SBIR Phase I: Commercial Scale Separation Modules with Integrated Sensors for Cost-Effective, Real-time Detection of Membrane Fouling

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显着提高效率，降低膜脱盐生产的水的运营成本。 水资源短缺是一个日益重要的全球性问题，对健康、安全和经济产生重大负面影响。 最近的预测显示，由于人口增长，全球水消费量预计将大幅增加，因此不久将受到缺水影响的国家数量将急剧增加。 膜法海水淡化大规模需要巨额资本投资，被认为是一项主要技术，可以显著改善供应，以有意义地抵消稀缺及其影响。 脱盐工厂操作中的关键因素是能量消耗，其由于膜污染而增加，因此使污染成为控制这些工厂效率的最重要因素之一。 所提出的原位、实时感测系统可以是使能技术，以允许基于在其最早阶段对结垢的准确检测来实施先进的工厂控制算法。 这种主动检测能力将使最有效的实施污垢缓解策略，可以优化，以节省能源和降低cost.This SBIR第一阶段项目提出开发一种新型的时间反转波导传感器的早期（ES）污垢检测反渗透（RO）膜淡化，这是淡化苦咸水和海水的主导技术。 反渗透系统中的污垢具有无机（结垢）和有机（生物污垢）成分，并且可以是取决于操作参数以及环境条件的高度可变的过程。 用于结垢减轻的RO脱盐的实时控制的有效实施需要实时感测。 拟议工作的总体目标是开发先进的超声波传感器技术，可以可靠地检测具有挑战性的多层，螺旋缠绕（SW）几何形状的商业规模的反渗透系统的结垢和生物污垢。 所提出的工作将利用时间反转镜从多模波导产生独立于波导配置的几何形状的简单信号，从而克服与使用独立波导相关联的极其复杂且难以解释的信号。 该项目的目标是展示在实际操作条件下检测早期无机和有机污垢的能力，该技术的可靠性和鲁棒性，以及使该技术适应对商业运营日益重要的较大尺寸模块的能力。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to significantly increase the efficiency and reduce operating costs for water produced by membrane-based desalination. Water scarcity is an increasingly important global-scale issue that has significant negative impacts on health, security and economies. Recent forecasts show a dramatic increase in the number of countries that will soon be affected by water scarcity given that global water consumption is expected to significantly increase due to population growth. Membrane-based water desalination, which at large scale requires a huge capital investment, is recognized as a primary technology that can significantly improve supply to meaningfully offset scarcity and its impacts. A critical factor in desalination plant operations is energy consumption, which increases due to membrane fouling, thus making fouling one of the most significant factors controlling the efficiency of these plants. The proposed in-situ, real-time sensing system can be the enabling technology to allow implementation of advanced plant control algorithms based upon accurate detection of fouling at its earliest stages. Such active detection capability will enable the most effective implementation of fouling mitigation strategies that can be optimized to save energy and reduce cost.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel time-reversal waveguide sensor for detection of early-stage (ES) fouling in reverse osmosis (RO) membrane desalination, which is the dominant technology for desalinating brackish water and seawater. Fouling in RO systems has inorganic (scaling) and organic (biofouling) components and can be a highly variable process that depends on operational parameters as well as environmental conditions. Efficient implementation of real-time control of RO desalination for fouling mitigation requires real-time sensing. The overall objective of the proposed work is to develop sophisticated ultrasonic sensor technology that can reliably detect scaling and biofouling in the challenging multi-layer, spiral-wound (SW) geometry of commercial-scale RO systems. The proposed work will make use of time-reversal mirrors to produce a simple signal from a multi-mode waveguide independent of the geometry of the waveguide configuration, thus overcoming the exceedingly complex and difficult to interpret signals associated with the use of a standalone waveguide. The goals of the project are to demonstrate the capability to detect both early-stage inorganic and organic fouling under realistic operating conditions, the reliability and the robustness of the technology, and the ability to adapt the technology to the larger size modules that are increasingly important for commercial operation.