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El-Malah SS, Saththasivam J, K AK, Abdul Jabbar K, Gomez TA, Wahib S, Lawler J, Tang P, Mirza F, Al-Hail H, Ouararhni K, Abdul Azis TK, Abu Raddad LJ, Chemaitelly HS, Abu Halaweh HA, Khalife S, Bertollini R, Mahmoud KA. Leveraging wastewater surveillance for managing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and concerned pathogens during FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Heliyon 2024; 10:e30267. [PMID: 38711666 PMCID: PMC11070812 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been proven effective for the monitoring of infectious disease outbreaks during mass gathering events and for timely public health interventions. As part of Qatar's efforts to monitor and combat the spread of infectious diseases during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ (FWC'22), wastewater surveillance was used to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2, human enterovirus, and poliovirus. The screening covered five major wastewater treatment plants servicing the event locations between October 2022 and January 2023. Viruses were concentrated from the wastewater samples by PEG precipitation, followed by qRT-PCR to measure the viral load in the wastewater. As expected, SARS-CoV-2 and enterovirus RNA were detected in all samples, while poliovirus was not detected. The concentration of SARS-CoV-2 was correlated with population density, such as areas surrounding the World Cup venues, and with the number of reported clinical cases. Additionally, we observed temporal fluctuations in viral RNA concentrations, with peak levels coinciding with the group stage matches of the FWC'22. This study has been useful in providing public health authorities with an efficient and cost-effective surveillance system for potential infectious disease outbreaks during mega-events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimaa S. El-Malah
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Arun K. K
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khadeeja Abdul Jabbar
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Tricia A. Gomez
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sara Wahib
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jenny Lawler
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Patrick Tang
- Department of Pathology, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Faheem Mirza
- Department of Pathology, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hamad Al-Hail
- Department of Pathology, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khalid Ouararhni
- Genomics Core, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Laith Jamal Abu Raddad
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hiam S. Chemaitelly
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hussein A. Abu Halaweh
- Drainage Network Operation & Maintenance Department, Public Works Authority, Doha, Qatar
| | | | | | - Khaled A. Mahmoud
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
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Armenta-Castro A, Núñez-Soto MT, Rodriguez-Aguillón KO, Aguayo-Acosta A, Oyervides-Muñoz MA, Snyder SA, Barceló D, Saththasivam J, Lawler J, Sosa-Hernández JE, Parra-Saldívar R. Urine biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease: A new opportunity for wastewater-based epidemiology? Environ Int 2024; 184:108462. [PMID: 38335627 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
While Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis, management, and care have become priorities for healthcare providers and researcher's worldwide due to rapid population aging, epidemiologic surveillance efforts are currently limited by costly, invasive diagnostic procedures, particularly in low to middle income countries (LMIC). In recent years, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a promising tool for public health assessment through detection and quantification of specific biomarkers in wastewater, but applications for non-infectious diseases such as AD remain limited. This early review seeks to summarize AD-related biomarkers and urine and other peripheral biofluids and discuss their potential integration to WBE platforms to guide the first prospective efforts in the field. Promising results have been reported in clinical settings, indicating the potential of amyloid β, tau, neural thread protein, long non-coding RNAs, oxidative stress markers and other dysregulated metabolites for AD diagnosis, but questions regarding their concentration and stability in wastewater and the correlation between clinical levels and sewage circulation must be addressed in future studies before comprehensive WBE systems can be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mónica T Núñez-Soto
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Kassandra O Rodriguez-Aguillón
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Alberto Aguayo-Acosta
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Mariel Araceli Oyervides-Muñoz
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Shane A Snyder
- Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Damià Barceló
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering at the UPES, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Water Center, Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Qatar
| | - Jenny Lawler
- Water Center, Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Qatar
| | - Juan Eduardo Sosa-Hernández
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico.
