Membranes, as the primary tool in membrane separation techniques, tend to suffer external deposition of pollutants and microorganisms depending on the nature of the treating solutions. Such issues are well recognized as biofouling and is identified as the major drawback of pressure-driven membrane processes due to the influence of the separation performance of such membrane-based technologies. Herein, the aim of this review paper is to elucidate and discuss new insights on the ongoing development works at facing the biofouling phenomenon in membranes. This paper also provides an overview of the main strategies proposed by “membranologists” to improve the fouling resistance in membranes. Special attention has been paid to the fundamentals on membrane fouling as well as the relevant results in the framework of mitigating the issue. By analyzing the literature data and state-of-the-art, the concluding remarks and future trends in the field are given as well.

Traditional alcoholic beverages are today recognized for their potentialities and benefits to human health. Pulque is likely to be one of the most consumed traditional beverages in Mexico, which is currently being explored by the research community. Different research and applications have been developed towards the full identification and characterization of the compounds and microbiota presented in pulque. Moreover, to improve its commercialization, specific emerging techniques have been proposed and implemented for the processing of such a traditional alcoholic beverage. Therefore, the goal of this review is to release a comprehensive overview of the latest research and developments focused on exploring the pulque. Herein, a particular emphasis has been paid to the relevant studies and findings in the field. Moreover, a clear overview of the microbial, physicochemical composition, elaboration protocols, together with the main parameters influencing its quality, are given. Few applications and processes aiming for its commercialization have been done (e.g., microencapsulation, spray-drying and ohmic treatment); however, within the exploitation of pulque, its main compounds have been implemented towards the enhancement of properties of other commercial products, such as tortilla and bread. Finally, this review provides the current research gaps and recommendations to the new researchers in the field.