133295 20260217205514.0 doi 10.1016/j.seppur.2024.127042 sideral 137942 ART-2024-137942 eng Santoro, Sergio Green photocatalytic mixed matrix membranes for simultaneous arsenic photo-oxidation and water recovery via membrane distillation 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted This work proposes an innovative integration of Membrane Distillation (MD) and photo-oxidation for a continuous recovery of water from arsenic (As) contaminated solutions coupled with the oxidation of arsenite (As(III)) into arsenate (As(V)). Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) as photocatalyst were developed. A systematic study elucidated the effect of TiO2 NPs on membranes’ morphology prepared via non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) using triethyl phosphate (TEP) as a green solvent for PVDF solubilization. Vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) tests carried out by irradiating the MMMs with ultraviolet (UV) radiation demonstrated the possibility of recovering up to 80 % of the water from As-contaminated synthetic and real multi-ions aqueous solutions from Sila Massif (Italy). The distillate was recovered at a rate of 6.9–7.2 kg·m−2·h−1 (feed inlet temperature of 60 °C), while the presence of 7 wt% of TiO2 in PVDF membranes enabled the photo-oxidation of 95 % of the As(III) to As(V) at a first order kinetic constant of 0.0106 min−1. After 5 cycles of As-remediation experiments, post-hoc mechanical testing on the membrane suggested the emergence of polymer embrittlement induced by UV radiation (total irradiation time of 7.5 h), highlighting the urgent need for developing photocatalytic membranes with long-term stability. Overall, this study elucidates at laboratory scale the performance of a coupled and continuous Membrane Distillation (MD) and photo-oxidation system for arsenic (As) remediation, employing microporous hydrophobic green membranes doped with a photocatalyst. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/823948/EU/Renewable Energies for Water Treatment and REuse in Mining Industries/REMIND This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 823948-REMIND info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 9.0 2024 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL 16 / 176 = 0.091 2024 Q1 T1 1.697 2024 Filtration and Separation 2024 Q1 Analytical Chemistry 2024 Q1 15.1 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Occhiuzzi, Jessica Aquino, Marco Politano, Antonio Straface, Salvatore D'Andrea, Giuseppe Carrillo, Cristobal Mallada, Reyes Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-4758-9380 Garcia, Andreina Estay, Humberto Xevgenos, Dimitrios Argurio, Pietro Curcio, Efrem 5005 555 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb. Área Ingeniería Química 342 (2024), 127042 [11 pp.] Sep. Purif. Technol. Separation and Purification Technology 1383-5866 3549731 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/133295/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2552862 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/133295/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:133295 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:26:23 ARTICLE