Engineering, Water Science and Technology, Filtration and Separation
6
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
The role of hydration in the removal of glyphosate (GLY) and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) by nanofiltration membranes Phuong B. Trinh, Minh N. Nguyen, Zdenek Futera, Babak Minofar, Marco Personeni, et al. Nature Communications, 2026 Nanofiltration can remove glyphosate (GLY) and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) from water via steric, Donnan, and dielectric exclusions, although the significance of dielectric exclusion resulting from hydration has not been elucidated. This study investigates the properties of hydration and its role in GLY/AMPA removal. Results show that charge and dielectric exclusions are dominant in membranes with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) > 150 Da. The contribution of dielectric exclusion is evident when GLY and AMPA in neutral forms are partially removed (50–80%) with >150 Da membranes at pH 2. When GLY/AMPA are negatively charged (pH from 4 to 12), GLY/AMPA removal increased from 50–80 to 90%, indicating the growing contribution of both charge and dielectric exclusions. The hydration layer can be shredded at higher applied pressures, decreasing removal from 86 to 28% (GLY) and 27 to 7% (AMPA). Both molecular dynamics and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) agree on the strong hydration of GLY/AMPA especially at pH 4–6. Understanding the role of hydration in the removal of small and charged organic micropollutants is important for tuning NF membranes for water purification.
Continuous-Flow Photocatalytic Degradation of Glyphosate and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid Under Simulated Sunlight with TiO2-Coated Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Membrane Phuong B. Trinh, Siqi Liu, Nurul F. Himma, Béla Fiser, Andrea I. Schäfer Advanced Functional Materials, 2026 Degradation of glyphosate (GLY) and its primary metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is investigated at environmentally relevant concentrations using a poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane with immobilized titanium dioxide (PVDF‐TiO 2 ) in a continuous flow‐through operation. The photocatalytic degradation under the solar spectrum (AM1.5 g 350–1150 nm) is comparable with that under UV Light (365 nm) at equivalent absorbed irradiance with 63–65% GLY and 21–25% AMPA removal. Hence, non‐UV wavelengths do not contribute to degradation. The limiting factors affecting degradation (irradiance, flux, initial concentration, and pH) are investigated. The scavenger study indicated •O 2 − as the primary contributor to GLY/AMPA degradation, while played a significant role as well. One of the most possible degradation pathways for GLY and AMPA in the photocatalytic membrane reactor is elucidated using the G3MP2B3 composite method via bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) values. GLY degradation to AMPA and oxalic acid is identified as the preferred pathway due to the weak C─N bond. Under optimized conditions (highest irradiance of 98 mW cm −2 , and lowest flux of 60 L m −2 h −1 ), 95% GLY and 80% AMPA are removed by the PVDF‐TiO 2 membrane. The potential of photocatalytic membranes for the degradation of low molecular‐weight, charged micropollutants in continuous operations is highlighted.
