Abstract
Background: Membrane separation is an established technological process, and since 1980s, it has been used commercially at large industrial plants worldwide. Water and wastewater disinfection is one of the applications of membrane technologies, but fouling and biofouling are still a challenge for the sector. The use of silver nanoparticles in membranes has attracted research interest because of their biocidal action.
Methods: This technology foresight study investigates the academic literature and patenting activity to map out the technological progress and difficulties in the area.
Results: One hundred and sixty-seven articles on the subject published between 2005 and 2017 were retrieved, and it was found that the greatest number of publications were undertaken in 2016. A wide range of materials being used to make membranes and institutions involved in researching this technology were identified. Fifty-nine patents of relevance were also retrieved, with 2011 and 2013 seeing the highest number of patent applications filed.
Conclusion: The countries with the most academic output and priority patents are the United States and China, but no institution stands out from the others in this area.
Keywords: Membranes, microfiltration, nanoparticles, patents, silver nanoparticles, technology prospection.
Graphical Abstract
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Vanadium and Titanium Resources for High-performance Materials via Nanostructuring and Nanoengineering (updated BMS-NANOTEC-2023-HT-31)
Vanadium and titanium-based materials are ideal candidates for structural and functional materials in aerospace, biomedical engineering, optics, catalysis, energy storage and conversion etc. Vanadium/titanium-based alloys, compounds and materials have a large family with different chemical compositions, dimensions, structures/morphologies, and chemical/physical/mechanical properties, which provides huge opportunities for the development of emerging ...read more
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Green nanotechnology (GN) might wind up being the most efficient platform for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The goal of GN is to create goods and procedures that are secure, energy-efficient, waste-free, and emit fewer greenhouse gases. Such goods and procedures use renewable resources, and/or their environmental impact ...read more
NANOSTRUCTURED NEUROMORPHIC DEVICES: TOWARDS IN MATERIA COMPUTING
The efforts pursued in the last decade to build up brain-inspired systems with electronic hardware solutions to solve complex data processing tasks, have leaded to the development of a new generation of devices, as memristor crossbar arrays, and their different applications became more and more reliable. One of the basic ...read more
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