Review on Blueprint of Designing Anti-Wetting Polymeric Membrane Surfaces for Enhanced Membrane Distillation Performance

Recently, membrane distillation (MD) has emerged as a versatile technology for treating saline water and industrial wastewater. However, the long-term use of MD wets the polymeric membrane and prevents the membrane from working as a semi-permeable barrier. Currently, the concept of antiwetting interfaces has been utilized for reducing the wetting issue of MD. This review paper discusses the fundamentals and roles of surface energy and hierarchical structures on both the hydrophobic characteristics and wetting tolerance of MD membranes. Designing stable antiwetting interfaces with their basic working principle is illustrated with high scientific discussions. The capability of antiwetting surfaces in terms of their self-cleaning properties has also been demonstrated. This comprehensive review paper can be utilized as the fundamental basis for developing antiwetting surfaces to minimize fouling, as well as the wetting issue in the MD process

The face behind the Covid-19 mask ??? A comprehensive review

The threat of epidemic outbreaks like SARS-CoV-2 is growing owing to the exponential growth of the global population and the continual increase in human mobility. Personal protection against viral infections was enforced using ambient air filters, face masks, and other respiratory protective equipment. Available facemasks feature considerable variation in efficacy, materials usage and characteristic properties. Despite their widespread use and importance, face masks pose major potential threats due to the uncontrolled manufacture and disposal techniques. Improper solid waste management enables viral propagation and increases the volume of associated biomedical waste at an alarming rate. Polymers used in single-use face masks include a spectrum of chemical constituents: plasticisers and flame retardants leading to health-related issues over time. Despite ample research in this field, the efficacy of personal protective equipment and its impact post-disposal is yet to be explored satisfactorily. The following review assimilates information on the different forms of personal protective equipment currently in use. Proper waste management techniques pertaining to such special wastes have also been discussed. The study features a holistic overview of innovations made in face masks and their corresponding impact on human health and environment. Strategies with SDG3 and SDG12, outlining safe and proper disposal of solid waste, have also been discussed. Furthermore, employing the CFD paradigm, a 3D model of a face mask was created based on fluid flow during breathing techniques. Lastly, the review concludes with possible future advancements and promising research avenues in personal protective equipment

Surface innovation for fabrication of superhydrophobic sand grains with improved water holding capacity for various environmental applications

The extreme evaporative loss of water from topsoil complicates cultivation in arid areas, and artificial plastic mulches that imitate sand mulches may minimize such water losses. However, the application of such plastic mulches is limited by their high cost and non-biodegradability. In this study, we developed superhydrophobic sand grains to reduce evaporative water loss from soil. Sea sand (SS) was coated with silica sol, which was prepared by the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) under alkaline conditions, followed by treatment with perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS). A facile step was optimized for fabricating hydrophobic sand grains with contact angle of 151?? and rolling-off angle of 9.5?? to confirm the hydrophobicity and anti-droplet properties of the modified sand grains. The sands modified with engineered nanomaterials have shown the enhanced water holding and storage efficiency, and they can be applied as an oil sorbent scaffold to absorb oil (chloroform) from water selectively due to their water repelling properties. The coated superhydrophobic sand grains displayed anti-droplet and self-cleaning features, and withheld water for extended periods of time, which could benefit agriculture in arid regions and various environmental applications

Surface innovation to enhance anti-droplet and hydrophobic behavior of breathable compressed-polyurethane masks

With the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is essential that face masks demonstrating significant anti-droplet and hydrophobic characteristics are developed and distributed. In this study, a commercial compressed-polyurethane (C-PU) mask was modified by applying a hydrophobic and anti-droplet coating using a silica sol, which was formed by the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) under alkaline conditions and hydrolyzed hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) to achieve hydrophobization. The modified mask (C-PU/Si/HDTMS) demonstrated good water repellency resulting in high water contact angle (132 degrees) and low sliding angle (17 degrees). Unmodified and modified masks were characterized using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A drainage test confirmed the strong interaction between the mask surface and coating. Moreover, the coating had negligible effect on the average pore size of the C-PU mask, which retained its high breathability after modification. The application of this coating is a facile approach to impart anti-droplet, hydrophobic, and self-cleaning characteristics to C-PU masks. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Analysis of Metallic Contamination and Toxicity Exposure by Different Branded Cigarettes in India

