The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Seokjong Byun’s paper entitled “Method for monitoring chloride levels in steam condensate in thermal power plants using reverse osmosis membranes and an ion selective electrode” is accepted for publication in Separation Science and Technology. Current methods for monitoring chloride in steam condensate in thermal power plants cannot measure the recommended target level (2 ppb) or are too complex and maintenance intensive for smaller plants. We propose a new relatively low-cost, easy-to-use, low-maintenance method, in which chloride in steam condensate is separated and concentrated with reverse osmosis membranes and the chloride in the concentrate stream is measured using an ion-selective electrode. This concentration-and-measurement system was demonstrated to accurately and quickly detect changes in chloride levels in steam condensate at operationally relevant levels (2–10 ppb) and as low as 0.6 ppb. This paper can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2017.1344248.

Alex Gorzalski is the 2017 doctoral recipient of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Larson Aquatic Research Support (LARS) Scholarship, and a recipient of a National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. NDSEG Fellowships are offered to individuals who have demonstrated the ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering. The doctoral LARS Scholarship is awarded nationally to one doctoral student interested in a career in the fields of corrosion control, treatment and distribution of domestic and industrial water supplies, aquatic chemistry, and/or environmental chemistry. Congratulations, Alex!

Ryan Kingsbury’s paper entitled “Osmotic ballasts enhance faradaic efficiency in closed-loop, membrane-based energy systems” is accepted for publication in Environmental Science & Technology. We tested whether the energy efficiency in a closed-loop concentration battery based on reverse electrodialysis (RED) could be increased through addition of neutral, non-permeating solutes (i.e., “osmotic ballasts”) to the dilute compartment. Experimental results comparing two proof-of-concept ballast molecules showed that ballasts mitigate osmosis, causing faradaic and round-trip energy efficiency to more than double, from 18% to 50%, and 7% to 15%, respectively, in this non-optimized system. Our results suggest that balancing osmotic pressure using non-charged solutes is a promising approach for significantly reducing faradaic energy losses in closed-loop RED systems. This paper can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b03720)

Alex Gorzalski’s paper entitled “Elemental composition of membrane foulant layers using EDS, XPS, and RBS” is published in the Journal of Membrane Science.  We used EDS, XPS, and RBS to characterize the foulant layers of nanofiltration membranes. We studied two different types of membranes fouled by two different water sources in two different stages of a groundwater nanofiltration plant. Results showed that use of a single characterization technique may lead to incorrect conclusions about the membrane or foulant layer composition, and that the characterization technique should be chosen on the basis of the research question. In general, EDS was able to detect only major foulants, while XPS and RBS were able to detect both major and trace foulants. Additionally, (SEM-)EDS was well suited for characterizing areal heterogeneity and surface features of interest, and RBS was uniquely suited to depth profile elemental composition of depth heterogeneous samples. This paper can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2016.08.055 (Journal of Membrane Science. 2017, 522, 31-44).

Jingbo Wang receives a Certificate of Merit for her presentation during the 2016 Spring National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Environmental Chemistry. Her presentation was entitled “Partitioning of inorganic contaminants into the polyamide active layers of thin-film composite membranes for water purification”. Congratulations, Jingbo!

Panitan (Wan) Jutaporn’s paper entitled “Minimization of Low-Pressure Membrane Fouling Using a Magnetic Ion Exchange (MIEX®) Resin” is published in Water Research. This study showed that the efficacy of MIEX at reducing the fouling potential was inversely correlated with the content of microbial dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the source waters. Consistent with this observation, while microbial DOM was a more important component of the foulant layers than terrestrial DOM relative to their concentrations in solution, MIEX preferentially removed terrestrial DOM over microbial DOM. This paper can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.04.007 (Water Research. 2016, 98, 225-234).

Ryan Kingsbury receives a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship in support of his work in energy storage and generation from salinity gradients.  Congratulations, Ryan!

Kasia Grzebyk is selected as an Emerging Leaders in Science & Society (ELISS) Fellow for their Class of 2016.  ELISS is a leadership development program, hosted at American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), that prepares graduate students to collaborate across boundaries to help solve complex issues for the benefit of society.  Congratulations, Kasia!