In my talk, I will discuss a novel membrane surface-modification approach aimed at separating same sized, monovalent ions—ammonium (NH4+) and potassium (K+) from nutrient-rich sources such as anerobic digestates. NH4+ and K+ are two key nutrients which are in high demand as raw materials for fertilizer. This approach effectively contributes to circular economy principles by deriving value-added entities from waste and reducing the reliance on conventional energy intensive fertilizer raw material production processes. My talk will highlight the critical role of polyelectrolyte topology on the membrane separation performance using both synthetic and real wastewater matrices.
