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Membrane surface engineering to enhance microplastic and nanoplastic antifouling performance in water treatment
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Tiny plastic particles (microplastics and nanoplastics) are increasingly showing up in our water supplies, and while special filters can remove them, these particles tend to clog and damage the filters over time, making water treatment less effective and more costly. This research shows that by re-engineering the surface of filter membranes, changing their texture and chemical properties, scientists can prevent plastic particles from sticking and building up, making it easier to clean the filters and keep them working longer. This matters because more reliable, longer-lasting water filtration means safer drinking water with fewer microplastics, which is important since these particles are linked to potential health concerns
Occurrence of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in aquatic environments has become a major environmental concern due to their persistence, widespread distribution, and growing detection in water and wastewater systems. While membrane-based processes are among the most effective technologies for removing these small plastic particles from water streams, MPs/NPs pose significant challenges to membrane operation. These challenges arise from the dual role of MPs/NPs in membrane processes, where they must be removed from water streams while also acting as foulants that reduce permeability, accelerate performance decline, increase cleaning requirements, and shorten membrane lifespan. Although membrane systems are increasingly applied to control these emerging particulate pollutants, most commercial systems were originally developed for conventional foulants rather than emerging pollutants such as MPs/NPs that not only have highly variable sizes but also diverse surface functionalities and aggregation behaviour. This challenge highlights the need to re-evaluate and optimise membrane surfaces for MP/NP fouling control, targeting improved fouling reversibility and enhanced long-term operational stability. In response to this need, this thesis investigated how tuning membrane surface properties, particularly hydrophilicity, surface charge, and interfacial structure, can be used to control MP/NP fouling and fouling reversibility. This was achieved through a series of studies conducted across both ultrafiltration (UF) and forward osmosis (FO) membrane platforms. In the UF studies, commercial poly(ethersulfone) membranes were modified through plasma induced grafting using monomers with distinct surface chemistries, including carboxyl-and amine-functional groups, as well as zwitterionic and mixed-charge chemistries. To extend the work beyond pressure-driven systems, a thin-film nanocomposite FO membrane was also developed by incorporating engineering metal-organic frameworks to examine the contribution of interfacial nanocomposite design to MP antifouling behaviour. Overall, this thesis shows that effective control of MP/NP fouling depends not only on retaining plastic particles but on engineering membrane surfaces that regulate adhesion, deposition, and cleaning efficiency. By linking surface chemistry with fouling behaviour across different membrane platforms, this work provides a clearer framework for designing more resilient membranes for emerging particulate contaminants in water treatment systems.
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Scientists engineered a new type of water filter membrane that resists clogging from nanoplastics, tiny plastic particles too small to see that are increasingly found in drinking water. By coating the filter with a special material that switches its electrical charge depending on water conditions, they created a self-cleaning surface that blocked over 95% of nanoplastics while staying easier to rinse clean than standard filters. This matters because more effective, longer-lasting water filters could help reduce our exposure to nanoplastics, which scientists are still studying for potential health effects.
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Scientists engineered a water-filtration membrane with a special "zwitterionic" coating (a material that attracts a protective water layer) that filters out over 95% of nanoplastics—tiny plastic particles too small to see—while resisting clogging far better than standard filters. This matters because nanoplastics are increasingly found in drinking water and have raised health concerns, so better filter designs like this could lead to more effective, longer-lasting water treatment systems that keep these particles out of our water supply.
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Scientists have engineered a new water filter material that better resists clogging from microplastics, tiny plastic particles increasingly found in our water supplies. By adding special particle coatings to filtration membranes, the improved filters let water flow through more easily and stay cleaner for longer, with one version recovering 93% of its filtering power after use compared to just 55% for standard filters. This matters because more effective, longer-lasting water treatment technology could help remove microplastic pollution before it reaches our drinking water, though this research was done in lab conditions and hasn't yet been tested in real-world treatment plants.
Membrane Technologies for Microplastics Removal from Wastewater: Recent Progress, Fouling Mechanisms, and Future Perspectives
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Tiny plastic particles called microplastics are slipping through our wastewater treatment plants and ending up back in the environment—and potentially in our food and water—because standard filtering methods aren't fine enough to catch them. This review paper rounds up the latest research on advanced filter membranes that can trap these particles more effectively, while also tackling a key problem: the membranes tend to get clogged by the plastics they're filtering out. While these technologies aren't yet perfected or widely deployed, they represent a promising step toward cleaner water and reduced human exposure to microplastics, which have been linked to potential health concerns.
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Researchers tested ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes on real river water containing microplastics and found both membrane types completely removed plastic particles from the filtered water, though the deposited microplastics reduced water flow through the membranes over time — confirming membrane filtration as an effective but imperfect water treatment strategy.
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