Membrane Technologies for Emerging Contaminants Removal and Critical Resource Recovery

Global water systems are increasingly burdened by emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal‑care products, microplastics, pesticides, and per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These contaminants, often persistent and biologically active at trace concentrations, pose complex challenges for conventional treatment methods. Advanced membrane technologies have emerged as powerful tools to selectively separate, transform, or concentrate these pollutants, while simultaneously enabling the recovery of valuable resources such as nutrients, metals, and reusable water. Recent progress in nanostructured materials, hybrid membranes, and integration with catalytic or biological modules has significantly expanded the functional landscape of membrane systems. However, translating these laboratory‑scale innovations into reliable, sustainable, and economically viable operations remains a key challenge.This Research Topic aims to advance our understanding and application of membrane technologies for both contaminant abatement and circular‑resource valorization. By bringing together research in materials science, process engineering, and environmental chemistry, the Topic will showcase strategies that enhance selectivity, antifouling behavior, and system resilience under complex real‑world matrices. Particular emphasis will be placed on multifunctional or stimuli‑responsive membranes that couple separation with transformation processes, and on integrated systems achieving resource recovery alongside contaminant control. The Topic also encourages techno‑economic and life‑cycle assessments to bridge innovation with sustainability metrics.To gather further insights in this field, we welcome contributions addressing—but not limited to—the following themes:—Novel membrane materials and surface modifications for emerging contaminant removal—Hybrid and catalytic membranes combining filtration, adsorption, and degradation functions—Membrane bioreactors and enzymatic membrane systems for trace organic pollutant abatement–Recovery of critical resources (nutrients, metals, energy carriers, water) via membrane processes—Membrane design for PFAS and microplastic removal—Integration of membranes with electrochemical, photocatalytic, or adsorption processes—Process modeling, performance optimization, and scale‑up of multifunctional membrane systems—Fouling mechanisms, mitigation strategies, and operational stability in complex feedwaters—Techno‑economic analysis, life‑cycle assessment, and sustainability evaluation of membrane‑based treatment and recovery systems Topic editors: Xing Wu, Hamidreza Mahdavi, Huali Tian Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82967/membrane-technologies-for-emerging-contaminants-removal-and-critical-resource-recovery