I-Corps: Plasma-Based High Throughput Water Purification

目前的家庭水处理系统只是对水进行过滤和消毒，并不是专门针对新出现的污染物而设计的，这些污染物是潜在的公共卫生问题。这些污染物包括药品、个人护理产品、工业油类和染料、杀虫剂和除草剂、内分泌干扰物、细菌、原生动物、病毒和耐氯微生物。该项目的目标是开发和销售一种使用等离子体去除水中有机污染物的净水装置。等离子体-水相互作用产生的试剂通过一种称为矿化的过程将这些污染物分解为二氧化碳、水和无机盐。正在开发的设备的新奇属性是它是可扩展的，可适应从一次性使用和使用点到水处理厂中作为集成模块的在线水处理的一系列应用。特别令人感兴趣的是，在水处理基础设施缺乏的欠发达国家使用这项技术。总体而言，水处理行业规模很大，包括从废水处理到城市饮用水的四大部门。所有部门都确定了对先进水处理方法的需求，等离子体净化器有可能满足他们的需求。除了产品开发，这一努力的目的是确定最适合直接应用的市场，并最终将该产品商业化，用于水处理部门。该项目旨在将一种新型的、基于等离子体的水处理方法商业化。这种技术的应用几乎涵盖了水使用的所有方面，从生活饮用水到工业废水的后处理。该方法利用高级氧化来分解有机毒素以及氧化金属污染物，同时解决了当前水处理技术的不足。尽管过去已经对基于等离子体的水处理进行了研究，但其广泛应用仍然是一个难以实现的目标。这在很大程度上是因为很难扩大这种方法的规模，因为水的介电性质强烈地阻止了电击穿。然而，这种方法将输入的给水分离成能够间隙击穿的电介质流。这种所谓的填充床排放装置是实现这一创新的关键物理原理。在施加电压脉冲时，可以在流之间实现击穿，从而产生表面等离子体。表面等离子体在高表面积与体积比的溪流上反应，产生自由基，随后处理岩心水。因此，这种方法允许通过多个水流实现高吞吐量，并允许一次通过处理的可能性。该方法可用作水处理或后处理应用以及直接处理、使用点应用的内联模块。这项技术的商业潜力很大，因为它满足了至少四个部门的需求：1)城市饮用水；2)废水处理；3)工业径流；4)为流动设备或没有水处理基础设施的欠发达地区提供使用点净化。这些部门中的每一个都与先进水处理方法的实施息息相关，与其说这是一种升级，不如说是解决这一新出现的污染问题的必要性。为了满足真正的市场需求，将这项技术商业化的总体计划基本上包括三个方面：1)客户发现，2)市场评估，3)发展战略合作伙伴以营销和销售产品。客户发现是i-Corps计划的一个关键方面。商业化的这一阶段是至关重要的，因为它具体地确定了技术的实际客户，而不是任何关于市场的先入为主的概念。这一发现过程还将使我们能够教育潜在的供应商和客户技术的属性，并确定社区认为但我们目前不一定明显的技术的可取属性。在进行这些工作的同时，我们将把仪器改进为先进的工程模型。这一方面很重要，因为它允许人们对系统成本、建设、能源消耗和整体能力做出诚实的评估。

Current domestic water treatment systems simply filter and disinfect water and are not specifically designed to address new and emerging contaminants that stand as a potential public health concern. These contaminants include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial oils and dyes, pesticides and herbicides, endocrine disruptors, bacteria, protozoa, viruses and chlorine resistant microbes. The objective of this project is to develop and market a water purification unit that uses plasma to rid water of organic contaminants. The plasma?water interaction produces agents that decompose these contaminants via a process call mineralization into carbon dioxide, water and inorganic salts. The novel attribute of the device under development is that it is scalable, accommodating a range of applications from single use and point of use to in-line water finishing as an integrated module in a water treatment plant. Of particular interest is the use of this technology in underdeveloped countries where water treatment infrastructure is lacking. In general, the water treatment industry is large, encompassing four major sectors ranging from wastewater treatment to municipal drinking water. All sectors have identified the need for advanced water treatment methods and the plasma purifier can potentially satisfy their needs. Along with product development, this effort aims to identify the most appropriate market for direct application and ultimately to commercialize the product for use in the water treatment sector. This project aims to commercialize a novel, plasma-based water treatment method. The application of such a technology encompasses nearly all aspects of water use ranging from domestic drinking water to post treatment of industrial reject water. The approach utilizes advanced oxidation to decompose organic toxins as well as oxidize metal contaminants while addressing inadequacies in current water treatment technology. Though plasma-based water treatment has been investigated in the past, its widespread application has remained an elusive goal. This is due largely to the difficulty in scaling up the approach since water's dielectric properties strongly deter electrical breakdown. However, this approach separates the input feed water into dielectric streams capable of interstitial breakdown. This so-called packed bed discharge arrangement is the key enabling physics for this innovation. Upon application of a voltage pulse, one can achieve breakdown between the streams thereby producing a surface plasma. The surface plasma reacts on the high surface area to volume ratio streams generating radicals that subsequently treat the core water. This approach, therefore, allows for high throughput via multiple water streams and the possibility of once through treatment. The approach can be used as an inline module for water finishing or post treatment applications as well as direct treatment, point-of-use applications. The commercial potential for this technology is high in that it addresses the needs of at least four sectors: 1) municipal drinking water 2) waste water processing 3) industrial runoff and 4) point of use purification for mobile units or underdeveloped regions without water treatment infrastructure. Each of these sectors has a stake in the implementation of advance water treatment methods, not so much as an upgrade but as a necessity to address this emerging contamination problem. In an attempt to satisfy real market needs, the general plan for commercializing this technology is essentially three-fold: 1) customer discovery, 2) market evaluation and 3) development of a strategic partner to market and sell the product. Customer discovery is a key aspect of the I-Corps program. This stage of commercialization is critical in that it identifies concretely the actual customer of the technology beyond any preconceived notions regarding the market. This discovery process also will allow us to educate the potential venders and customers of the attributes of the technology as well as identify desirable attributes of the technology as perceived by the community but not necessarily obvious to us at the moment. In parallel with these efforts, we will refine the apparatus to an advanced engineering model. This aspect is important in that it allows one the ability to make an honest assessment of system cost, construction, energy consumption, and overall capability.