Development of Functionalized Nano Carbon Immobilized Membranes for Sea and Brackish Water Desalination

主要研究者：Mitra，Somenath#1603314该项目致力于世界上的一个重大机遇-从海水和微咸水中生产饮用水。用于产生脱盐水的常规高能量工艺包括反渗透（RO）和热蒸馏，反渗透是需要高压的基于膜的技术，热蒸馏例如多级闪蒸（MSF）和多效脱盐（MED），其中盐水被蒸馏以产生纯水。这些方法都有其局限性，下一代水净化技术的发展对于产生用于公共消费的软水到一系列工业应用（例如使用微咸水进行工业冷却和通过水力压裂处理来自石油和天然气生产的采出水）具有重要意义。膜蒸馏（MD）是一种热蒸发过程，通过膜蒸发水以产生纯水。它比上述传统方法有几个优点。这些包括低温操作（60- 90 ℃），其中工业废热以及太阳能可用于淡化水。本项目的目标是开发基于碳纳米管的高性能膜，可以有效地通过MD在低温下淡化水。 该项目的目标是利用纳米碳（NC）通过膜蒸馏（MD）创造突破性的膜性能用于脱盐。在MD中，疏水多孔膜分离热盐水进料和冷渗透物流。当加热的盐水通过膜时，它部分转化为水蒸气。膜的疏水性防止水溶液进入孔。然而，脱离氢键的水蒸气通过并冷凝在膜的渗透侧上。将通过将NC固定到膜孔中来开发称为NC固定化膜（NCIM）的新型膜，在膜孔中NC将充当分子转运体和吸附剂，从而为水转运提供额外的途径。该项目将开发新技术，并深入了解用于水蒸气传输的NC功能化的最佳工艺，以及将NC纳入脱盐膜结构中。该项目还将通过强调余热利用和该行业中遇到的特定废水流，为发电厂提供实际应用。

PI: Mitra, Somenath# 1603314This project addresses one of the world's major opportunities - the generation of potable water from sea and brackish water. Conventional high-energy processes for generating desalinated water include reverse osmosis (RO) which is a membrane based technique that requires high pressure, and thermal distillations such as Multi Stage Flash (MSF) and Multiple Effect Desalination (MED) where the brine is distilled to generate pure water. These methods have their limitations, and the development of the next generation of water purification technology is of great importance for generating soft water for public consumption to a range of industrial applications such as using brackish water for industrial cooling and the treatment of produced water from oil and gas production via fracking. Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermal evaporative process that vaporizes water through a membrane to generate pure water. It offers several advantages over traditional methods mentioned above. These include low temperature operation (60-90C) where industrial waste heat as well as solar energy can be used to desalinate water. The objective of this project is develop carbon nanotube based high performance membranes that can efficiently desalinate water at low temperature via MD. The resulting materials can be used of generate energy and treat saline or contaminated water in a cost effective and efficient manner.The objective of this project is to utilize nano carbons (NC) to create breakthrough membrane properties for desalination via membrane distillation (MD). In MD, a hydrophobic porous membrane separates a hot salt water feed and a cold permeate stream. As the heated brine passes on the membrane, it is partially transformed to water vapor. The hydrophobicity of the membrane prevents the aqueous solution from entering the pores. However, freed from hydrogen bonding the water vapor passes through and is condensed on the permeate side of the membrane. The novel membrane referred to as NC immobilized membranes (NCIM) will be developed by immobilizing NCs into membrane pores where they will serve as molecular transporters and sorbents, thus providing additional pathways for water transport. This project will develop new technology and insight into the optimum process for functionalizing NC for water vapor transport as well as the incorporation of NC in membrane structures for desalination. The project will also real-world applications for power plants by emphasizing waste heat utilization and specific waste water streams encountered in that industry.