PFI-TT: Prototype Development for Wastewater Separation Membranes

该创新-技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）具有更广泛的影响/商业潜力，是一种使用膜过滤器进行水处理的新型绿色、无毒和生物衍生技术。 新的膜将用于为当地社区提供安全的自来水。膜过滤技术已经在水处理中使用了几十年，因为膜容易制造，使用简单，对杂质去除具有高选择性，并且不需要再生。使用来自生物质的可再生溶剂制造膜，不会与食品应用竞争，满足了消费者和立法机构关于可持续性的需求。该技术在工业和家用水过滤方面具有潜在的商业应用。除了在这些巨大且不断增长的市场中的影响外，这项创新可能会在食品-能源-水系统和生态制造的关系中开辟新的方向。拟议的项目将建立一种绿色无毒的聚合物超滤膜制造工艺，该工艺使用两种环境友好的生物衍生共溶剂，并在创新的一步法中嵌入银纳米颗粒。研究目标包括：（1）制备在单一溶液中包含聚合物、溶剂和银纳米颗粒的溶液;（2）使用卷对卷使能工艺按比例放大膜，（3）确定在膜制造期间产生的废水的纯度，特别是关于银纳米颗粒的任何浸出的发生，以及（4）在连续/长期操作中操作原型膜以确定全氟和多氟化学品（PFAS）的去除效率该奖项反映了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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) is a new green, non-toxic and bioderived technology for water treatment using membrane filters. The new membranes will be used to provide safe tap water to local communities. Membrane filtration technologies have been used in water treatment for decades because membranes are easy to fabricate, simple to use, have high selectivity for impurity removal, and do not require the regeneration. The fabrication of membranes using renewable solvents derived from biomass that does not compete with food applications, satisfies both consumer and legislative demands with regard to sustainability. The technology has potential commercial application in water filtration for industrial and household applications. Apart from the impact in these large and growing markets, this innovation may enable new directions at the nexus of food-energy-water systems and eco-manufacturing.The proposed project will establish a green and non-toxic process of fabricating polymeric ultrafiltration membranes using two environmentally friendly and bioderived co-solvents embedded with silver nanoparticles in an innovative one-step process. Research objectives include: (1) preparing solutions comprised of polymer, solvent and silver nanoparticles in a single solution; (2) scaling up the membranes using roll to roll enabled process, (3) determining the purity of the wastewater produced during membrane fabrication especially with regard to the occurrence of any leaching of silver nanoparticles, and (4) operating the prototype membranes in continuous/long-term operation to determine efficiency in the removal of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS).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.