Excellence in Research: Hybrid Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor and Reverse Osmosis Processes for the removal of Micro and Nano plastics from Municipal Wastewater

微塑料（MPs）和纳米塑料（NPs）已成为世界各地普遍存在的污染物。它们很容易被生物体吸收，并随着它们在环境中积累和进入食物链而对人类和生态系统健康构成新的风险。在包括空气、水、土壤和沉积物在内的所有环境介质中都发现了MPs和NPs。此外，在城市污水处理厂的流出物中越来越多地检测到MPs/NPs，这些污水处理厂已成为地表水系统（包括湖泊、河流、河口和海洋）塑料污染物的主要来源。该项目的总体目标是探索一种新型废水处理和回收工艺的发展，该工艺可以去除MPs（0.1-5微米）和NPs（1-100纳米），同时生产用于饮用水和非饮用水的清洁水。为了实现这一目标，首席研究员（pi）建议设计、建造和评估一个集成系统，该系统由一个带有平板陶瓷微滤膜的厌氧膜生物反应器、一个带有管状陶瓷超滤膜的好氧膜生物反应器和一个带有平板陶瓷超滤膜的反渗透膜模块组成。这个项目的成功完成将通过产生基础知识来促进发展更有效和更具成本效益的工艺来处理和回收被塑料颗粒污染的废水，从而造福社会。通过外展和教育活动，包括指导Prairie View A&amp；M大学的三名研究生和六名本科生，将为社会带来额外的好处。膜生物反应器（mbr）已成为处理和回收受MPs和NPs污染的废水的有前途的系统。然而，大多数商用mbr使用聚合物微滤（MF）或超滤（UF）膜，这些膜容易因污染而失去性能。此外，聚合物MF/UF膜在使用过程中由于膜的磨损和损伤也会释放MPs和NPs。本项目的目的是测试陶瓷MF/UF膜的mbr可以有效地去除废水中的MPs和NPs，而不受聚合物膜mbr的性能限制。为了验证这一假设，首席研究人员（pi）建议开展一项综合实验和建模研究计划，将实验规模的实验室实验与计算流体动力学（CFD）建模和原子分子动力学（MD）模拟相结合。实验规模将包括过滤研究，旨在研究使用陶瓷膜生物反应器（cmbr）去除城市废水中的MPs和NPs，然后进行反渗透（RO），目的是生产用于饮用水和非饮用水的清洁水渗透物。对于过滤实验，PIs建议测试平板MF膜的厌氧CMBR和管状UF膜的好氧CMBR。除过滤实验外，pi还建议进行CFD模拟，以指导/优化CMBR系统设计，并表征含NPs和MPs废水中陶瓷膜污染的机理。最后，pi建议进行原子MD模拟，以探测和揭示模型塑料和陶瓷膜之间的分子相互作用，这些相互作用控制了CMBR系统中废水中MPs/NPS的去除。该项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性的影响，通过产生基础知识和数据，推动设计和实施更高效和更具成本效益的工艺来处理和回收受MPs和NPs污染的废水。为了实施该项目的教育和推广活动，pi计划将这项研究的结果整合到Prairie View a&m大学现有的本科和研究生课程中，为学生提供新的基于项目的环境工程学习机会，重点是膜过滤技术和水质。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have become ubiquitous and pervasive pollutants throughout the world. They can be easily ingested by living organisms and pose new risks to human and ecosystem health as they accumulate in the environment and enter the food chain. MPs and NPs have been found in all environmental media including air, water, soils, and sediments. In addition, MPs/NPs are increasingly being detected in the effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants which have become major sources of plastic pollutants for surface water systems including lakes, rivers, estuaries, and oceans. The overarching goal of this project is to explore the development of a novel wastewater treatment and reclamation process that could remove MPs (0.1-5 micron) and NPs (1-100 nanometer) while producing clean water for potable and non-potable usages. To advance this goal, the Principal Investigators (PIs) propose to design, build, and evaluate an integrated system consisting of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor with flat-sheet ceramic microfiltration membranes, an aerobic membrane bioreactor with tubular ceramic ultrafiltration membranes, and a reverse osmosis membrane module with flat sheet membranes. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of fundamental knowledge to advance the development of more efficient and cost effective processes for the treatment and reclamation of wastewater contaminated by plastic particles. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through outreach and educational activities including the mentoring of three graduate students and six undergraduate students at Prairie View A&M University.Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) have emerged as promising systems for the treatment and reclamation of wastewater contaminated by MPs and NPs. However, most commercial MBRs utilize polymeric microfiltration (MF) or ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, which are prone to loss of performance due to fouling. In addition, polymeric MF/UF membranes can also release MPs and NPs during operation due to membrane abrasion and damage. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that MBRs with ceramic MF/UF membranes can efficiently remove MPs and NPs from wastewater without the performance limitations of MBRs with polymeric membranes. To test this hypothesis, the Principal Investigators (PIs) propose to carry out an integrated experimental and modeling research program that combines bench scale lab experiments with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The bench scale experiments will consist of filtration studies designed to investigate the removal of MPs and NPs from municipal wastewater using ceramic membrane bioreactors (CMBRs) followed by reverse osmosis (RO) with the goal of producing a clean water permeate for potable and non-potable usages. For the filtration experiments, the PIs propose to test both an anaerobic CMBR with flat-sheet MF membranes and an aerobic CMBR with tubular UF membranes. In addition to the filtration experiments, the PIs propose to carry out CFD simulations to guide/optimize CMBR system design and characterize the mechanisms of ceramic membrane fouling in wastewater containing NPs and MPs. Finally, the PIs propose to conduct atomistic MD simulations to probe and unravel the molecular interactions between model plastics and ceramic membranes that control the removal of MPs/NPS from wastewater in CMBR systems. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of fundamental knowledge and data to advance the design and implementation of more efficient and cost effective processes to treat and reclaim wastewater contaminated by MPs and NPs. To implement the education and outreach activities of the project, the PIs plan to integrate the findings from this research into existing undergraduate and graduate courses at Prairie View A&M University to provide students with new project-based learning opportunities in environmental engineering with a focus on membrane filtration technologies and water quality.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.