I-Corps: Portable Water Purification Device for the Removal of Ions and Heavy Metals

由于一些城市和农村偏远地区的饮用水问题，这个I-Corps小组设计了一种便携式、简单、有效的设备来净化饮用水，使其达到基本标准。该装置可以去除自来水中的重金属，如铅、铜、砷和其他可能导致严重健康问题的元素。旧供水系统和旧建筑中的含铅管道可能会将铅引入自来水中，正如密歇根州弗林特市正在发生的水危机事件所示。铅中毒没有受到损害，但可能对弗林特儿童造成终身后果。铅可能导致严重的后果，如智商下降和行为异常，并影响几代人。在城市地区的这种情况下，饮用水需要在家庭一级进行处理，因为行政组织和监管机构可能需要很长时间才能解决这个问题。所提出的装置可在这些条件下用于净化饮用水并从水中去除不需要的元素。这种装置也可以在那些居民喜欢购买瓶装水或使用家庭水处理系统以确保水中有害元素不会产生任何长期影响的城市中分发。此外，该装置可用于农村地区的饮用水净化，那里的居民经常无法获得安全的饮用水。通过NSF I-Corps项目，该团队打算证明该技术的价值主张并评估潜在客户。该项目的目标是建立一种新的便携式高效饮用水净化装置，以去除水中的重金属和其他离子。该装置不仅利用了普通重金属去除过滤器中主要的物理吸附方法，而且还利用了电磁力来增强离子去除过程。在该装置中，外加电场触发离子向电极的电迁移，然后离子被物理吸附在吸附剂表面。此外，该装置的混合特性提高了过程中的整体传质速率。吸附剂在使用一段时间后可以有效地再生或更换。因此，这种新装置的运行成本将大大低于普通膜基技术，其效率高于吸附基水处理过滤器。该装置将分为两种型号，一种是用于城市地区，它可以利用交流电力，具有更高的混合能力，另一种是用于离网和农村地区，它更简单，可以使用电池供电。因此，潜在客户的范围将更广，设备的应用将不局限于特定的条件，因为它可以有效和快速地去除水中的重金属和其他常见的离子污染物。在I-Corps项目期间的经验将帮助团队开发业务并将所需产品商业化。

Owing to drinking water issues in some cities and rural remote areas, this I-Corps team has designed a portable, simple, and effective device to purify drinking water to meet the essential standards. The proposed device can remove heavy metals, such as lead, copper, arsenic, and other elements from tap water that can cause serious health issues. Lead containing pipes in old water distribution systems and old buildings can introduce lead to the tap water as seen in the ongoing water crisis case in Flint, MI. The lead poisoning is uncompromised and it may have lifelong consequences on Flint children. Lead may cause severe consequences, such as dropping the IQ and behavioral abnormalities with multi-generational impacts. In such cases in urban areas, the drinking water needs to be treated in household levels since it may take a long time to have the problem fixed by the administrative organizations and regulators. The proposed device can be utilized in these conditions to purify the drinking water and eliminate the undesired elements from water. The device can also be distributed in cities where residents prefer to purchase bottled water or use household water treatment systems to ensure that there will not be any long-term effects of undesired elements in water. Additionally, the device can be used for drinking water purification in rural areas where residents often suffer from unavailability of safe drinkable water. Through the NSF I-Corps program, the team intends to prove the value proposition of the technology and evaluate prospective clients.The goal of this project is building a new portable efficient drinking water purification device for removal of heavy metals and other ions from water. The proposed device, utilizes not only physical adsorption approach, which is the main heavy metal removal method in common heavy metal removal filters, but also the electrical force to enhance the ion removal process. In this device, the applied electrical field triggers the electro-migration of the ions toward electrodes and then the ions are physically adsorbed on the adsorbent surface. Additionally, the mixing feature of the device enhances the overall mass transfer rate in the process. The adsorbent can be regenerated effectively or replaced after a period of functioning. Therefore, the operating cost of this new device will be much lower than common membrane-based technologies and its efficiency is higher than the adsorption-based water treatment filters. The device will be made in two models, one for urban areas, which can utilize AC electricity and has mixing capability with higher efficiency, and the other for use in off-grid and rural areas, which is simpler and can be energized using batteries. Therefore, the scope of the potential customers will be wider and the device's application will not be limited to a specific condition due to its effective and quick removal of heavy metals and other common ionic pollutants in water. The experience during the I-Corps program will help the team develop a business and commercialize a needed product.