Hamed Karkhanechi

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes were fabricated for the first time using poly(4‐methyl‐1‐pentene) (PMP) via the non–solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method for ethanol recovery from a soybean oil/ethanol mixture. Nanocomposite membranes were also prepared by incorporating graphene hydroxyl (GOH) nanosheets at varying concentrations (0.5 to 1 wt%) to evaluate their impact on membrane properties and performance. The resulting nanocomposite membranes were systematically characterized in terms of morphology, porosity, surface wettability, mechanical strength, and solvent stability. The incorporation of GOH nanosheets led to a significant increase in porosity, hydrophilicity, tensile strength, and solvent permeance (from 0.74 to 2.55 L/m ² h·bar), while maintaining high soybean oil rejection (95%). The membranes also exhibited outstanding ethanol stability with minimal swelling and near‐complete gel retention after 4 weeks. These findings demonstrate a promising strategy for tailoring polymeric membranes with improved separation efficiency and sustainability. The novel PMP/GOH membrane system demonstrates strong potential for industrial solvent recovery processes, enabling energy‐efficient, hexane‐free oil extraction that aligns with green chemistry principles.

This work explores boosting the performance of Polyethersulfone (PES) membranes by embedding Graphene Hydroxyl (GOH) nanoparticles through the Non‐solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process. The GOH content ranged from 0 to 1.0 wt%, aimed at improving hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, and resistance to fouling. Comprehensive analyses, including FESEM, AFM, FTIR, and contact angle measurements, revealed that a GOH concentration of 0.5 wt% provided an optimal structure, achieving a porosity of 71.9% and a contact angle close to 43°. Performance assessments demonstrated a remarkable 164% rise in pure water flux and a flux recovery ratio of 78.5% for the 0.5 wt% GOH membrane, while maintaining dye rejection above 95%. Conversely, higher GOH concentrations led to nanoparticle aggregation, which diminished porosity and flux. The findings confirm that GOH‐modified PES membranes offer an excellent balance between permeability and selectivity, making them highly suitable for advanced filtration applications.

This concise note highlights certain errors, encompassing dimensional inconsistency and flaws in the expression of fundamental relationships, associated with Schneier's equation. This equation was initially published in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science [17.10 (1973): 3175] and has subsequently found application in consequent studies.

In recent years, a well-known membrane-based process called pervaporation (PV), has attracted remarkable attention due to its advantages for selective separation of a wide variety of liquid mixtures. However, some restrictions of polymeric membranes have led to research studies on developing membranes for efficient separation in the PV process. Recent studies have focused on preparation of nanocomposite membranes as an effective method to improve both selectivity and permeability of polymeric membranes. The present study provides a review of PV nanocomposite membranes for various applications. In this review, recent developments in the field of nanocomposite membranes, including the fabrication methods, characterization, and PV performance, are summarized.