Research on Membranes and Their Associated Processes at the Université Paris-Est Créteil: Progress Report, Perspectives, and National and International Collaborations

Abstract

Research on membranes and their associated processes was initiated in 1970 at the University of Paris XII/IUT de Créteil, which became in 2010 the University Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). This research initially focused on the development and applications of pervaporation membranes, then concerned the metrology of ion-exchange membranes, then expanded to dialysis processes using these membranes, and recently opened to composite membranes and their applications in production or purification processes. Both experimental and fundamental aspects have been developed in parallel. This evolution has been reinforced by an opening to the French and European industries, and to the international scene, especially to the Krasnodar Membrane Institute (Kuban State University—Russia) and to the Department of Chemistry, (Qassim University—Saudi Arabia). Here, we first presented the history of this research activity, then developed the main research axes carried out at UPEC over the 2012–2022 period; then, we gave the main results obtained, and finally, showed the cross contribution of the developed collaborations. We avoided a chronological presentation of these activities and grouped them by theme: composite membranes and ion-exchange membranes. For composite membranes, we have detailed three applications: highly selective lithium-ion extraction, bleach production, and water and industrial effluent treatments. For ion-exchange membranes, we focused on their characterization methods, their use in Neutralization Dialysis for brackish water demineralization, and their fouling and antifouling processes. It appears that the research activities on membranes within UPEC are very dynamic and fruitful, and benefit from scientific exchanges with our Russian partners, which contributed to the development of strong membrane activity on water treatment within Qassim University. Finally, four main perspectives of this research activity were given: the design of autonomous and energy self-sufficient processes, refinement of characterization by Electrochemical Scanning Microscopy, functional membrane separators, and green membrane preparation and use.

Mechanisms of Nutrient Uptake and Assimilation Processes in Some Plants: A Review

“…It should be observed that, electrochemical potentials are recognized through membranes due to uneven charge allocations (Kisnieriene et al, 2019). Discrepancies between membrane potentials and actual potentials formed by non-equilibrium allocations is a degree of quality of energy needed (Fageria et al, 2006;Baklouti et al, 2023). Electrical charge , therefore could be computed by means of a revised Nernst equation explained by Ting (1982), as stated below: Ψ = (-RT/ZF/In (ai/a0) Where Ψ = electrochemical potential between root cells and external solutions in mullivolts (MV); R = gas constant (8.3J/mol K); T = absolute temperature (K); Z = net charge on ion (dimension less); F = Faraday constant (96, 400 J/mol); ai = activity of ion inside a tissue, and a0 = activity of ion outside a tissue.…”