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Omniphobic membranes, due to their exceptional properties, have drawn significant attention for overcoming the bottleneck in membrane distillation (MD) technology. This study demonstrates an innovative method for fabricating an omniphobic membrane that is simple and facile compared to other methods such as wet/dry etching and photolithography. The surface morphology of springtails was imitated using electrospraying technique to coat a polyvinylidene fluoride substrate with concave-shaped polystyrene beads that were successfully developed by controlling the electrical traction (voltage) and air resistance (humidity). Then, the lipid coating of springtail surfaces was mimicked by dip-coating the membrane in a low-toxicity short-chain perfluoropolyether lubricant. The concave structure’s tiny air pockets increased membrane hydrophobicity significantly, indicated by the fact that the first round of water bouncing took only 16.3 ms. Finally, in MD treatment of seawater containing 1.0 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, the optimized omniphobic membrane maintained a stable 99.9% salt rejection rate. Here, authors successfully fabricated a springtail-inspired nano-concave reentrant structured polystyrene (PS) membrane using electrospraying technology followed by lubricant dip-coating, which endowed the membrane with omniphobic properties.

Water pollution caused by oil spills or sewage discharges has become a serious ecological environmental issue. Despite the membrane separation technique having a promising application in wastewater purification, the membrane fabrication method and separation robustness have remained unsatisfactory until now. Herein, we developed a novel strategy, spacer-assisted sequential phase conversion, to create a patterned polyvinylidene fluoride@polypropylene (P-PVDF@PP) substrate membrane with a multiscale roughened surface. Based on that surface structure, the underwater oil resistance behavior of the P-PVDF@PP membrane was improved. Moreover, owing to the abundant active sites on the P-PVDF@PP surface, the polydopamine/P-PVDF@PP (PDA/P-PVDF@PP) Janus membrane could be readily fabricated via wet chemical modification, which exhibited excellent switchable oil–water separation performance. Regarding surfactant-stabilized oil-water emulsion, the as-prepared PDA/P-PVDF@PP Janus membrane also had robust separation efficiency (as high as 99% in the n-hexane/water, chloroform/water, and toluene/water emulsion separation cases) and desirable reusability. Finally, the underlying mechanism of emulsion separation in the PDA/P-PVDF@PP Janus membrane was specified. The as-designed PDA/P-PVDF@PP Janus membrane with high-efficiency oil–water separation shows potential application in oily wastewater treatment, and the developed fabrication method has implications for the fabrication of advanced separation membranes.

Desalination via membrane distillation (MD) powered by low‐grade or waste heat is an emerging approach to energy‐efficient water purification. However, conventional membranes suffer from significant conductive heat loss, which limits their thermal performance. Developing membranes with low thermal conductivity is crucial for enhancing thermal efficiency. This study introduces a metal–organic framework‐enabled membrane (MEM) by embedding zeolite imidazole framework 8 (ZIF‐8) onto Poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) (PH) nanofiber. The MEM features a hierarchical porous structure, with an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.03 W m−1 K−1), thereby minimizing heat dissipation. It outperforms conventional membranes, demonstrating a vapor flux of 44.5 LMH and a thermal efficiency of 71.3%, improving MD performance. Multi‐scale simulations reveal that the dual improvements in thermal shielding and vapor flow facilitation enable the MEM to effectively harness low‐grade heat sources inaccessible to traditional membranes, positioning it as a promising solution for a sustainable water‐energy‐environment nexus. A metal–organic framework‐enabled membrane (MEM) with a hierarchical porous structure is developed for thermal‐efficient membrane distillation. By embedding ZIF‐8 onto PH nanofibers, the MEM achieves low thermal conductivity and significantly enhances vapor flux and thermal efficiency. Its ability to utilize low‐grade heat sources makes it a promising solution for sustainable desalination.

Under possible risk of compound impacts of climate and anthropogenic changes, the Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is envisaged to be an appropriate solution. Site suitability mapping is a crucial step in MAR project planning which requires various data, processing and GIS analysis. An automated web-based tool, named G-MCDA, is developed in this study for quick and efficient suitability mapping. G-MCDA integrates Google Earth Engine (GEE), Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), GIS and web-based interface that allows automated data downloading, GIS data processing and suitability analysis using MCDA. G-MCDA has been tested in upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab region, India, for site suitability analysis. The application of G-MCDA shows that most of the area (82%) is under suitable category followed by very suitable (12%), and moderately suitable (5%). The suitable area is mostly flat agricultural lands with alluvium aquifer. A few patches of urban and sloping lands found to be moderately/low suitable for MAR.

Development that satisfies the present requirements without sacrificing the needs of future generations is termed sustainable development. The idea of sustainable development is to maintain the balance among environment, society and economy for standards of quality of life both in present and future generations. In this chapter, an overview of various areas of sustainable development, mainly social equity, economic and environmental aspects, along with case studies are presented. Environmental indicators in sustainable development, sustainable buildings and construction, renewable and sustainable approaches for solid waste management, and water production are discussed in brief.

The thermal management of lithium-ion battery packs (LIBP) is crucial in ensuring safe and efficient operation in electric vehicles (EVs). The major concern of LIBP is to keep it at an appropriate temperature during the energizing and draining processes. The present work reviews the critical role of duct design in enhancing the efficiency of air-cooled LIBs, by comparing symmetrical and asymmetrical duct configurations. Furthermore, the present review assesses in what way the optimized airflow distribution can significantly improve heat dissipation and temperature uniformity across battery modules. Further, works pertaining to the determination of the optimized designs of the ducts are explored with the installation of different types of augmented components for the air-cooling techniques focusing on factors, such as cooling rate, airflow resistance, and temperature gradients, using the computational fluid dynamics have been analyzed. The summary of the review concludes that symmetrical ducts not only enable more uniform temperature control but also contribute to energy savings by reducing the power required for cooling fans. Additionally, the review also highlights the potential for duct optimization as a simple, cost-effective solution for meeting the thermal management requirements in next-generation LIBPs in EVs.