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

SBIR 第二阶段：用于长循环电容去离子的新型阴极

• 批准号: 1632490
• 负责人: Lindsay Boehme
• 金额: $ 74.44万
• 依托单位: PowerTech Water
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-10-01 至 2019-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1632490&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Novel; cathode

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.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将展示使用新的碳基水处理工艺来调节和软化硬水源。具体地，该处理过程使用官能化多孔碳片和小的施加电压（1.2V）以从硬水流中靶向（吸附和解吸）盐分子。此外，该过程是可逆的，从而产生可以软化水流而无需显著维护或保养的碳基过滤器，并且提供不会添加到许多水处理装置常见的“一次性”培养物的水软化溶液。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，并且这种分离所需的能量可能是当今使用的最有效的技术。在i-CDI中，由于在水性环境中产生具有显著表面电荷的电极，盐分子自然地被吸引到碳电极表面。然后使用与官能化碳电极的表面化学相匹配的小电压再生电极，并且将盐浓缩成放电流。通过第二阶段项目，i-CDI工艺将在食品饮料和工业环境中的水软化应用中得到验证。目前，这些行业中的水软化是通过化学处理、离子交换或选择性膜进行的。在该项目中，表面带电碳电极将用于“流通”电池模块，以证明优先去除钙，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，能源成本和分离效果的好处。将进行液体取样和寿命研究，以进一步证明这种无膜、无盐系统的好处。