Collaborative Research: GOALI: Evaluating thermo-electro-adsorption mechanisms for waste-heat driven ion-separation processes

在自然灾害的情况下，饮用水质量可能会受到严重影响。偏远地区可能无法获得集中式水处理。 一种低成本的模块化水处理装置，仅使用由可再生能源供电的电力来运行，将解决这些问题。许多当前的模块化水处理装置需要升高的温度和压力，这不太适合远程应用。相比之下，电容去离子是一种电化学技术，用于淡化水，仅使用电力并在环境条件下操作。该项目旨在提高电容去离子的能源效率，以实现易于部署的水处理。 这项工作的前提是通过理论和实验来测量和评估电容去离子电池内产生的热能和施加到电池外部（通过废热）如何影响双电层除盐动力学。我们打算通过进行原位分析测量（量热法，库仑法，显微镜，散射）来探测局部双电层特性。免费的散装（系统级）实验将用于评估与稀水系统（微咸水处理）中基于双电层的分离相关的能量学。最终，目的是更好地了解如何最好地利用废热，以帮助离子包装和最大限度地提高脱盐性能。这是电化学、胶体科学和水处理中新兴问题的许多领域的基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In the case of a natural disaster, drinking water quality may be significantly compromised. Remote areas may not have access to centralized water treatment. A low cost, modular water treatment device that operates using only electricity powered by renewable energy would address these concerns. Many current modular water treatment devices require elevated temperatures and pressures, which are not well suited for remote applications. In contrast, capacitive deionization is an electrochemical technique to desalinate water that uses only electricity and operates at ambient conditions. This project seeks to advance the energy efficiency of capacitive deionization to enable easily deployable water treatment. The premise of this work is to measure and evaluate through theory and experiments how thermal energy generated within a capacitive deionization cell and applied external to the cell (through waste heat) affect electric double layer salt removal dynamics. We intend to probe local electric double layer properties through performing in situ analytical measurements (calorimetry, coulometry, microscopy, scattering). Complimentary bulk (system level) experiments will be used to evaluate the energetics associated with electric double layer based separations in dilute aqueous systems (brackish water treatment). Ultimately, the aim is to better understand how waste heat can be best utilized, to aid ion packing and maximize desalination performance. This is fundamental to many fields of electrochemistry, colloid science and an emerging issue in water treatment. This approach will also provide a new benchmark for studying these electrochemical separation technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.