Abstract: The project will study and analyse the metallic contamination found in few branded cigarettes in India. Simultaneously toxicity exposure will also be determined which may create serious health hazards. The metals selected for analysis are lead(Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and mercury (Hg) which are highly toxic as well as carcinogenic in nature. The toxic metal concentration in different branded cigarettes ranges from Cd (0.045 ppm-0.065 ppm), Pb (0.95 ppm -1.25 ppm), Hg (2.5 ppm -7.0 ppm), Cr (1.90 ppm -2.50 ppm), Ni (0.29 ppm -0.51 ppm). The concentration of above mentioned toxic metals are found to be slightly higher than the permissible limit proposed by Indian Journal of Pharmacology (IJP). This toxicity may cause various types of neurological disorders, nervous system damage and cancer. Therefore in conclusion part some sort of toxicological management and preventive measures will be emphasised for the betterment of environment point of view. Therefore different standard methodologies and instrumentations will be used to analyse the toxic metals found in cigarettes

PVDF ???????????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??????

??? ??????????????? PVDF ???????????? ?????? ????????? ??? ???????????? ????????? ????????? ???????????????. ????????? ????????? ???????????? ??????????????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???????????????. ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ????????? coating ????????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????? ????????? ??????. ?????? ???????????? ???????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????? ?????? ????????? ?????????, ????????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ????????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ?????? ????????? pore size distribution??? ?????? ???????????????, ????????? ????????? ????????? XPS??? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ?????? ????????? ?????? coating?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????????? long-term ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????????

Designing Durable Anti-wetting and Anti-biofouling Membranes for Improved MD Performance

Stability of long-term anti-biofouling and superhydrophobicity features is doubtful because of wetting as well as poor adhesion of ultrahydrophobic agents onto the membrane. In this study, a simple approach is presented to fabricate reusable anti-biofouling and superhydrophobic PVDF membranes for membrane distillation (MD) application. Further, PVA-co-poly(MAA) chemical agent is utilized in order to enhance the stability of TiO2 nanoparticles. Poly(MAA), a functionalization agent that can chemically link TiO2 nanomaterials (n-TiO2) and polymer substrate, which has been further elaborated in terms of retained anti-biofouling property. The composite coating exhibits high resistance to wetting and biofouling during long term operation in MD process

Zwitterionic material for construction of an antifouling polyamide thin film composite membrane

This research has been supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea as funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (RS-2023-00241009) and by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as ???Graduate School specialized in Integrated Water Resources Management???. The authors are thankful for the support

Fabrication of Highly Anti-droplet Sand Mulches with Enhanced Water Holding Capacity and Oil-water Separation

Evaporative loss of water from the upper layer of soil in the arid areas became the burning environmental issue. However, artificial plastics that mimic sand mulches may minimize the evaporative loss of water. These plastic mulches possess utility limitation due to their cost and non-biodegradability. In response, a highly anti-droplet sand mulches have been produced for reducing the evaporation loss of water. A simple modification was conducted for fabricating hydrophobic sand mulches with a high contact angle more than 150?? and a lower rolling off angle less than 10??. In this experiment, the sea-sand was also modified by applying an anti-droplet coating using a silica sol, which has been modified to attain hydrophobicity. The produced anti-droplet sand mulches were characterised by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This hydrophobic sand mulches with core-shell structure have the capability of withholding water for longer period of time which could benefit the agriculture in the arid regions. The modified sands can also be applied as oil sorbent to absorb oil (chloroform) from water selectively because of water repellence characteristics. In this study, the application of this hydrophobic coating is a simple approach to offer anti-droplet and self- cleaning features to sand mulches for various applications