Process Development:
We focus on developing and studying novel process schemes, in search for sustainable cost-effective technological solutions for environmental and industrial water related challenges. Membrane technology, which is viewed by many as the most important technological advancement achieved in the field of water treatment in recent decades, is at the center of this effort. Various membrane technologies, e.g. pressure driven (RO, NF, UF) and electrically driven (ED, EDBM) as well as other physico-chemical processes (crystallization, gas-transfer, ion-exchange etc.) are used for this purpose. Variety of applications from seawater and brackish water desalination to domestic and industrial wastewater reclamation and resource recovery are addressed.

Advanced Process Simulation:
The coupling of mass-transfer and geochemical models is termed reactive-transport modeling. This approach is applied in our lab to develop computer simulations for various physico-chemical water treatment processes. Using our advanced simulation tools, we aim to both improve the accuracy and validity range of predictive models; and to study the mechanisms in which water treatment processes affect, and affected by, water chemistry. This is highly relevant to processes where mass transfer, phase transitions and/or kinetically limited (slow) chemical reactions occurs simultaneously with multiple (fast) chemical equilibrium reactions.

Scientific Publications 2015-2020
1. L. BirnhackPD, O. NirS, O. LahavPI, A new algorithm for design, operation and cost assessment of struvite (MgNH4PO4) precipitation processes, 2015, Environmental Technology 36(15), 1892-1901. (19 citations, IF=2.21, 143/265, Q3 in Environmental Sciences)
2. O. NirS, A. VengoshPI, J. S. HarknessS, G. DwyerC, O. LahavPI, 2015, Direct measurement of the boron isotope fractionation factor: Reducing the uncertainty in reconstructing ocean paleo-pH. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 414, 1-5. (37 citations, IF=4.82, 7/85, Q1 in Geochemistry & Geophysics)
3. R. EpszteinS, O. NirS, O. LahavPI, M. GreenPI, 2015, Selective nitrate removal from groundwater using a hybrid nanofiltration-reverse osmosis filtration scheme. Chemical Engineering Journal 279 (2015), 372-378.‏ (97 citations, IF=10.65, 4/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
4. N. Friedman-BishopS, O. NirS, O. LahavPI, V. FregerPI, 2015, Predicting the rejection of major seawater ions by spiral-wound nanofiltration membranes, Environmental Science and Technology 49 (14), 8631–8638. (19 citations, IF=7.86, 15/265, Q1 in Environmental Sciences)
5. L. OphekS, L. BirnhackPD, O. NirS, E. BinshteinS, O. LahavPI, 2015, Reducing the specific energy consumption of 1st-pass SWRO by application of high-flux membranes fed with high-pH, decarbonated seawater. Water Research 85, 185-192. (16 citations, IF=9.13, 1/94, Q1 in Water Resources)
6. O. NirS, N. Friedman-BishopS, O. LahavPI, V. FregerPI, 2015, Modeling pH Variation in Reverse Osmosis, Water Research 87, 328-335. (21 citations, IF=9.13, 1/94, Q1 in Water Resources)
7. O. NirPD, O. LahavPI, 2016, Acid-base dynamics in seawater reverse osmosis: experimental evaluation of a reactive-transport algorithm, Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology 2(1), 107-116. (10 citations, IF=3.45, 16/94, Q1 in Water Resources)
8. M. BystrianskýS, O. NirPD, M. ŠírC, Z. HonzajkováC, R. VurmC, P. HrychováC, A. BervicC, B. van der BruggenPI, 2016, The presence of ferric iron promotes calcium sulphate scaling in reverse osmosis processes. Desalination 393, 115-119. (14 citations, IF=7.1, 11/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
9. O. NirPD, T. TrieuS, S. BannwarthS, M. WesslingPI, 2016, Microfiltration of deformable microgels. Soft Matter, 12(31), 6512-6517. (16 citations, IF=3.14, 21/85, Q1 in Physics, Multidiciplinary)
10. L. OphekS, O.NirPD, H. SegalS, O. LahavPI, 2017, Temperature-dependent boron permeability through reverse-osmosis membranes: Implications for full-scale simulations. Desalination and water treatment, 68:23-31. (2 citations, IF=0.854, 118/143, Q4 in Chemical Engineering)
11. *O. NirPI*, R. SengpielS, M. WesslingPI, 2018, Closing the cycle: phosphorus removal and recovery from diluted effluents using acid resistive membranes, Chemical Engineering Journal, 346:640-648. (19 citations, IF=10.65, 4/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
12. *H. Segal, Ls. BirnhackPD, O. NirPI, O. LahavPI, 2018, Intensification and energy minimization of seawater reverse osmosis desalination through high-pH operation: Temperature dependency and second pass implications. Chemical Engineering and Processing-Process Intensification, 131, 84-91. (2 citations, IF=3.73, 41/142, Q2 in Chemical Engineering)
13. *O. NirPI, When does commercial software fail in predicting scaling tendency in reverse osmosis and what can we do better? Desalination and Water Treatment. 2018 Nov 1;131:34-42. (1 citations, 2 citations, IF=0.854, 118/143, Q4 in Chemical Engineering)
14. *M. WieseS, O. NirPD, D. WypysekS, L. PokernS, M. WesslingPI, 2019, Fouling minimization at membranes having a 3D surface topology with microgels as soft model colloids. Journal of Membrane Science, 569, 7-16. (16 citations, IF=7.18, 10/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
15. *L. MonatS, S ChaudhuryPD*, O. NirPI*, 2020, Enhancing the sustainability of phosphogypsum recycling by integrating electrodialysis with bipolar membranes. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 8, 6, 2490-2497. (3 citations, IF=7.63, 8/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
16. *S. ChaudhuryPD*, A. K. ThakurPD, Revital S. GojmanT, C. J. ArnuschPI and O. NirPI*, 2020, Ion transport in Laser-Induced Graphene Cation-Exchange Membrane hybrids, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 11, 4, 1397-1403. (0 citations, IF=6.71, 35/159, Q1 in Chemistry, Physical)
17. *P. NativS*, N. Fridman-BishopPD, O. NirPI, O. LahavPI, 2020, Dia-nanofiltration-electrodialysis hybrid process for selective removal of monovalent ions from Mg2+ rich brines, Desalination, 481, 114357. (1 citations, IF=7.1, 11/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
18. *U. YogevPD, M. VoglerS, O. NirPI, J. LondongPI, A. GrossPI*, 2020, Phosphorous recovery from a novel recirculating aquaculture system followed by its sustainable reuse as a fertilizer, Science of The Total Environment, 722, 137949. (1 citations, IF=6.55, 22/265, Q1 in Environmental Sciences)
19. H. ZhaiS, R. BernsteinPI*, O. NirPI, and L. WangaPI*, 2020, Molecular Insight into the Interfacial Chemical Functionalities Regulating Heterogeneous Calcium Arsenate Nucleation, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 575, 464-471. (0 citations, IF=7.49, 31/159, Q1 in Chemistry, Physical)
20. S. ChaudhuryPD, O. NirPI*, 2020, Electro-enhanced membrane sorption: a new approach for selective ion separation and its application to phosphate and arsenic removal, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 59, 22, 10595–10605 (1 citations, IF=3.57, 44/143, Q2 in Chemical Engineering)
21. A. EpshteinS, O. NirPI, L. MonatS, and Y. GendelPI*, 2020, Treatment of acidic wastewater via fluoride ions removal by SiO2 particles followed by phosphate ions recovery using flow-electrode capacitive deionization, Chemical Engineering Journal 400, 125892. (1 citations, IF=10.65, 4/143, Q1 in Chemical Engineering)
22. A. BoglerPD et al., 2020, Rethinking wastewater risks and monitoring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nature Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00605-2 (5 citations, IF pending).
23. Sanhita ChaudhuryPD, Eyal WormserS, Yuval HarariS, Eran EdriPI*, and Oded NirPI*, Tuning the Ion-Selectivity of Thin-Film Composite Nanofiltration Membranes by Molecular Layer Deposition of Alucone, accepted in ACS Applied Materials and interfaces (0 citations, IF=8.76.).

B.Sc. - 2007-2010, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Environmental Engineering (Cum Laude);

Ph.D (direct track) - 2010-2015, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Environmental Engineering. Advisor: Ori Lahav.
Title of thesis: Removal of boron from seawater by reverse osmosis membranes: new operational approach and advanced process simulation.

Postdoc Researcher – 2015-2017, RWTH – Aachen University (Matthias Wessling group)
2015 - University of Leuven (Bart van der Bruggen group)