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Zakhar Maletskyi

Zakhar Maletskyi

Associate Professor

  • Department of Building and Environmental Technology

Research lab  |  CV in PDF  |  Water Process Engineering group

I believe that by mastering artificial membranes and separation processes, we can create resilient and versatile filtration technologies – securing clean water and critical resources worldwide.

My research focuses at the intersection between colloid and interface science, data science, and water and environmental engineering. I investigate the structure, function, and performance of artificial membranes and membrane systems. The aim is to contribute to more efficient membrane designs and optimise their operation, improving the sustainability of water and wastewater treatment processes.

Research in our group supports solutions to mitigate climate change impacts, meet increasingly stringent water treatment regulations, remove micropollutants from the water cycle, prevent industrial pollution, and promote responsible consumption and production.

My research spans three areas:

  • Electromembrane processes
    - Superposition of electroosmosis and ion concentration polarisation to achieve fine ion separations
    - Destruction of organofluoride micropollutants by electrochemical oxidation methods in membrane reactors
  • Nanofiltration
    - Ion transport phenomena by quantitatively correcting for concentration polarisation
    - Cognitive analytics to understand better and control the nanofiltration of natural organic matter
  • Sustainable membranes
    - Data-driven control strategies for pressure- and gravity-driven membrane systems 
    - Nature-derived polymers for artificial membranes.

Membrane-related projects:

  • TIES – Tunable ion separations with micro-structured composite membranes (2025-2029, The Research Council of Norway)
  • PATCHER – Protecting aquatic ecosystem and human health from micropollutants (2021-2026, The Research Council of Norway)
  • AECo – Advancing electrochemical processes for water safety and circularity (2020-2025, The Research Council of Norway)
  • IntelMem – Reserve water supply with intelligent nanofiltration membrane systems (2022-2024, Norwegian Institute of Public Health)
  • MEMPREX – Membrane processes for the next decades challenges in the water sector (2017-2024, The Research Council of Norway)
  • Intelligent nanofiltration membrane systems (2021-2022, RCN-DAAD)
  • HumusTek – New technology for purification of NOM-containing water for reserve water supply (2016-2018, The Research Council of Norway)
  • CE-MBR – Chemically enhanced membrane biological reactor (2015-2018, Industrial innovation program)
  • Areas of Work
    • Colloid and Interface Science
    • Membrane science
    • Electrochemical processes
    • Data Analytics
    • Water and Environmental engineering
  • Publications

    List of publications from my research. (Cristin)

    • Maletskyi, Z. Advances in Membrane Materials and Processes for Water and Wastewater Treatment. In Multidisciplinary Advances in Efficient Separation Processes, American Chemical Society: 2020; Vol. 1348, pp. 3-35. 10.1021/bk-2020-1348.ch001
    • Maletskyi, Z.; Zigta, D.K.; Kulesha, O.; Ratnaweera, H. Chemical Enhancement for Retrofitting Moving Bed Biofilm and Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Systems into Membrane Bioreactors. Membranes-Basel 2019, 9, doi:10.3390/membranes9100135
    • Kulesha, O.; Maletskyi, Z.; Kvaal, K.; Ratnaweera, H. Strategy for Flux Enhancement in Biofilm Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor Applying Prepolymerized and Non-Prepolymerized Inorganic Coagulants. Water-Sui 2019, 11, doi:10.3390/w11030446
    • Kulesha, O.; Maletskyi, Z.; Ratnaweera, H. Multivariate Chemometric Analysis of Membrane Fouling Patterns in Biofilm Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor. Water-Sui 2018, 10, doi:10.3390/w10080982
    • Maletskyi, Z. Water Critical Infrastructure Preparedness in Emerging Economies. In Physical and Cyber Safety in Critical Water Infrastructure Eds. IOS Press BV: Amsterdam, 2019; pp. 91-99
    • Loganathan, P.; Vigneswaran, S.; Kandasamy, J.; Cuprys, A.K.; Maletskyi, Z.; Ratnaweera, H. Treatment Trends and Combined Methods in Removing Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Wastewater - A Review. Membranes 2023, 13, 158 https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020158
    • Kulesha, O.; Maletskyi, Z.; Ratnaweera, H. State-of-the-art of membrane flux enhancement in membrane bioreactor. Cogent Eng 2018, 5, doi:10.1080/23311916.2018.1489700
    • Cuprys, A.; Maletskyi, Z.; Rouissi, T.; Ratnaweera, H.; Brar, S.K.; Knystautas, E.; Drogui, P. Insights into the Simultaneous Sorption of Ciprofloxacin and Heavy Metals Using Functionalized Biochar. Water 2021, 13, 2768. 10.3390/w13192768
    • X. Zhou, Z. Jiang, J. Gu, X. Bi, J. Liu, X. Wang, T. Yang, X. Shi, L. Cheng, S. Huang, X. Wang, H. Ratnaweera, Z. Maletskyi, S. Nie. Performance characteristics and bacterial community analysis of a novel two-step-feed three-stage A/O-MBBR system for nitrogen removal in municipal wastewater, Journal of Water Process Engineering, Volume 52, 2023, 103513, ISSN 2214-7144, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.103513
    • Wang, X.; Wu, Y.; Chen, N.; Piao, H.; Sun, D.; Ratnaweera, H.; Maletskyi, Z.; Bi, X. Characterization of Oxidation-Reduction Potential Variations in Biological Wastewater Treatment Processes: A Study from Mechanism to Application. Processes 2022, 10, 2607. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10122607
       
  • Teaching

    Course responsible:

    • THT 271 - Introduction to Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology
    • THT 310 - Analysis and Design of Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes

    Co-instructor:

    • KJM 220 - Water Chemistry: Colloid and Interface Chemistry
    • THT 311 - Water & Wastewater Treatment (special topics)
    • THT 313 - Water Management in Changing Conditions
    • THT 390 - Preparations for the master's thesis
    • IMRT 100 - Introductory Project
  • Misc and CV