| | - Roberto Parra-Saldívar
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
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El-Malah SS, Saththasivam J, Jabbar KA, K K A, Gomez TA, Ahmed AA, Mohamoud YA, Malek JA, Abu Raddad LJ, Abu Halaweh HA, Bertollini R, Lawler J, Mahmoud KA. Application of human RNase P normalization for the realistic estimation of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in wastewater: A perspective from Qatar wastewater surveillance. Environ Technol Innov 2022; 27:102775. [PMID: 35761926 PMCID: PMC9220754 DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2022.102775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The apparent uncertainty associated with shedding patterns, environmental impacts, and sample processing strategies have greatly influenced the variability of SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in wastewater. This study evaluates the use of a new normalization approach using human RNase P for the logic estimation of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in wastewater. SARS-CoV-2 variants outbreak was monitored during the circulating wave between February and August 2021. Sewage samples were collected from five major wastewater treatment plants and subsequently analyzed to determine the viral loads in the wastewater. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in all the samples where the wastewater Ct values exhibited a similar trend as the reported number of new daily positive cases in the country. The infected population number was estimated using a mathematical model that compensated for RNA decay due to wastewater temperature and sewer residence time, and which indicated that the number of positive cases circulating in the population declined from 765,729 ± 142,080 to 2,303 ± 464 during the sampling period. Genomic analyses of SARS-CoV-2 of thirty wastewater samples collected between March 2021 and April 2021 revealed that alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) were among the dominant variants of concern (VOC) in Qatar. The findings of this study imply that the normalization of data allows a more realistic assessment of incidence trends within the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimaa S El-Malah
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khadeeja Abdul Jabbar
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Arun K K
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Tricia A Gomez
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ayeda A Ahmed
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Yasmin A Mohamoud
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Joel A Malek
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Laith J Abu Raddad
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hussein A Abu Halaweh
- Drainage Network Operation & Maintenance Department, Public Works Authority, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Jenny Lawler
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khaled A Mahmoud
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
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Saththasivam J, El-Malah SS, Gomez TA, Jabbar KA, Remanan R, Krishnankutty AK, Ogunbiyi O, Rasool K, Ashhab S, Rashkeev S, Bensaad M, Ahmed AA, Mohamoud YA, Malek JA, Abu Raddad LJ, Jeremijenko A, Abu Halaweh HA, Lawler J, Mahmoud KA. COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak monitoring using wastewater-based epidemiology in Qatar. Sci Total Environ 2021; 774:145608. [PMID: 33607430 PMCID: PMC7870436 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Raw municipal wastewater from five wastewater treatment plants representing the vast majority of the Qatar population was sampled between the third week of June 2020 and the end of August 2020, during the period of declining cases after the peak of the first wave of infection in May 2020. The N1 region of the SARS-CoV-2 genome was used to quantify the viral load in the wastewater using RT-qPCR. The trend in Ct values in the wastewater samples mirrored the number of new daily positive cases officially reported for the country, confirmed by RT-qPCR testing of naso-pharyngeal swabs. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 100% of the influent wastewater samples (7889 ± 1421 copy/L - 542,056 ± 25,775 copy/L, based on the N1 assay). A mathematical model for wastewater-based epidemiology was developed and used to estimate the number of people in the population infected with COVID-19 from the N1 Ct values in the wastewater samples. The estimated number of infected population on any given day using the wastewater-based epidemiology approach declined from 542,313 ± 51,159 to 31,181 ± 3081 over the course of the sampling period, which was significantly higher than the officially reported numbers. However, seroprevalence data from Qatar indicates that diagnosed infections represented only about 10% of actual cases. The model estimates were lower than the corrected numbers based on application of a static diagnosis ratio of 10% to the RT-qPCR identified cases, which is assumed to be due to the difficulty in quantifying RNA losses as a model term. However, these results indicate that the presented WBE modeling approach allows for a realistic assessment of incidence trend in a given population, with a more reliable estimation of the number of infected people at any given point in time than can be achieved using human biomonitoring alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shimaa S El-Malah
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Tricia A Gomez
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khadeeja A Jabbar
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Reshma Remanan
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Arun K Krishnankutty
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Oluwaseun Ogunbiyi
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Kashif Rasool
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sahel Ashhab
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sergey Rashkeev
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Meryem Bensaad
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ayeda A Ahmed
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Yasmin A Mohamoud
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Joel A Malek
- Genomics Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Laith J Abu Raddad
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Hussein A Abu Halaweh
- Drainage Network Operation & Maintenance Department, Public Works Authority, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jenny Lawler
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Khaled A Mahmoud
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar.
