Rahaman-Saifur

Saifur Rahaman, Ph.D.

Visiting Professor

Department
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Phone
978-934-2762
Fax
Francis College of Engineering
Office
Shah Hall, Room 210E
Email
saifur_rahaman@uml.edu
Links

Expertise

Membrane separations,; Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) removal; Desalination; Electrochemical systems; Water reuse; Resource recovery; Circular economy

Research Interests

  • Membrane-based separation processes for water and wastewater treatment
  • PFAS (forever chemicals) remediation and emerging contaminant control
  • Desalination, water reuse, and advanced treatment trains
  • Electrochemical systems for contaminant removal and resource recovery
  • Functional materials and adsorptive/next-generation membranes

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Yale University
  • Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of British Columbia

Biosketch

Saifur Rahaman, Ph.D. is an environmental engineer and membrane scientist working at the intersection of water treatment, materials and sustainability. His research focuses on membrane-based separations for desalination and reuse, PFAS remediation, and electrochemical approaches for contaminant removal and resource recovery. He has authored 65+ peer-reviewed publications and holds patents, and his work has received major recognitions, including the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement and the Petro-Canada Young Innovators Award. He is currently a visiting professor at UMass Lowell and an adjunct professor at Polytechnique Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Selected Publications

  • Touati, K., Dudchenko, A.V., Mauter, M.S., Rahaman, M.S. (2022) “A hybrid membrane-based process (SWRO-PRO-NF) for energy-efficient and high-water recovery desalination system”, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10 (7), 2409-2419.
  • Yang, L., Liu, X., Zhang, X., Chen, T., Ye, Z., Rahaman, M.S. (2022) “High performance nanocomposite nanofiltration membranes with polydopamine-modified cellulose nanocrystals for efficient dye/salt separation”, Desalination, 521, 115385.
  • Chen, T., Ma, W., Lee, J., Jassby, D., Rahaman, M.S. (2021) “Development of robust and superamphiphobic membranes using reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/PVDF-HFP nanocomposite mats for membrane distillation”, Environmental Science: Nano, 8, 2883-2893.
  • Islam, M.S., Touati, K., Rahaman, M.S. (2021) “High flux and antifouling thin-film nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane with ingrained silica nanoparticles”, ACS ES&T Engineering, 1(3), 467–477.
  • Touati, K., Usman, H.S., Mulligan, C., Rahaman, M.S. (2020) “Energetic and economic feasibility of a combined membrane-based process for sustainable water and energy systems”, Applied Energy, 264, 114699.
  • Islam, M.S., McCutcheon, J. R., Rahaman, M.S. (2017) “A high flux polyvinyl acetate-coated electrospun nylon 6/SiO2 composite microfiltration membrane for the separation of oil-in-water emulsion with improved antifouling performance”, Journal of Membrane Science, 537 (1), 297–309.
  • Ma, W., Soroush, A., Tran, V.A.L, Brennan, G., Rahaman, M.S., Asadishad, B., Tufenkji, N. (2016) “Spray- and spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly of copper nanoparticles on thin-film composite reverse osmosis membrane for biofouling mitigation”, Water Research, 99, 188-199.
  • Soroush, A., Ma, W., Cyr, M., Rahaman, M.S., Asadishad, B., Tufenkji, N. (2016) “In situ silver decoration on graphene oxide-treated thin film composite forward osmosis membranes: Biocidal properties and regeneration potential”. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 3 (1), 373–378.
  • Rahaman, M.S., Vecitis, C.D., Elimelech, M. (2012) “Electrochemical carbon-nanotube filter performance towards virus removal and inactivation in the presence of natural organic matter”. Environmental Science & Technology, 46 (3), 1556–1564.

Selected Presentations

  • Smith, A., Rahaman, M.S. “Dewatering of brewery sludge through the use of biopolymers”, ACS Fall Meeting, August 17 – 20, 2020, Virtual Conference.
  • Alebrahim, E., Rahaman, M.S., Moreau, C. “Optimization of TiO2 filtration membranes
    fabricated by SPS process”, North American Membrane Society (NAMS) Meeting, May 18-21, 2020, Virtual Conference.
  • Usman, H.S., Touati, K., Rahaman, M.S. “Techno-economic comparison of RO and MD for small-scale brackish water desalination”, North American Membrane Society (NAMS) Meeting, May 11-15, 2019, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
  • Chen, T., Ma, W., Anwar, N., Adhikary, S., Rahaman, M.S. “Electrospun superhydrophobic and amphiphobic nanocomposite membranes with reduced graphene oxide in poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) for membrane distillation”, ACS Spring National Meeting & Exposition, Orlando, FL, March 31 – April 4, 2019.
  • Rahaman, M.S. “Zwitterion functionalized graphene oxide nanocomposite nanofiltration membrane with improved water flux and antifouling properties”, ACS Fall Meeting, August 19-23, 2018, Boston, MA.

Selected Intellectual Property

  • Ebrahim A.E., Moreau C., Dolatabadi A., RahamanM.S., Tarasi, F. “Filtration membrane and methods of use and manufacture thereof”, US patent # US11673097B2, 2023.