Engineering and Chemistry of Sustainable Polyethylene Water Infrastructure

我们的国家需要可持续的饮用水基础设施，因为在未来20年内，美国必须更换价值1830亿美元的配水基础设施。 最近批准的饮用水公共基础设施中聚乙烯材料标准表明，聚乙烯管道越来越多地安装在世界各地的供水和管道中，尽管长期接触氯化水导致其物理失效的原因和机制尚不清楚。 此外，老化聚乙烯的污染物相互作用几乎没有受到仔细审查。 根据该奖项，一个跨学科的研究团队将整合化学和工程，以研究控制新的和老化的高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）树脂和HDPE水管降解以及老化的聚乙烯污染物相互作用的机制。 一个推广部分将通过在弗吉尼亚州西南部科学博物馆举办夏令营，向中学生和弗吉尼亚州蒙哥马利县公立学校系统的高中生整合自由基化学和聚乙烯基础设施工程的教学。

0755342DietrichOur nation is in need of sustainable potable water infrastructure because of the looming $183 billion of distribution water infrastructure that must be replaced in the U.S. during the next two decades. Recently approved standards for polyethylene materials in potable water public infrastructure indicate that polyethylene pipes are increasingly being installed for water distribution and plumbing worldwide, although the agents and mechanisms responsible for their physical failure caused by long-term chlorinated water exposure are unknown. Further, contaminant interaction of aged polyethylene has received little scrutiny. Under this award, an interdisciplinary research team will integrate chemistry and engineering to examine the mechanisms that control new and aged high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin and HDPE water pipe degradation as well as aged polyethylene contaminant interaction. An outreach component will integrate teaching of radical chemistry and polyethylene infrastructure engineering to middle school students through a summer camp at the Science Museum of Southwest Virginia and to high school students in the Montgomery County, VA Public School System.