PFI-TT: Water disinfection using safe and sustainable copper combined with a locally enhanced electric field

这一创新伙伴关系-技术转化项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是实现更安全、更可持续的水消毒方法，同时最大限度地减少氯及其有害消毒副产品的使用。找到合适的氯的替代品仍然是一个挑战，但使用天然丰富的铜金属可能是解决方案。拟议中的创新将铜的天然抗菌特性与低压局部增强电场相结合，以减少铜和电力的消耗，降低年度运营成本，并最大限度地减少消毒副产物。随着这项技术的成功成熟和商业化，长期目标是成立一家分拆公司，为许多潜在的细分市场（家庭使用点、游泳池和水疗中心、商业热水管道等）生产和提供替代和可持续的水消毒解决方案，以尽量减少目前与标准氯基消毒相关的负面健康影响。除此之外，所有参与该项目的本科生、研究生和博士后都将获得技术和创业技能，以基于证据的决策和创业思维解决问题，进一步使他们成功地在未来转化创新。拟开展的项目重点是进一步开发和成熟一种无氯水消毒技术，该技术将局部增强电场处理与铜离子（leleft - cu）的天然杀菌作用协同结合，以杀死病原体。这种方法可以在低铜剂量和低电能消耗的情况下实现高效的微生物灭活。其潜在机制是利用同轴电极结构增强的电场，增加了微生物吸收铜的细胞膜的渗透性，从而更有效地失活。这个PFI-TT项目的主要目标是解决通过我们之前的市场研究和客户发现的left - cu技术的知识差距和技术障碍。在这个项目中，我们将1)测试leleft - cu对不同微生物的抗菌效率；2)研究水温对leleft - cu性能的影响；3)制定策略，使left - cu对导电性较高的水有效；4)增加leleft -Cu器件中Cu的负荷和利用率，降低在用更换频率和成本；5)通过与行业合作伙伴的试点测试，评估leleft - cu的可扩展性和实施情况。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 Partnerships for Innovation – Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project are to enable safer, more sustainable approaches to disinfecting water while minimizing the use of chlorine and its harmful disinfection byproducts. It is still a challenge finding suitable alternatives to chlorine, but using naturally abundant copper metal may be the solution. The proposed innovation combines the natural antimicrobial properties of copper with a low voltage, locally enhanced electric field to reduce the consumption of both copper and electricity, cut annual operational cost, and minimize disinfection byproducts. With the successful maturation and commercialization of this technology, the long-term goal is to launch a spin-off company to manufacture and provide alternative and sustainable solutions for water disinfection across many potential market segments (point-of-use at home, swimming pools and spas, commercial hot water lines, etc.) to minimize the negative health impacts currently associated with standard chlorine-based disinfection. Beyond this goal, all undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students involved in the project will gain the technical and entrepreneurial skills to tackle problems with evidence-based decision-making and an entrepreneurial mindset, further enabling their success for translating innovations in the future.The proposed project focuses on the further development and maturation of a chlorine-free water disinfection technology that synergistically combines locally enhanced electric field treatment and the natural biocidal effect of copper ions (LEEFT-Cu) to kill pathogens. This approach enables highly effective microbial inactivation with low copper doses and low electrical energy consumption. The underlying mechanism exploits the enhanced electric field attributed to the coaxial electrode configuration, which increases the permeability of cell membranes for microbial copper uptake, resulting in more efficient inactivation. The main goal of this PFI-TT project is to address knowledge gaps and technical barriers of the LEEFT-Cu technology identified through our previous market research and customer discovery. During this project, we will 1) test the antimicrobial efficiency of LEEFT-Cu for different microorganisms; 2) study the effect of water temperature on the performance of LEEFT-Cu; 3) develop strategies that allow LEEFT-Cu to be effective for water with higher conductivities; 4) increase the loading and utilization of Cu in LEEFT-Cu devices to reduce the in-use replacement frequency and cost; and 5) evaluate the scalability and implementation of LEEFT-Cu through a pilot test with an industry partner.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.