I-Corps: Nanophotonics Enabled Solar Membrane Distillation

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力正在通过一种节能、经济、便携和可扩展的解决方案来满足对可持续净水和经济高效的相分离日益增长的需求。全世界有10多亿人无法获得清洁饮用水。现有的水净化和相分离技术主要使用常规燃料的能量，增加了运行成本，限制了其应用。拟议的纳米光子学太阳能膜蒸馏(NESMD)技术利用太阳能蒸发水和潜在的其他感兴趣的液体。NESMD系统节能、便携、尺寸可扩展，适合家庭、商业和工业用水净化。使用NESMD的经济高效的相分离对石油和相关行业也很有吸引力。这个i-Corps项目专注于无电净水和相分离。基于纳米光子学的太阳能膜蒸馏(NESMD)系统由一层聚合物膜组成，膜上覆盖有能够有效吸收入射太阳光的吸光碳基纳米材料。在半透膜上的一层薄层内将光转化为热的能力使液体能够有效地局部转化为气相。这种膜可以与盐水/受污染的水或有机溶剂的混合物接触，允许吸收的太阳光的热量通过膜诱导蒸发，将感兴趣的液体与非挥发性成分，如盐、重金属、细菌或其他液体分开。NESMD系统的概念验证实验室规模研究表明，该系统具有高效的净水效果，盐分截留率超过99.5%。通过这个i-Corps项目，团队希望进一步评估和调查这项技术对水净化和相分离市场的价值。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is addressing the increasing demand for sustainable water purification and cost-effective phase separation with an energy-efficient, economical, portable and scalable solution. More than a billion people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. Most of the existing technologies for water purification and phase separation mainly use energy from conventional fuels increasing their operating cost and limiting their application. The proposed technology of Nanophotonics-enabled Solar Membrane Distillation (NESMD) uses solar energy to vaporize water and potentially other liquids of interest. NESMD system is energy-efficient, portable and can be scaled in size making it suitable for household, commercial and industrial water purification. Cost-effective phase separation with NESMD can be attractive for petroleum and related industries as well.This I-Corps project focuses on electricity-free water purification and phase separation. Nanophotonics-enabled Solar Membrane Distillation (NESMD) system consists of a polymer membrane coated with light-absorbing carbon-based nanomaterials which efficiently absorb incident sunlight. The capability of converting light into heat within a thin layer on top of a semipermeable membrane allows an efficient local conversion of liquid to its vapor phase. This membrane can be used in contact with saline/polluted water or a mixture of organic solvents allowing the heat from the absorbed sunlight to induce vaporization through the membrane separating the liquid of interest from non-volatile components such as salts, heavy metals, bacteria or other liquids. Proof-of-concept lab-scale studies of the NESMD system show efficient water purification with more than 99.5% salt rejection. Through this I-Corps project the team wants to further assess and investigate the value of this technology for water purification and phase separation market.