Sustainable and affordable supply of clean, safe, and adequate water is one of the most challenging issues facing the world. Membrane separation technology is one of the most cost-effective and widely applied technologies for water purification. Polymeric membranes such as cellulose-based (CA) membranes and thin-film composite (TFC) membranes have dominated the industry since 1980. Although further development of polymeric membranes for better performance is laborious, the research findings and sustained progress in inorganic membrane development have grown fast and solve some remaining problems. In addition to conventional ceramic metal oxide membranes, membranes prepared by graphene oxide (GO), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and mixed matrix materials (MMMs) have attracted enormous attention due to their desirable properties such as tunable pore structure, excellent chemical, mechanical, and thermal tolerance, good salt rejection and/or high water permeability. This review provides insight into synthesis approaches and structural properties of recent reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes which are used to retain dissolved species such as heavy metals, electrolytes, and inorganic salts in various aqueous solutions. A specific focus has been placed on introducing and comparing water purification performance of different classes of polymeric and ceramic membranes in related water treatment industries. Furthermore, the development challenges and research opportunities of organic and inorganic membranes are discussed and the further perspectives are analyzed.

A Review on Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membranes for Water Purification.

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) scouring to mitigate membrane fouling: Performance, hydrodynamic mechanism and contribution quantification model.

Laccase Immobilization for Water Purification: A Comprehensive Review

Contamination of water is calling for new techniques to provide safe and clean water for drinking and other usages. Among existing techniques of wastewater treatment, adsorption is one of the most efficient methods. Recently, carbon nanotube-based adsorbents are attracting research and industrial attention due to their large surface area, cylindrical hollow structure and well-flourished mesopores. Raw carbon nanotubes can be modified and adapted to the intended applications and targeted pollutants. Here we review the efficacy of unmodified and modified carbon nanotubes for the removal of dyes from wastewater. Reports show that chemical modification leads to an improvement of the adsorption capacity. The adsorption of dyes on carbon nanotubes depends on the nature of the adsorbent and adsorbate. Adsorption mechanisms involve van der Waals forces, π–π stacking, hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. Nonetheless, hydrophobicity and cost actually restrict practical applications.

Carbon nanotube-based adsorbents for the removal of dyes from waters: A review

Adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution on activated carbons and composite prepared from an agricultural waste biomass: A comparative study by experimental and advanced modeling analysis

Wensong Chen

Papers

Biomimetic dynamic membrane for aquatic dye removal.