Asuncion Maria Hidalgo

Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment Asuncion Maria Hidalgo

Water is a vital element for life and the environment. Water pollution has been

documented as a contributor to a wide range of health problems. In recent years, the

water quality levels have suffered great deterioration because of rapid social and

economic development and because it is used to "dump" a wide range of pollutants.

This book entitled "Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment" contains featured

research papers dealing with recent developments and advances in all aspects related to

membranes for water and wastewater treatment: membrane processes, combined

processes (including one membrane step), modified membranes, new materials, and the

possibility to reduce fouling and to improve the efficiency of enhanced processes. The

papers compiled in this Special Issue can be read as a response to the current needs and

challenges in membrane development for water and wastewater treatment.

Half of the research articles correspond to concrete and practical applications of the use

of membrane processes in different fields of the industry, with the aim of treating and

conditioning water and wastewater. The studies reveal the treatment of industrial

streams, mining, recycled paper industry, olive mill, urban wastewater, etc. Another

important percentage of studies are related to membrane modification processes, with

the aim of obtaining new materials with better performance in the separation processes,

thus describing the use of membranes modified with chitosan, nanoparticles, and other

organic compounds. This field also includes studies related to fouling and its modeling.