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料，以提高发电厂凝汽器的能效和节水。由于涂层的耐久性较差，电厂凝汽器中很少有涂层。现有的强化冷凝器依赖于低翅片管，这种管成本很高，只能略微改善水的凝结换热(150%)。除效率限制外，污垢和腐蚀也是换热器的两大痛点。这项拟议的技术旨在实现优异的热和化学性能，包括高导热系数、防腐蚀、自我修复和潜在的防结垢。它基于一种工程表面，可以改装到现有的热交换器中，也可以并入新建的热交换器中。此外，拟议的技术已显示出在包括发电、化学加工和海洋应用在内的多个行业和应用中提高能源和水效率的潜力。由于其憎水性，这项技术可能会解决更广泛的应用中的污垢和腐蚀问题，例如工业冷却、农业和石化行业。这个i-Corps项目是基于一种混合涂层的开发，以增强导热性和耐用性。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200多天的实验室实验中，与裸露的金属表面相比，涂层样品上的水的凝结换热达到了700%以上。此外，涂层样品上的腐蚀速度比铜衬底上的腐蚀速度慢100倍，表现出高的防腐性能。此外，制造过程不需要化学气相沉积，这可以允许可扩展和负担得起的制造。这项拟议的技术显示出在发电厂凝汽器和其他应用中提高能效和节水的潜力。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 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.