Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes: Advances on Membrane Engineering

Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes: Engineering with Membranes discusses various aspects of membrane engineering. This includes, but is not limited to, the role of membranes in food production, treatment and recovery, their applications in electrochemical processes and devices, in drug delivery and in ionic materials, such as salts, acids and bases, recovery. In addition, this book approaches the above topics in a different angle than the existing publications, i.e., reviews technical difficulties, environmental challenges and economic analysis.

Membranes are one of the technologies which can affect various aspects of engineering dealing with feeds and products. Membranes demonstrate selective purifying properties, hence, membranes can help in the removal of various pollutants onsite and without the need of adding extra units and apparatuses. Besides that, membranes help reactions shift forward and make the whole process more efficient.

Angelo Basile is a Full Professor and a leading authority in membrane science and technology. Since 2014, he has served as Full Professor in Systems, Methods and Technologies of Chemical Engineering Processes at CNR-ITM in Rende, Italy. His work covers hydrogen purification and production using membrane reactors, CO₂ capture, process intensification, and the treatment of industrial effluents with advanced membrane operations. Basile has edited many scientific books and authored numerous book chapters, bridging complex research with clear knowledge for engineers and scientists. Motivated by the role of AI/ML in accelerating membrane process design and automation, he supports integrating data-driven methods for smart plants and reaction–separation optimisation.

Dr. Frank Lipnizki is a Professor in the Department of Process and Life Science Engineering at Lund University, Sweden. His research focuses on membrane separation processes for applications in food processing, biotechnology, pulp and paper industries, biorefineries, and water treatment. He specializes in the integration and optimization of membrane technologies within hybrid process systems, with particular emphasis on membrane fouling, cleaning strategies, and process efficiency. His work also involves the development and improvement of membranes and membrane modules tailored for specific industrial applications, contributing to sustainable and resource-efficient process engineering solutions.

Prof. Mohammad Reza Rahimpour is a professor in Chemical Engineering at Shiraz University, Iran. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Shiraz University joint with University of Sydney, Australia 1988. He started his independent career as Assistant Professor in September 1998 at Shiraz University. Prof. M.R. Rahimpour, was a Research Associate at University of California, Davis from 2012 till 2017. During his stay in University of California, he developed different reaction networks and catalytic processes such as thermal and plasma reactors for upgrading of lignin bio-oil to biofuel with collaboration of UCDAVIS. He has been a Chair of Department of Chemical Engineering at Shiraz University from 2005 till 2009 and from 2015 till 2020. Prof. M.R. Rahimpour leads a research group in fuel processing technology focused on the catalytic conversion of fossil fuels such as natural gas, and renewable fuels such as bio-oils derived from lignin to valuable energy sources. He provides young distinguished scholars with perfect educational opportunities in both experimental methods and theoretical tools in developing countries to investigate in-depth research in the various field of chemical engineering including carbon capture, chemical looping, membrane separation, storage and utilization technologies, novel technologies for natural gas conversion and improving the energy efficiency in the production and use of natural gas industries.

Vincenzo Piemonte is an associate professor at the University “Campus Bio-medico” of Rome (academic courses: Artificial Organs Engineering, Biorefinery Fundamentals, Chemical Engineering Principles, Bioreactors) and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University “La Sapienza” of Rome (academic course: Artificial Organs Engineering). His research activity is primarily focused on the study of Transport phenomena in the artificial and bioartificial organs; new biotreatment technology platform for the elimination of toxic pollutants from water and soil; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of petroleum-based plastics and bio-based plastics; extraction of valuable substances (polyphenols, tannins) from natural matrices; hydrogen production by membrane reactors for water gas shift reaction; concentrated Solar Power Plant integrated with membrane steam reforming reactor for the production of hydrogen and hydro-methane. He has about 120 publications on chemical thermodynamics, kinetics, biomedical devices modeling, Bioreactors, LCA studies.