Collaborative Research: INFEWS: U.S.-China: Sustainable Decentralized Wastewater Management: Simultaneous Nutrient Recovery and Pharmaceutical Degradation of Source-Separated Urine

合作研究：INFEWS：中美：可持续分散废水管理：同时进行源头分离尿液的营养物回收和药物降解

• 批准号: 1903705
• 负责人: Ngai Yin Yip
• 金额: $ 32.31万
• 依托单位: Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1903705&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; INFEWS; U.S.; China

This project was awarded through the "National Science Foundation (NSF) / National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Joint Research on Environmental Sustainability Challenges" opportunity. The Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus is described as complex and inter-related global resource systems that rely on different ecosystem resources. FEW Nexus problems stem from the imbalance of different user activities, such as agricultural and water-use practices, that do not maintain the integrity of ecosystems that provide the resources for those activities. A more specific example of a FEW Nexus problem is the use of fertilizer for agriculture coupled with wastewater treatment practices. The current economic model of fertilizer utilization is unsustainable for multiple reasons. Ammonia fertilizer is produced through the energy-intensive and expensive Haber Bosch process, and phosphorus for fertilizer is mined at considerable cost. Energy and chemicals are further consumed for the removal of fertilizer-associated nutrients from wastewater from agricultural run-off to prevent environmental and public health problems. At the same time, pharmaceuticals in wastewater are contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), but conventional treatment plants are unable to adequately remove all nutrients and CECs. Consequently, nitrogen, phosphorus, and pharmaceuticals pollute surface, ground, and coastal waters when the inadequately treated wastewater treatment plant effluent is discharged to the environment. A new paradigm is needed to enable the transformations to i) economically and environmentally sustainable nutrient reuse and ii) a safer and more effective management strategy for CECs in wastewater. Urine streams are rich in nutrients and have high concentrations of pharmaceuticals. However, urine is immediately diluted over 100 times by flushing and subsequent mixing with other wastewater streams, making it difficult to separate CECs and nutrient pollutants. A more rational approach would be to take advantage of the high concentrations of the nutrients and contaminants in undiluted urine by carrying out source-separation for decentralized resource recovery and pharmaceutical degradation, rather than treating the diluted urine at centralized wastewater treatment plants . This international collaborative project between the U.S. institutions of Columbia University and Vanderbilt University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology in China proposes an integrated treatment approach for source-separated urine, comprising i) ammonia recovery, ii) phosphate extraction, and iii) pharmaceutical degradation, to simultaneously achieve sustainable on-site nutrient recycling and contaminant elimination. Advancing fundamental knowledge on decentralized technologies for nutrient recovery and reuse and CEC elimination in urine source-separation and management will yield transformative impacts to enable the evolution of current wastewater management approaches to a more sustainable "resource recovery" approach.The goals of this project are to enhance fundamental knowledge of the principal phenomena governing nitrogen and phosphorous recovery and pharmaceutical degradation in source-separated urine, and to assess the high-level impacts of implementing decentralized wastewater management. Specific objectives are: 1) to advance fundamental understanding of ammonia and water vapor transport across hydrophobic microporous membranes, 2) elucidate the fouling mechanisms during ammonia recovery from hydrolyzed source-separated urine, and formulate appropriate fouling control strategies, 3) investigate the degradation of model pharmaceutical compounds by advanced oxidation processes, 4) evaluate the fate of model pharmaceutical compounds and heavy metals in phosphate recovery by induced precipitation, and 5) assess the national-level environmental and public health impacts of large-scale implementation of urine source-separation in the U.S. and China. This study will investigate nutrient recovery and pharmaceutical degradation of diverted urine to elucidate the common denominators influencing the different phenomena of, and identify the overall achievable performance of, ammonia separation, phosphate extraction, and pharmaceutical degradation through integrated research. The project will advance fundamental knowledge on the benefits and costs of implementing urine source-separation and decentralized treatment in the U.S. and China. Critical insights from the specific research tasks have far-reaching impacts on individual topics, including i) enhanced transport theory of vapor in micropores, ii) improving the understanding of fouling and fouling mitigation in membrane distillation, iii) identification of principal factors governing advanced oxidation processes for pharmaceuticals, and iv) elucidation of contaminant fate in phosphate precipitation. This collaborative project will integrate education and research to train and prepare graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in STEM. The researchers will engage in activities including: (i) recruitment of under-represented groups, (ii) development of nutrient and microcontaminant modules for K-12 education and public outreach, (iii) providing undergraduate research opportunities through structured programs, and (iv) enhancing undergraduate and graduate education by integrating scientific concepts and technical principles of the research current courses.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.

