The purification of virus particles and viral vectors for vaccine and gene therapy applications is gaining increasing importance in order to deliver a fast, efficient, and reliable production process. Ultrafiltration (UF) is a widely employed unit operation in bioprocessing and its use is present in several steps of the downstream purification train of biopharmaceuticals. However, to date few s...

Graphene oxide/Ag nanoparticles (Ag/GO) was prepared and employed to synthesize antifouling polyethersulfone (PES) mixed matrix membranes. The performance of the membranes was evaluated in terms of flux, hydrophilicity and anti-biofouling properties. With increment of the Ag/GO from 0 to 0.1 wt.%, the pure water flux increased from 24.7 up to 54.1 kg/m2 h. The flux recovery ratio (FRR) of the m...

This scientific publication presents a novel modification of the liquid–liquid displacement porosimetry (LLDP) method, aiming for non-destructive automated analysis water purification membrane filtration devices in microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) range. The technical adaptation LLDP enables direct in-line porosimetric commercial devices, avoiding devices’ destruction. Six commerci...

Polyethersulfone (PES) is a common material used for ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, which has good chemical resistance, high mechanical properties, and wide temperature tolerances. The hydrophobic property of the PES membrane seriously limits its application. Cellulose fibrils are composed of micro-sized and nano-sized elements, which have high hydrophilicity, strength, and biodegradation. A c...

We have examined the gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) scaling phenomena on membranes with different physicochemical properties in forward osmosis (FO) processes. Three hollow fiber membranes made of (1) cellulose acetate (CA), (2) polybenzimidazole (PBI)/polyethersulfone (PES) and (3) PBI-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were studied. For the first time in FO processes, we...

The polymerization-induced phase-separation process of polyethersulfone (PES)-modified epoxy systems was monitored in situ continuously on a single sample throughout the entire curing process by using optical microscopes, time-resolved light scattering (TRLS), scanning electronic microscopes (SEM), and a rheometry instrument. At specific PES content a viscoelastic transformation process of phas...

The recent development in oil and gas industry increases the production and consumption of oil. The enormous amount of oily wastewater produced is urged to be treated to prevent humanity and environment from being threatened. Membrane technology is an appealing alternative for oily wastewater treatment due to its design simplicity, energy efficiency and environmentally benign approach. In this ...

Surface modification of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane surfaces using UV lozone pretreatment with sub­ sequent grafting and interfacial polymerization on membrane surface was investigated in order to improve the resistance of membrane surface to protein adsorption. The surface modifications were evaluated in terms of hydrophilicity, chemical composition of the surface and static protein adsorp...

Several microscopic and scattering techniques at different observation scales (from atomic to macroscopic) were used to characterize both surface and bulk properties of four new flat-sheet polyethersulfone (PES) membranes (10, 30, 100 and 300 kDa) and new 100 kDa hollow fibers (PVDF). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with "in lens" detection was used to obtain information on the pore sizes of...

an innovative method based on the membrane bioreactor (mbr) technology was developed as a potential remedy for the water shortage. mbrs attracted much attention in the field of wastewater treatment and reuse. it is reported from many researchers that membrane bioreactor technology is feasible and an efficient method for the treatment of wastewater. however, mbrs are faced to membrane fouling whic...