7th MEMTEK International Symposium on Membrane Technologies and Applications at ITU

The 7th MEMTEK International Symposium on Membrane Technologies and Applications, held at ITU Ayazağa Campus on October 17-19, brought together expert scientists of the field.

The 7th MEMTEK International Symposium on Membrane Technologies and Applications was held at Ayazağa Campus SDKM on October 17-19, 2023 through the partnership of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Gebze Technical University. 

The importance of membranes in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 

Our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, who chaired the symposium together with Prof. Dr. Bülent Keskinler from Gebze Technical University, addressed the participants at the opening ceremony. Our Rector pointed out the importance of membrane technologies in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Stating that membranes are of great importance for our country regarding issues such as water reuse and desalination, Prof. Dr. Koyuncu said, “Türkiye is a country that constantly experiences water stress and is located between water-rich and arid countries.” Our Rector gave the participants information about the studies carried out at MEMTEK and wished a productive symposium. 

Prof. Dr. Bülent Keskinler said that membrane technology finds use in not only water-related but many other sectors and invited the participants to develop collaborations and have fruitful scientific discussions throughout the symposium. Our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu presented a gift to Prof. Dr. Keskinler for his contributions to membrane technology. At the end of the opening ceremony, a group photo was taken and the sessions started. 

Pioneering scientists in the field 

At the symposium, world-renowned academics in the field of membrane technologies and water treatment came together with the participants. Prof. Dr. İzzet Öztürk from ITU, Prof. Dr. Harsha Ratnaweera from Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Prof. Dr. Volodymyr V. Tarabara from Michigan State University, Prof. Dr. How Yong Ng from National University of Singapore, and Prof. Dr. Mihail Barboiu from University of Montpellier made presentations at the symposium. The presentations covered topics such as development trends in digital tools in membrane processes, virus removal in water treatment systems, new techniques for membrane fouling control, the significance of membranes on the management of sanitary landfill leachate, and biomimetic membranes for desalination. 

7th MEMTEK International Symposium on Membrane Technologies and Applications had many oral and poster presentations on the first two days. At the end of the evaluation of the presentations, oral and poster presentation awards were given. 

Symposium participants visited two plants 

At the symposium, many scientists from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Russia and Iran, as well as our country, held scientific discussions in the light of the latest research on the following topics: modelling of membrane processes, industrial wastewater treatment, membrane bioreactors, gas separation, resource recovery using membrane processes, membrane fouling and control, concentrate management and reuse, and innovative membrane processes. 

On the last day of the symposium, participants made a technical visit to Kömürcüoda Landfill Leachate Treatment Plant and Ağva Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant.