Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Emergent Materials https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-021-00261-y REVIEW Thin‑flm composite nanofltration hollow fber membranes toward textile industry efuent treatment and environmental remediation applications: review Ankush D. Sontakke 1  · Pranjal P. Das 1  · Piyal Mondal 1  · Mihir K. Purkait 1 Received: 2 June 2021 / Accepted: 3 July 2021 © Qatar University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Abstract Hollow fber (HF) membranes are considered one of the emerging technologies in the feld of membrane separation. It has undergone massive development for its various efcient applications during the past few decades. To further improve and develop the membrane technology, HF membranes have been fabricated for the nanofltration (NF) process and found to yield higher efciencies toward various environmental remediation applications. In this work, an elaborate discussion on the various fabrication methods and advantages of thin-flm composite (TFC) NF HF membranes in the feld of separation processes was listed. Moreover, the surface functionalization of such membranes to provide better separation efciency is critically reviewed. The utilization of such thin-flm HF membranes in several environmental remediation applications such as treating textile industry wastewater and other operations such as heavy metal removal, organic micropollutant removal, and inorganic salt removal has been explored in detail in this chapter. Further to this, the scope of improvements has been discussed in the conclusion section, which may enhance the overall efciency of the thin-flm composite NF HF membrane. This article will be much benefcial to the researchers for acquiring in-depth knowledge on the latitudes of various TFC HF fabrication methods, its functionalization, and wide ranges of promising environmental remediation applications. Keywords Hollow fber membrane · Nanofltration · Nanocomposite · Heavy metal removal · Dye removal 1 Introduction In today’s world, the scarcity of potable water has triggered signifcant challenges for humans as well as animals and plants. The present shortage of water in the twenty-frst cen- tury has become a global issue with most countries through- out the world. The rapid infrastructural and industrial development is the primary cause for the paucity of potable water as it produces various forms of water contaminants along with environmental pollutants. For example, in textile industries, it was reported that throughout the world, nearly 7 ×10 5 tons of dye-related products are produced, and for 1 ton of the product, around 200–350 m 3 of contaminated water is inevitably generated [1, 2]. Also, the comprehensive increase in human population and environmental pollution are particularly accountable aspects for the water crisis. As per WHO, by 2025, nearly half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas due to water scarcity [3, 4]. Therefore, it has become essential to manage the freshwater resources and develop novel technologies for wastewater treatment and its reuse to ensure passable water quantity and quality. Meanwhile, the scarcity of clean water resources demands the development of economical and efcient technologies for decontamination of polluted water along with innovative technologies for seawater desalination. In order to address this global threat of clean water and environmental pollution, various ongoing researches explored new green methodolo- gies, technological innovations, and novel materials for min- imizing the water pollutants, recycling of valuable products, * Piyal Mondal piyal@iitg.ac.in Ankush D. Sontakke ankus176107025@iitg.ac.in Pranjal P. Das pranj176107027@iitg.ac.in Mihir K. Purkait mihir@iitg.ac.in 1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam 781039, India