PFI-TT: A Green and Sustainable Approach to Optimize and Scale-up Reusable Materials for Water Purification

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发用于饮用水净化的材料。该项目开发了可用于高级过滤的材料。这项研究的重点是去除饮用水中的多种化合物，如重金属和多氟烷基物质。这些普遍存在的物质与对人类健康的不利影响有关，它们在环境中持续存在。该项目将开发一种使用点解决方案，该解决方案将对提供饮用水产生重大影响。这些材料对饮用水是安全的，因为它们是基于已经用于净水技术的天然材料和聚合物。建议的项目将集中在(1)离子交换(IX)材料的优化，以及(2)扩大这些材料的生产到中试规模或更高。对吸附能力和水通量进行优化，同时将制造成本降至最低。这项技术是一层非常薄的IX树脂，附着在纳米级的支撑物上。支撑材料提供了结构刚性，并消除了导致传统IX材料退化的交联性需求。拟议的技术增加了表面积、结合部位的可及性，并改善了吸附动力学，使这些材料比竞争产品更便宜、更高效。聚合物使用“点击化学”永久地结合到支持材料上，以确保它们随着时间的推移和重复使用而保留在过滤器模块中。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to develop materials to purify water for drinking. This project advances materials that can be used for advanced filtration. The research is focused on the removal of many classes of compounds from drinking water, such as heavy metals and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These pervasive substances have been linked to adverse human health effects and they are persistent in the environment. This project will develop a point-of-use solution that will have significant impact on providing access to drinking water. These materials are safe for drinking water since they are based on natural materials and polymers already used in water purification technology.The propsoed project will focus on (1) Optimization of ion exchange (IX) materials, and (2) Scaling-up the production of these materials to pilot scale or higher. Optimization of adsorption capacity, and water flux will be done while minimizing the cost of manufacturing. The technology is a very thin layer of IX resin attached to a nanoscale support. The support material provides structural rigidity and eliminates the need for cross-linking, which leads to degradation of the traditional IX materials. The proposed technology increases surface area, binding site accessibility, and improves adsorption kinetics to make these materials cheaper and more efficient than the competing products. The polymers are permanently bound to the support materials using "click chemistry" to ensure their retention in the filter modules over time and with repeated use.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.