I-Corps: Electrochemical Oxidation Water Treatment Process for Harmful Algal Blooms

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是减轻有害藻类水华的影响，藻类水华威胁人类和野生动物健康，并在娱乐和商业捕鱼作业等领域造成重大经济损失。 全球气温上升和继续使用营养丰富的肥料可能会加剧未来对赤潮的担忧。 这里开发的解决这些有毒水华的方法可以通过电化学氧化技术快速消除表面水华，从而减少与有害藻华相关的健康问题的可能性。 环境咨询和修复公司代表了该技术可能的第一批客户，而市政当局和湖泊协会是重要的利益相关者。 通过该项目，潜在客户、合作伙伴和利益相关者将了解有害藻华目前的管理方式，环境修复公司如何与客户合作，以及环境修复设备的供应链是如何构建的。该I-Corps项目开发了一种用于处理瞬时有害藻华的有害藻华缓解技术。 有害藻华的暂时出现给有害藻华的缓解带来了额外的挑战，因为传统的努力涉及使用过氧化氢、曝气生物刺激或藻类收获过程，所有这些都需要使用特定地点和时间的农药许可证。 开发的技术基于电化学氧化（EO）技术，可快速去除藻类和氰基毒素，而无需添加化学品。因此，不需要农药许可证，从而可以在造成海滩关闭之前迅速部署技术来减轻有害藻华。 该工艺由电源、发生器和一组具有专用电极涂层的电极组成。 与传统的环氧乙烷工艺相比，独特的电极成分可显著节约能源。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 I-Corps project is mitigate the effects of harmful algae blooms (HABs), which are a threat to human and wildlife health and result in significant financial loss in areas such as recreational and commercial fishing operations. Increasing global temperatures and continued use of nutrient-rich fertilizers are likely to exacerbate HAB concerns in the future. The approach developed here to address these toxic blooms may reduce the likelihood of health-related problems associated with HABs by rapidly eliminating surface blooms via an electrochemical oxidation technology. Environmental consulting and remediation companies represent the likely first customers for the technology while municipalities and lake associations are important stakeholders. Through this project, potential customers, partners, and stakeholders will be engaged to understand how HABs are currently managed, how environmental remediation companies engage their customers, and how the supply chain for environmental remediation equipment is structured.This I-Corps project develops a harmful algae bloom (HAB) mitigation technology for treating transient HABs. The temporal occurrence of HABs causes extra challenges for HAB mitigation as traditional efforts involve the use of hydrogen peroxide, aeration for biostimulation, or algae harvesting processes, all of which require the use of pesticide permits which are site and time specific. The developed technology is based on electrochemical oxidation (EO) techniques that rapidly remove algae and cyano toxins without the addition of chemicals. Thus, no pesticide permits are required, allowing for rapid deployment of the technology to mitigate a HAB before it causes beach closures. The process consists of a power supply, a generator, and a set of electrodes with specialized electrode coatings. The unique electrode composition results in a significant energy savings compared to traditional EO processes.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.