SBIR Phase II: Novel cathode for long-cycling capacitive deionization

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将展示使用一种新的碳基水处理工艺来调节和软化硬水源。具体地说，这种处理过程使用功能化的多孔碳片和小的外加电压(1.2V)来定位(吸附和解吸)硬水流中的盐分子。此外，这一过程是可逆的，从而产生了一种碳基过滤器，它可以软化水流，而无需进行大量维护或维护，并提供了一种水软化解决方案，不会增加许多水处理设备常见的“丢弃”文化。重要的是，这种软化技术不需要盐或化学添加剂，与传统的盐基软化剂相比，进一步限制了其对环境的影响，而且这种分离所需的能量可能是当今使用的最有效的技术。建议的过程被称为倒置电容去离子(I-CDI)。在I-CDI中，由于在水环境中产生具有显著表面电荷的电极，盐分子自然被吸引到碳电极表面。然后使用与功能化碳电极的表面化学相匹配的小电压再生电极，并将盐浓缩到放电气流中。通过这个二期项目，I-CDI工艺将在食品、饮料和工业环境中展示水软化应用。目前，在这些行业中，水的软化是通过化学处理、离子交换或选择性膜进行的。在这个项目中，表面带电的碳电极将被用于“流动”电池模块，以演示优先去除钙、镁、碳酸盐和其他导致硬度的离子，以软化多种硬水源。将对这种新的I-CDI技术和现有的水处理技术进行比较，以概述设备停机时间、能源成本和分离的有效性方面的好处。将进行液体采样和寿命研究，以进一步证明这种无膜、无盐系统的好处。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will demonstrate the use of a new carbon-based water treatment process to condition and soften hard water sources. Specifically, this treatment process uses functionalized porous carbon sheets and small applied electrical voltages (1.2 V) to target (adsorb and desorb) salt molecules from hard water streams. In addition, this process is reversible, resulting in a carbon-based filter that can soften water streams without significant maintenance or upkeep and providing a water softening solution that does not add to the "throw-away" culture that is common to many water treatment devices. Importantly, no salt or chemical additives are needed for this softening technique, further limiting its environmental impact in comparison to conventional salt-based softeners, and the energy required for this separation may best the most efficient techniques in use today.The proposed process is called inverted capacitive deionization (i-CDI). In i-CDI, salt molecules are naturally attracted to the carbon electrode surfaces due to the creation of electrodes possessing significant surface charge in aqueous environments. Electrodes are then regenerated using a small voltage, matched to the surface chemistry of the functionalized carbon electrodes, and salt is concentrated into a discharge stream. Through this Phase II project, the i-CDI process will be demonstrated for water softening applications in both food & beverage and industrial environments. Currently, water softening in these industries is carried out through chemical treatments, ion exchange, or selective membranes. In this project, surface charged carbon electrodes will be used in "flow-through" cell modules to demonstrate preferential removal of calcium, magnesium, carbonate, and other hardness-causing ions to soften multiple hard water sources. Comparisons will be drawn between this new i-CDI technology and incumbent water treatment techniques to outline benefits towards equipment downtime, energy costs, and effectiveness of the separation. Liquid sampling and lifetime studies will be conducted to further prove the benefits of this membrane-free, salt-free system.