New thin film composite (TFC) membrane was prepared via coating of Pebax on PSf‐PES blend membrane as support, and its application in wastewater treatment was investigated. To modify this membrane, hydrophilic TiO2 nanoparticles were coated on its surface at different loadings via dip coating technique. The as‐prepared membrane was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission SEM, and contact angle analysis. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and surface SEM images indicated that TiO2 was successfully coated on the membrane surface. In addition, the results stated that the hydrophilicity and roughness of membrane surface increased by addition of TiO2 nanoparticles. Performance of TFC and modified TFC membranes was evaluated through humic acid removal from aqueous solution. Maximum permeate flux and humic acid rejection were obtained at 0.03 and 0.01 wt% TiO2 loadings, respectively. Rejection was enhanced from 96.38% to 98.92% by the increase of feed concentration from 10 to 30 ppm. Additionally, membrane antifouling parameters at different pressures and feed concentration were determined. The results indicated that surface modification of membranes could be an effective method for improvement of membrane antifouling property.

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Storage of natural gas in highly porous materials provides a safer and more energy-efficient solution to energy-intensive compression and liquefaction options for advancing natural gas vehicular systems. Herein, we investigate the potential of highly porous aerogel-derived mesoporous carbons for storage of methane under the conditions relevant to adsorbed natural gas (ANG) tanks. Analysis of high-pressure isotherms indicated that EC-RF with a 2355 m 2 /g surface area and a 6.77 cm 3 /g total pore volume exhibited an exceptionally high gravimetric methane uptake with a deliverable capacity of 261 cm (STP) 3 /g in the pressure range of 5.8−65 bar and 25 °C which was 48% higher than that of the benchmark HKUST-1 material. Such behavior is attributed to its ultrahigh pore volume, large surface area, and low bulk density. In addition, our investigations demonstrated that upon desorbing the stored methane at 50 °C instead of 25 °C, both the methane deliverable capacity and the amount of methane recovered over EC-RF can be further increased to 305 cm (STP) 3 /g and 17%, respectively. Moreover, cyclic charge− discharge profiles revealed stable storage performance for this material. However, despite high gravimetric uptake, the volumetric uptake was only 89 cm (STP) 3 /cm 3 , which was 50% that of HKUST-1. The results reported herein demonstrate that for aerogel-based carbons to be considered suitable as ANG adsorbents, their properties should be optimized to yield high volumetric storage capacity, balanced with their exceptionally high gravimetric uptake capacity.