本项目获国家科学基金/国家自然科学基金中国(国家自然科学基金委员会)环境可持续性挑战联合研究项目资助。粮食-能源-水(少数)关系被描述为依赖不同生态系统资源的复杂和相互关联的全球资源系统。Nexus很少有问题源于不同用户活动的不平衡，例如农业和用水做法，这些活动不能保持为这些活动提供资源的生态系统的完整性。几个Nexus问题的一个更具体的例子是农业化肥的使用以及废水处理做法。由于多种原因，目前的化肥利用经济模式是不可持续的。氨肥是通过耗能高且价格昂贵的Haber Bosch工艺生产的，而用于化肥的磷的开采成本相当高。能源和化学品被进一步用于从农业径流废水中去除与化肥有关的营养物质，以防止环境和公共卫生问题。与此同时，废水中的药物是新出现的令人担忧的污染物(CECs)，但传统的处理厂无法充分去除所有营养物质和CECs。因此，当未经充分处理的污水处理厂污水排放到环境中时，氮、磷和药物会污染地表、地面和沿海水域。需要一种新的模式，以实现向i)经济和环境上可持续的养分再利用和ii)废水中CEC的更安全和更有效的管理战略的转变。尿液中含有丰富的营养物质，药物浓度也很高。然而，尿液通过冲洗和随后与其他废水混合立即稀释到100倍以上，使得CEC和营养性污染物难以分离。更合理的办法是利用未稀释尿液中高浓度的营养物质和污染物，进行源头分离，分散资源回收和药物降解，而不是在集中式污水处理厂处理稀释尿液。这个由美国哥伦比亚大学、范德比尔特大学和哈尔滨工业大学中国合作的国际合作项目提出了一种来源分离尿液的综合处理方法，包括i)氨回收、ii)磷酸盐提取和iii)药物降解，以同时实现可持续的现场养分循环和污染物消除。提高关于尿液来源分离和管理中养分回收和再利用以及消除CEC分散技术的基础知识将产生变革性的影响，使目前的废水管理方法能够演变为更可持续的“资源回收”方法。该项目的目标是加强对与来源分离的尿液中氮、磷回收和药物降解有关的主要现象的基本知识，并评估实施分散废水管理的高水平影响。具体目标是：1)促进对氨和水蒸气在疏水微孔膜之间传输的基本了解；2)阐明从水解源分离的尿中回收氨的污染机理，并制定适当的污染控制策略；3)研究高级氧化过程中模型药物的降解；4)评估模型药物化合物和重金属在诱导沉淀法回收磷酸盐中的去向；5)评估美国和中国大规模实施尿源分离对国家层面的环境和公共健康影响。本研究将研究分流尿液的养分恢复与药物降解，以阐明影响不同现象的共同点，并通过综合研究确定氨分离、磷酸盐提取和药物降解的总体可实现性能。该项目将增进对在美国和中国实施尿液来源分离和分散治疗的好处和成本的基础知识。来自具体研究任务的关键见解对个别主题具有深远的影响，包括：i)强化了水蒸气在微孔中的传输理论，ii)提高了对膜蒸馏中的污染和污染缓解的理解，iii)确定了控制药物高级氧化过程的主要因素，以及iv)阐明了磷酸盐沉淀中的污染物的去向。这个合作项目将把教育和研究结合起来，培养和准备STEM方面的研究生、本科生和高中生。研究人员将从事的活动包括：(I)招募代表性不足的群体，(Ii)为K-12教育和公共宣传开发营养和微污染物模块，(Iii)通过结构化计划提供本科生研究机会，以及(Iv)通过整合当前研究课程的科学概念和技术原理来加强本科生和研究生教育。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Novel Isothermal Membrane Distillation with Acidic Collector for Selective and Energy-Efficient Recovery of Ammonia from Urine

• DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c00643
• 发表时间: 2020-04
• 期刊: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
• 影响因子: 8.4
• 作者: Stephanie N. McCartney;Natalie A. Williams;Chanhee Boo;Xi Chen;Ngai Yin Yip

Emerging investigator series: thermodynamic and energy analysis of nitrogen and phosphorous recovery from wastewaters

• DOI: 10.1039/d1ew00554e
• 发表时间: 2021-09
• 期刊: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
• 作者: Stephanie N. McCartney;Nobuyoshi Watanabe;Ngai Yin Yip