I-Corps: Surface Innovation for Energy Efficiency and Water Management

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种混合涂层，以提高发电厂冷凝器的能源效率和节约用水。由于涂层耐久性差，在电厂冷凝器中很少发现涂层。现有的增强型冷凝器依赖于低翅片管，这是昂贵的，只能略微提高水的冷凝传热（150%）。除了效率限制外，结垢和腐蚀也是热交换器的两大痛点。所提出的技术旨在实现优越的热学和化学性能，包括高导热性、抗腐蚀、自修复和潜在的防污。它是基于一个工程表面，可以改造到现有的或合并到新建的热交换器。此外，拟议的技术已经显示出在多个行业和应用中提高能源和水效率的潜力，包括发电、化学加工和海洋应用。由于其防水性能，该技术可能会在更广泛的应用中解决污垢和腐蚀问题，例如工业冷却、农业和石化工业。I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种混合涂层，以提高导热性和耐久性。所提出的技术是将密集堆积的金属纳米结构与疏水性热塑性聚合物相结合。在进行了200多天的实验室实验中，结果表明，与裸露的金属表面相比，在涂层样品上实现了700%以上的水的冷凝传热。此外，在涂层样品上测量的腐蚀速率比在铜衬底上慢100倍，显示出高的抗腐蚀性能。此外，制造过程不需要化学气相沉积，这可能允许可扩展和负担得起的制造。所提出的技术显示出在电厂冷凝器和其他应用中提高能源效率和节约用水的潜力。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to develop a hybrid coating to improve the energy efficiency and water conservation in power plant condensers. Coatings are rarely found in a power plant condenser due to their poor durability. Existing enhanced condensers rely on low-fin tubes, which are costly and can only improve the condensation heat transfer of water marginally ( 150%). In addition to efficiency limitations, fouling and corrosion also are two major pain points for heat exchangers. The proposed technology is designed to achieve superior thermal and chemical properties, including high thermal conductivity, anti-corrosion, self-healing, and potentially anti-fouling. It is based on an engineered surface that can be retrofitted into existing or incorporated into newly built heat exchangers. In addition, the proposed technology has shown the potential to enhance energy and water efficiency across multiple industries and applications, including power generation, chemical processing, and marine applications. Due to its water repellency, this technology potentially may address fouling and corrosion problems for even broader applications, such as industrial cooling, agriculture, and the petrochemical industry. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a hybrid coating to enhance thermal conductivity and durability. The proposed technology is the combination of densely packed metal nanostructures with a hydrophobic thermoplastic polymer. In laboratory experiments conducted over 200 days, it was shown that over 700% condensation heat transfer of water was achieved on a coated sample as compared to a bare metal surface. In addition, the corrosion rate measured on the coated sample was 100x slower than on a copper substrate, demonstrating high anti-corrosion performance. Further, the manufacturing process does not require chemical vapor deposition, which may allow scalable and affordable manufacturing. The proposed technology shows potential to improve energy efficiency and water conservation in power plant condensers as well as other applications.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.