wet (monsoon) period

Metal speciation and transport are seldom assessed in densely populated Tropical River. An evaluation of the phase distribution for Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) along with chemical speciation, variance with different water quality parameters and toxicity were conducted in the Brahmaputra River of India from upstream to downstream during wet (monsoon) periods in July 2014. Results indicated that metal free ions and carbonates were dominant in the inorganic fractions whereas metal concentrations were negligible in the anionic inorganic fractions. Due to high sediment load in the river during monsoon, metals were substantially higher in the particulate fractions than in the aqueous phase. Partition coefficient for Cu (3.1-6.1), Pb (3.4-6.5) and Zn (3.5-6.9), demonstrated strong adsorption of the metals on suspended matter. Q-mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) illustrated groupings mainly governed by quality parameters rather than by the river course. R-mode results imply selectivity of the affinities of metals for different ligands. Health risk index (HRI) values were less than 1 for dissolved metal for Cu, Pb and Zn while it was greater than 1 for total metal for Pb and Cu indicating potential human health risk. The study demonstrated that binding of metals with naturally occurring dissolved organic matter or suspended particulate matter affects metal bioavailability in river during wet periods when sediment load is particularly high. A combination of empirical, computational and statistical relationships between ionic species and fractions of metals provided greater certitude in identifying the resemblance among the different locations of the river.

A mechanistic study of in situ chemical cleaning-in-place for a PTFE flat sheet membrane: fouling mitigation and membrane characterization

This study aimed at unfolding the role and mechanisms of chemically enhanced cleaning-in-place (CIP) regimes in fouling control of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) made flat sheet (FS) membrane bio-reactors (MBRs). The trans-membrane pressure (TMP) was successfully maintained below 10 kPa using a daily CIP regime consisting of 100 to 600 mg l(-1) of NaOCl and cake layer resistance control was shown to be critical for effective high-flux MBR operation. In contrast, in the control unit without the CIP, the TMP exceeded 35 kPa at a flux of 40 LMH. The extracellular polymeric substances associated with proteins (EPSprotein) were also controlled effectively with a daily application of the CIP to the fouled membrane. Moreover, the CIP prompted a thinner and looser bio-cake layer on the membrane surface, suggesting that in situ CIP can be a favorable method to control FS membrane fouling at high-flux MBR operation.