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Farzaneh H, Loganathan K, Saththasivam J, McKay G. Selectivity and competition in the chemical oxidation processes for a binary pharmaceutical system in treated sewage effluent. Sci Total Environ 2021; 765:142704. [PMID: 33071121 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the removal of ibuprofen and gemfibrozil by chlorination, ozonation and a combination of ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2) advanced oxidation process (AOP) from treated sewage effluent (TSE) has been investigated. The removals were evaluated as single components and in binary systems at different oxidant dosages. Chlorination showed insignificant removal for both pharmaceuticals, while ozonation and O3/H2O2 achieved significant removals for both ibuprofen and gemfibrozil. The highest removal efficiency of ibuprofen achieved with ozonation and O3/H2O2 in TSE was 80% at 1.5 mg/L ozone dosage (0.27 mg O3/mg DOC) within 5 min contact time and was not increased at extended times as the ozone residual approached zero in 5 min. For gemfibrozil, complete removals were achieved at ozone dosages of 1 and 1.5 mg/L by both ozonation and O3/H2O2 within 30 s. The rate constants obtained from the second order kinetics study were almost similar for the binary and single component tests, however, the degradation of ibuprofen was around four times faster by O3/H2O2 with a rate constant of 9 × 104 M-1 s-1 in comparison to ozone alone. The results in the single component and binary systems were almost similar for gemfibrozil, but noticeably lower removals of ibuprofen were obtained in the binary system showing the higher selectivity and oxidation demand of gemfibrozil. Although O3/H2O2 has a higher operation cost, but its capability for faster degradation makes it preferable over ozonation only, as more water can be treated on a daily basis or a smaller treatment plant can be used with lower capital cost, which practically becomes more cost efficient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajar Farzaneh
- Division of Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar
| | - Kavithaa Loganathan
- Qatar Environment and Energy Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar
| | - Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar
| | - Gordon McKay
- Division of Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar.
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Elshorafa R, Saththasivam J, Liu Z, Ahzi S. Efficient oil/saltwater separation using a highly permeable and fouling-resistant all-inorganic nanocomposite membrane. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020; 27:15488-15497. [PMID: 32077028 PMCID: PMC7190607 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08021-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Although it is still a great challenge, developing oil-/water-separating membranes that combine the advantages of high separation efficiency, salty environments tolerance, and fouling resistance are highly demanded for marine oil spill cleanups and oil-/gas-produced water treatment. Here, we report a new type of all-inorganic nanostructured membrane, which is composed of titanate nanofibers and SiO2 particulate gel for efficient and stable oil/saltwater separation. The nanoporous and interconnected network structure constructed with titanate nanofibers is the key to ensure the high separation efficiency and high water flux of the new membrane. The SiO2 gel is used as a binder to offer mechanical flexibility and integrity for this type of all-inorganic membrane. The new membrane displays a high oil/water separation efficiency of above 99.5% with oil content in treated effluent lower than US environmental discharge standards (42 ppm) and high water permeation flux of 1600 LMH/bar under low operation pressure. The new membrane also demonstrates outstanding durability in the environment of different salinities, and it has a good resistance for oil fouling due to its excellent underwater superoleophobicity with an oil contact angle above 150 °. Most importantly, the underwater superoleophobic properties can be well maintained after being repeatedly reused. The excellent environmental durability, oil-fouling resistance, high separation efficiency, and facile fabrication process for this new type of membrane render great potential for industrial application in treating produced water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rand Elshorafa
- Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Education City, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar
| | - Zhaoyang Liu
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Said Ahzi
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
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Saththasivam J, Wang K, Yiming W, Liu Z, Mahmoud KA. A flexible Ti3C2Tx (MXene)/paper membrane for efficient oil/water separation. RSC Adv 2019; 9:16296-16304. [PMID: 35516399 PMCID: PMC9064364 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra02129a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The scalable fabrication of flexible membranes for efficient oil/water separation is in high demand but still significantly underdeveloped. Here, we present a flexible membrane using Ti3C2Tx (MXene) as the functional layer on conventional print paper as the substrate. With a simple coating process using MXene ink, we developed a highly hydrophilic and oleophobic membrane with an underwater oil contact angle of 137°. Such a simple membrane shows outstanding flexibility and robustness, and demonstrates a facile approach for membrane scale-up using MXene ink on low-cost print paper. The membrane shows high separation efficiency for oil/water emulsions, of over 99%, and a high water permeation flux of over 450 L per m2 per h per bar. We demonstrate the excellent anti-fouling property of this membrane by cleaning the membranes without chemicals. These low-cost, highly efficient, anti-fouling membranes can provide new opportunities for industrial oil/water separation applications. A highly hydrophilic and oleophobic membrane based on Ti3C2Tx (MXene) coated paper demonstrated high separation efficiency for oil/water emulsions with excellent antifouling properties.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Qatar Foundation
