I-Corps: Water Treatment using Electrically Regenerated Ion-exchange

这一i-Corps项目的广泛影响/商业潜力正在提供一种负担得起的有效手段，利用咸水水源生产淡水供应。淡水短缺促使许多社区越来越依赖地下水供应。全世界已有数亿人面临严重的用水压力，随着淡水供应因需求增加而减少，预计他们的人数还会增加。虽然可利用的淡水地下水含水层有限，但仍有相当数量的中低盐度微咸水地下水源未得到利用。不幸的是，现有的海水淡化技术要么过于耗能，水回收率低，要么昂贵得令人望而却步。对于能够有效地将微咸水含水层转化为可行的淡水供应的新技术，存在巨大的需求和商业机会。该项目允许开发一种强大、低成本、高能效的咸水淡化技术，其潜在用途超出饮用水处理，包括食品加工、农业和其他工业应用。这个i-Corps项目将评估一项新技术的商业化潜力，该技术将通过与现有替代方案相比减少资本、运营和维护以及废物管理成本，潜在地降低咸水处理的成本。通过使用廉价和工业化规模的前体开发的新型复合电极材料，实现了较低的资本成本。操作和维护成本的降低得益于实现了由新型电极实现的独特操作模式。新的操作模式也不需要苛刻的化学物质，而是在电极从被处理的水中捕获溶解的盐后，使用低压电力来再生。再生导致浓盐水排出流，而吸附导致处理后的水是新鲜的(比进水的含盐量少)。该系统中较高的水回收率最大限度地减少了产生的废物量，从而节省了废物管理的成本。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is providing an affordable and effective means to produce freshwater supplies from brackish water sources. Freshwater shortages have pushed many communities to increasingly rely on groundwater supplies. Several hundred million people worldwide already experience serious water-stress, and their numbers are expected to increase as freshwater availability declines owing to increasing demand. While available fresh groundwater aquifers are limited, there exist considerable amounts of low-to-intermediate salinity brackish groundwater sources that remain unused. Unfortunately, existing desalination technologies are either too energy intensive, have low water recovery rates, or are prohibitively expensive. There is a significant need and commercial opportunity for new technologies that can efficiently convert brackish aquifers into viable freshwater supplies. This project allows for the development of a robust, low cost, energy efficient brackish water desalination technology with potential use beyond drinking water treatment, including food processing, agriculture, and other industrial applications.This I-Corps project will evaluate the commercialization potential of a new technology that will potentially lower the cost of brackish water treatment by reducing the capital, operation and maintenance, and waste management costs compared to existing alternatives. The lower capital cost is achieved by using novel composite electrode materials developed using inexpensive and industrially-scaled precursors. The reduction in operation and maintenance costs are benefits from realizing unique operating modes made possible by the novel electrodes. The new operating modes also eliminate need for harsh chemicals, and instead use low-voltage electricity to regenerate the electrodes after they have captured the dissolved salts from the water being treated. The regeneration leads to a reject stream of concentrated brine, while the adsorption leads to a stream of treated water that is fresh (less saline than the inlet water). The higher water recovery rates in this system minimize the amount of waste generated, subsequently allowing for cost savings in waste management.