I-Corps: Nanophotonics Enabled Solar Membrane Distillation

I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过节能、经济、便携和可扩展的解决方案解决对可持续水净化和经济高效的相分离日益增长的需求。全世界有超过10亿人无法获得清洁的饮用水。现有的大多数水净化和相分离技术主要使用常规燃料的能量，增加了其运行成本，限制了其应用。提出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，可以按比例缩放，适用于家庭，商业和工业水净化。具有成本效益的NESMD相分离技术在石油及相关行业也具有吸引力。这个I-Corps项目的重点是无电水净化和相分离。纳米光子学太阳能膜蒸馏（NESMD）系统由涂有吸收光的碳基纳米材料的聚合物膜组成，该膜有效地吸收入射阳光。在半透膜上的薄层内将光转化为热的能力允许液体有效地局部转化为气相。该膜可用于与盐水/污染水或有机溶剂的混合物接触，使吸收的阳光产生的热量通过膜诱导汽化，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）分离。NESMD系统的概念验证实验室规模研究表明，水净化效率超过99.5%的盐去除率。通过这个I-Corps项目，该团队希望进一步评估和调查这项技术在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.