Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a new class of solvents that can offset some of the primary drawbacks of typical solvents and ionic liquids (ILs). Since DESs fall into the guidelines of “Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry”, their implementation in several types of applications has exponentially increased over the last years. The usage of DESs has been directed to the designing, manufacture and purification of new materials...

A crosslinked Poly(vinyl alcohol) based composite membrane was developed through a phase inversion process for use in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells (ADMFCs). The titanium dioxide (TiO2) and carbon nanoparticles (NPs) have been incorporated into the PVA polymer matrix to improve the mechanical and thermal properties. The membrane samples were further modified with maleic acid, a carboxylic acid acting as the cross-linker,...

There is an urgent need for the development of new water resources in order to solve the problem of the world’s growing demand for clean water. Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising alternative to conventional seawater desalination. Although MD itself is often defined as sustainable desalination technology, there are many aspects within the membrane manufacture and process operation that make it far from being green. For instance,...

There have been tremendous advances in membrane distillation (MD) since the concept was introduced in 1961: new membrane designs and process configurations have emerged, and its commercial viability has been evaluated in several pilot-scale studies. However, its high energy consumption has hindered its commercialization. One of the most promising ways to overcome this obstacle is to develop more energy-efficient membrane modules....

Water treatment is one of the main approaches for producing drinking water from contaminated water sources which is challenging due to the presence of a variety of substances requiring removal. The fabrication of nanocomposite membranes relies either on filling nanomaterials into polymeric phases before membrane fabrication, or coating of nanomaterials on the fabricated membrane surface. The removal of organic compounds from potable...