SusChEM: Beyond Thermal Separations: Development of Ultra High Pressure Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Energy Efficient Desalination of Hypersaline Brines

PI姓名：Menachem Elimelech提案编号：CBET 1701658高盐度工业废水的处理，如来自石油和天然气工业、燃煤发电厂和内陆海水淡化设施的废水，是一个重大挑战。由于处理工业废水的成本不断上升，环境问题日益严重，因此必须开发低成本、高能效的处理技术，以便在尽量减少需要处理的废水量的同时，实现水的再利用。与膜基反渗透工艺相比，目前的热脱盐技术效率相对较低，而且价格昂贵，而膜基反渗透工艺大大降低了海水脱盐的能耗和成本;但是，在此情况下，由于目前的RO膜系统所能承受的有限的最大液压，传统的RO仅能处理或浓缩高达海水盐度的大约两倍的给水（通常约75巴）。因此，传统的RO不能用于处理工业废水，工业废水的含盐量通常是海水的数倍。PI寻求开发和表征可以在高达400 bar的非常高的压力下操作的新RO膜。这些膜将促进高压RO（HPRO）或超高压RO（UHPRO）系统的开发，这些系统能够以节能和成本效益的方式处理高盐度工业废水。为了促进多样性和提高在科学和工程中代表性不足的群体的参与，PI将参与耶鲁大学的K-12外展活动，并通过研究和高级项目培训本科生，并为研究和学术生涯培训研究生。（i）提供对膜压实的基本理解和用于高度耐压的TFC RO膜的理想支撑层性质，（ii）在为HPRO和UHPRO操作定制的聚合物和金属载体上使用牺牲纳米链层开发聚酰胺选择性层，以及（iii）分析在超高压和盐度下通过RO膜的水和盐的传输行为。PI将开发HPRO和UHPRO膜的新制造技术，并研究超高压和盐度下的基本膜性能和质量传输行为。这种突破性的膜将使RO的应用扩展到大量高盐盐水的脱盐/浓缩，这反过来又会导致显着的能源和成本节约。

PI Name: Menachem ElimelechProposal Number: CBET 1701658The treatment of high-salinity industrial wastewaters, such as those from the oil and gas industry, coal-fired power plants, and inland desalination facilities, is a major challenge. Rising costs and environmental concerns associated with the disposal of industrial wastewaters necessitate the development of low-cost, energy-efficient treatment technologies that can allow for water reuse while minimizing the volume of wastewater requiring disposal. Current thermal desalination technologies are relatively inefficient and expensive compared with membrane-based reverse osmosis (RO) processes, which have dramatically lowered the energy consumption and cost of seawater desalination; however, conventional RO can only treat or concentrate feedwaters up to approximately twice the salinity of seawater because of the limited maximum hydraulic pressure that current RO membrane systems can tolerate (typically about 75 bar). Therefore, conventional RO cannot be used to treat industrial wastewaters, which are typically several times more saline than seawater. The PIs seek to develop and characterize new RO membranes that can operate at very high pressures of up to 400 bar. These membranes will facilitate the development of high-pressure RO (HPRO) or ultra-high pressure RO (UHPRO) systems that are capable of treating high-salinity industrial wastewaters in an energy efficient and cost effective manner. To promote diversity and to enhance the involvement of under-represented groups in science and engineering, the PI will be engaged in Yale's K-12 outreach activities and in the training of undergraduate students through research and senior-level projects, and graduate student training for research and academic careers.Specific objectives of the project include: (i) providing fundamental understanding of membrane compaction and the ideal support layer properties for highly pressure-tolerant TFC RO membranes, (ii) developing a polyamide selective layer using sacrificial nanostrand layers on polymeric and metallic supports tailored for HPRO and UHPRO operation, and (iii) analyzing water and salt transport behavior through RO membranes at ultra-high pressures and salinities. The PIs will develop new fabrication techniques for HPRO and UHPRO membranes and investigate fundamental membrane properties and mass transport behavior at ultra-high pressures and salinities. Such breakthrough membranes would enable the expanded application of RO to desalination/concentration of large volumes of highly saline brines, which would in turn result in significant energy and cost savings.