I-Corps: Catalytic membrane to eliminate organic pollutants in industrial wastewater

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种催化膜，用于破坏工业废水中的有机污染物。包括制药、化工、石油和天然气等在内的工业部门产生了污染物，需要昂贵的能源密集型处理工艺。由于区域水资源日益短缺，新的监管限制以及股东采取可持续做法的压力，工业运营实施有效的内部处理有几个驱动力。目前存在几种工业废水处理方法，包括膜过滤和活性炭/木炭吸附。许多工业设施目前使用一种或多种这些技术，以减少污染物水平之前，排放到城市废水处理系统。然而，内部处理通常会产生污染物负载的废物流或固体和/或不能完全去除有机污染物。这项技术的目的是在几分钟内降解有毒有机物。使废水流通过所提出的催化膜有效地将有机污染物矿化为CO2和H2O，从而产生可以回收或直接释放到当地城市的良性废水流。I-Corps项目有可能彻底改变废水处理，提高处理效率，同时降低成本和能源消耗。I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种催化材料，可用于分解传统水处理工艺无法去除的污染物。使用所提出的技术，有机污染物，如碳氢化合物，药品和增塑剂在几分钟内被破坏，而不需要二次处理。该技术福尔斯属于被称为高级氧化工艺（AOP）的处理技术的类别，高级氧化工艺是设计用于通过产生反应性自由基来破坏有毒污染物的水处理方法。所提出的催化剂迅速产生这些自由基原位，依赖于一种廉价的前体盐的流入。虽然在特定行业中使用，但目前的AOP无法实现污染物的完全破坏，导致有毒副产品的产生。此外，市场上的大多数AOP产生高能源成本，使得它们对更广泛的行业投资没有吸引力。拟议的催化剂和处理方案通过以创纪录的效率几乎完全消除有机污染物，同时保持低于行业基准的运营成本，从而缓解了这些问题。许多行业可能会受益于在其处理过程中实施这项技术，通过降低处理成本，提高其水再利用能力，并更好地满足监管要求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a catalytic membrane used to destroy organic pollutants in industrial wastewater. Industrial sectors spanning pharmaceuticals, chemicals, oil and gas, among others, produce contaminant-laden waste streams that require costly, energy intensive treatment processes. Due to increasing regional water scarcity, new regulatory restrictions, and shareholder pressure to adopt sustainable practices, there are several driving forces for industrial operations to implement effective, in-house treatment. Several options currently exist for industrial wastewater treatment, including membrane filtration and activated carbon/charcoal adsorption. Many industrial facilities currently use one or more of these technologies to reduce contaminant levels prior to discharge into the municipal wastewater treatment system. However, in-house treatment typically results in contaminant-laden waste streams or solids and/or does not completely remove organic contaminants. The proposed technology is designed to degrade toxic organics within minutes. Passing wastewater streams through the proposed catalytic membrane efficiently mineralizes organic contaminants to CO2 and H2O, creating benign waste streams that may be recycled or directly released into local municipalities. This I-Corps project has the potential to revolutionize wastewater treatment, improving treatment efficacy while simultaneously reducing cost and energy consumption.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a catalytic material that may be used to break down contaminants not removed by conventional water treatment processes. Using the proposed technology, organic pollutants, such as hydrocarbons, pharmaceutical products, and plasticizers are destroyed within minutes without the need for secondary treatments. This technology falls under a category of treatment technologies called advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), which are water treatment methods designed to destroy toxic pollutants via the production of reactive radicals. The proposed catalyst rapidly generates these radicals in-situ, relying on the addition of an inexpensive precursor salt to the influent. Although employed in select industries, current AOPs cannot achieve complete destruction of contaminants, resulting in the production of toxic byproducts. Furthermore, most AOPs in the market incur high energy costs, rendering them unattractive for wider industry investment. The proposed catalyst and treatment scheme mitigate these problems by offering near-complete elimination of organic pollutants at record-breaking efficiencies while maintaining lower operating costs than industry benchmarks. Many industries may benefit from implementing this technology in their treatment process by reducing treatment costs, increasing their capacity for water reuse, and better meeting regulatory requirements.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.