Hybrid Ceramic Membranes for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Aqueous Solutions

Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technology was used to coat alumina ceramic membranes with nanosized polyelectrolyte films. The polyelectrolyte chains form a network with nanopores on the ceramic surface and promote the rejection of small molecules such as pharmaceuticals, salts and industrial contaminants, which can otherwise not be eliminated using standard ultrafiltration methods. The properties and performance of newly developed hybrid membranes are in the focus of this investigation. The homogeneity of the applied coating layer was investigated by confocal fluorescence microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Properties such as permeability, bubble point, pore size distribution and Zeta potential were determined for both pristine and LbL coated membranes using various laboratory tests. Subsequently, a thorough comparison was drawn. The charging behavior at solid-liquid interface was characterized using streaming potential techniques. The retention potential was monitored by subjecting widely used pharmaceuticals such as diclofenac, ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazol. The results prove a successful elimination of pharmaceutical contaminants, up to 84% from drinking water, by applying a combination of polyelectrolyte multilayers and ceramic membranes

Global Call to Action: maximize the public health impact of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy is a highly cost-effective intervention which significantly improves maternal and birth outcomes among mothers and their newborns who live in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission. However, coverage in sub-Saharan Africa remains unacceptably low, calling for urgent action to increase uptake dramatically and maximize its public health impact. The 'Global Call to Action' outlines priority actions that will pave the way to success in achieving national and international coverage targets. Immediate action is needed from national health institutions in malaria-endemic countries, the donor community, the research community, members of the pharmaceutical industry and private sector, along with technical partners at the global and local levels, to protect pregnant women and their babies from the preventable, adverse effects of malaria in pregnancy

Operation of Hybrid Membranes for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Pollutants from Water and Wastewater

Hybrid ceramic membranes (i.e., membranes with a layer-by-layer (LbL) coating) are an emerging technology to remove diverse kinds of micropollutants from water. Hybrid ceramic membranes were tested under laboratory conditions as single-channel (filter area = 0.00754 m2) and multi-channel (0.35 m2) variants for the removal of pharmaceuticals (sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac, clofibric acid, and ibuprofen) and typical wastewater pollutants (i.e., COD, TOC, PO4-P, and TN) from drinking water and treated wastewater. The tests were conducted with two low transmembrane pressures (TMP) of 2 and 4 bar and constant temperatures and flow velocities, which showed rejections above 80% for all the tested pharmaceuticals as well for organic pollutants and phosphorous in the treated wastewater. Tests regarding sufficient cleaning regimes also showed that the LbL coating is stable and resistant to pHs between 2 and 10 with the use of typical cleaning agents (citric acid and NaOH) but not to higher pHs, a commercially available enzymatic solution, or backwashing. The hybrid membranes can contribute to the advanced treatment of water and wastewater with low operational costs, and their application at a larger scale is viable. However, the cleaning of the membranes must be further investigated to assure the stability and durability of the LbL coating