In this study, membrane distillation is evaluated as a technology for non-sewered sanitation, using waste heat to enable separation of clean water from urine. Whilst membrane fouling was observed for urine, wetting was not evident and product water quality met the proposed discharge standard, despite concentration of the feed. Fouling was reversible using physical cleaning, which is similar to previous membrane studies operating without pressure as the driving force. High COD reduction was achieved following faecal contamination, but mass transfer was impeded and wetting occurred which compromised permeate quality, suggesting upstream intervention is demanded to limit the extent of faecal contamination.

Fermentations provide an alternative to fossil fuels for accessing a number of biofuel and chemical products from a variety of renewable and waste substrates. The recovery of these dilute fermentation products from the broth, however, can be incredibly energy intensive as a distillation process is generally involved and creates a barrier to commercialization. Membrane processes can provide a low energy aid/alternative for recovering these dilute fermentation products and reduce production costs. For these types of separations many current polymeric and inorganic membranes suffer from poor selectivity and high cost respectively. This paper reviews work in the production of novel mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) for fermentative separations and those applicable to these separations. These membranes combine a trade-off of low-cost and processability of polymer membranes with the high selectivity of inorganic membranes. Work within the fields of nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and pervaporation has been discussed. The review shows that MMMs are currently providing some of the most high-performing membranes for these separations, with three areas for improvement identified: Further characterization and optimization of inorganic phase(s), Greater understanding of the compatibility between the polymer and inorganic phase(s), Improved methods for homogeneously dispersing the inorganic phase.

For sustainably produced fuels and chemicals to become viable resources they need to be cost comparable with crude oil based products. 2,3-Butanediol is an important commodity chemical that can be produced via gas fermentation alongside acetate and ethanol. The current recovery of 2,3-butanediol is an energy intensive process, to which membranes could be incorporated, to achieve energy and monetary savings through partial purification and / or concentration of the desired products. This paper investigates for the first time a number of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes for this purpose. Three membranes (NF270, NF90 and BW30) were investigated for their applicability to concentrate 2,3-butanediol, acetate and ethanol within a gas fermentation broth. BW30 was identified as a suitable membrane for the concentration of 2,3-butanediol and acetate within the gas fermentation broth with rejections of 96.1 and 94.6 % respectively at pH 6.5. Rejection of other possible alcoholic fermentation products was also screened with BW30 for the concentration of these products. Overall, this work demonstrates how NF and RO membranes could be implemented within a membrane series to potentially replace part of the distillative separation of low volatility organics from fermentations.

A new method for determining the molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of an organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane has been developed utilising poly(propylene) glycol (PPG) oligomers. This new MWCO method overcomes the limitations of the currently popular methods: namely the high molecule cost in the popular polystyrene method, the Donnan Exclusion effects when using dye molecules and the solvent compatibility and HPLC separation resolution limitations of the lesser used poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) method. A new reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) allows the concentration of each oligomer of PPG to be accurately determined and from this the MWCO curves are constructed. The method has a high resolution (size increment of 58 g mol-1 corresponding to the OCH(CH3)CH2 structural unit) and can be used in polar, polar aprotic, and non-polar solvents. The accuracy of the method has been demonstrated in three different solvents (methanol, acetone, and toluene) and 5 different OSN membranes (DuraMem® 150, 200, 500, PuraMem® 280 and StarMem TM 240). Other advantages include; oligomers of PPG are cheap and widely available, can probe a wide range of MWCO and provide high resolution MWCO curves. Consequently, it is proposed that that this method be adopted as a new standard MWCO test for OSN membranes.

BACKGROUND Lolium rigidum is the weed of greatest economic impact in Australia due to its formidable capacity to evolve herbicide resistance. In this study, 579 field‐sampled L. rigidum populations were tested for resistance to 21 herbicides applied at the recommended rate. Nine herbicide treatments were binary mixtures. RESULTS A total of 15 876 individual resistance tests were conducted by screening two million seeds at the recommended label rate. The overall frequency of resistant populations was 31%, 14%, 71%, 6% and 0% in response to the post‐emergence herbicide treatments clethodim, clethodim + butroxydim, imazamox + imazapyr, glyphosate and paraquat, respectively. The resistance frequency to stand‐alone pre‐emergence wheat‐selective herbicides ranged from 10% to 34%. Conversely, the levels of resistance to pre‐emergence mixtures or stand‐alone propyzamide were significantly lower, ranging from 6% to 0%. In winter, the responses to glyphosate, paraquat, cinmethylin, prosulfocarb, pyroxasulfone and trifluralin were reassessed, with 7%, 0%, 0%, 21%, 21% and 28% as the respective resistance frequencies. South Australia and Victoria are identified as epicenters for L. rigidum population resistance to pyroxasulfone, whereas populations in New South Wales have the greatest resistance to glyphosate and in Western Australia to clethodim. CONCLUSIONS For the first time, resistance levels to stand‐alone herbicides and binary mixtures are geographically ranked across the Australian continent by benchmark statistical analysis of resistance frequencies and distribution. The extension of these results will raise awareness of rapidly emerging patterns of herbicide resistance, encouraging the adoption of cost‐effective modes of action and integration of diverse strategies for weed resistance management.