- Doha
- Qatar
| | - Kui Wang
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Qatar Foundation
- Doha
- Qatar
| | | | - Zhaoyang Liu
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Qatar Foundation
- Doha
- Qatar
| | - Khaled A. Mahmoud
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Qatar Foundation
- Doha
- Qatar
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Saththasivam J, Yiming W, Wang K, Jin J, Liu Z. A Novel Architecture for Carbon Nanotube Membranes towards Fast and Efficient Oil/water Separation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7418. [PMID: 29743571 PMCID: PMC5943308 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25788-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are robust and proven as promising building blocks for oil/water separating membranes. However, according to classic fluid dynamic theory, achieving high permeation flux without sacrificing other membrane properties is a formidable challenge for CNT membranes, because of the trade-off nature among key membrane parameters. Herein, to relieve the trade-off between permeation fluxes, oil rejection rate, and membrane thickness, we present a new concept to engineer CNT membranes with a three-dimensional (3D) architecture. Apart from achieving high oil separation efficiency (>99.9%), these new oil/water separating membranes can achieve water flux as high as 5,500 L/m2.h.bar, which is one order of magnitude higher than pristine CNT membranes. Most importantly, these outstanding properties can be achieved without drastically slashing membrane thickness down to nanoscale. The present study sheds a new light for the adoption of CNT-based membranes in oil/water separation industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation, PO Box, 5825, Doha, Qatar
| | - Wubulikasimu Yiming
- Chemical Engineering Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha, 23874, Qatar
| | - Kui Wang
- School of Traffic & Transportation Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, China
| | - Jian Jin
- Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Zhaoyang Liu
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation, PO Box, 5825, Doha, Qatar.
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Al-Bloushi M, Saththasivam J, Al-Sayeghc S, Jeong S, Ng KC, Amy GL, Leiknes T. Performance assessment of oxidants as a biocide for biofouling control in industrial seawater cooling towers. J IND ENG CHEM 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2017.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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10
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Wang K, Yiming W, Saththasivam J, Liu Z. A flexible, robust and antifouling asymmetric membrane based on ultra-long ceramic/polymeric fibers for high-efficiency separation of oil/water emulsions. Nanoscale 2017; 9:9018-9025. [PMID: 28639660 DOI: 10.1039/c7nr02364b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Polymeric and ceramic asymmetric membranes have dominated commercial membranes for water treatment. However, polymeric membranes are prone to becoming fouled, while ceramic membranes are mechanically fragile. Here, we report a novel concept to develop asymmetric membranes based on ultra-long ceramic/polymeric fibers, with the combined merits of good mechanical stability, excellent fouling resistance and high oil/water selectivity, in order to meet the stringent requirements for practical oil/water separation. The ultra-long dimensions of ceramic nanofibers/polymeric microfibers endow this novel membrane with mechanical flexibility and robustness, due to the integrated and intertwined structure. This membrane is capable of separating oil/water emulsions with high oil-separation efficiency (99.9%), thanks to its nanoporous selective layer made of ceramic nanofibers. Further, this membrane also displays superior antifouling properties due to its underwater superoleophobicity and ultra-low oil adhesion of the ceramic-based selective layer. This membrane exhibits high water permeation flux (6.8 × 104 L m-2 h-1 bar-1) at low operation pressures, which is attributed to its 3-dimensional (3D) interconnected fiber-based structure throughout the membrane. In addition, the facile fabrication process and inexpensive materials required for this membrane suggest its significant potential for industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kui Wang
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, PO Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
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Saththasivam J, Loganathan K, Sarp S. An overview of oil-water separation using gas flotation systems. Chemosphere 2016; 144:671-680. [PMID: 26408973 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.08.087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Oil concentration levels in municipal waste water effluent streams are stringently regulated in most parts of the world. Apart from municipal waste, stricter oil/grease discharge limits are also enforced in oil and gas sectors as large volumes of produced water is being discharged to open ocean. One of the feasible, practical and established methods to remove oil substances from waste water sources is by gas flotation. In this overview, gas flotation technologies, namely dissolved and induced flotation systems, are discussed. Physico-chemical interaction between oil-water-gas during flotation is also summarized. In addition to a brief review on design advancements in flotation systems, enhancement of flotation efficiency by using pre-treatment methods, particularly coagulation-flocculation, is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayaprakash Saththasivam
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Kavithaa Loganathan
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sarper Sarp
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
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