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

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/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。制药、化学品、石油和天然气等工业部门产生的污染物含量高的废流需要昂贵的能源密集型处理过程。由于地区水资源日益短缺、新的监管限制以及股东要求采用可持续做法的压力，工业运营实施有效的内部处理有几个驱动力。目前工业废水处理有几种选择，包括膜过滤和活性碳/木炭吸附。许多工业设施目前使用一种或多种这样的技术，在排放到城市污水处理系统之前降低污染物水平。然而，内部处理通常会产生充满污染物的废流或固体，和/或不能完全去除有机污染物。这项拟议的技术旨在几分钟内降解有毒有机物。通过拟议的催化膜，废水可以有效地将有机污染物矿化为二氧化碳和H2O，产生良性的废物流，可以回收利用或直接排放到当地市政当局。这个i-Corps项目有可能给废水处理带来革命性的变化，在提高处理效率的同时降低成本和能源消耗。这个i-Corps项目基于一种催化材料的开发，这种材料可以用来分解常规水处理工艺无法去除的污染物。使用拟议的技术，有机污染物，如碳氢化合物、药品和增塑剂，可以在几分钟内被销毁，而不需要进行二次处理。这项技术属于一种名为高级氧化工艺(AOPS)的处理技术，这是一种水处理方法，旨在通过产生活性自由基来破坏有毒污染物。所提出的催化剂依靠在进水中添加廉价的前体盐，在原位快速产生这些自由基。尽管目前的AOPS被用于特定的行业，但它不能实现污染物的完全销毁，从而导致有毒副产品的产生。此外，市场上的大多数AOPS都会产生高昂的能源成本，对更广泛的行业投资缺乏吸引力。拟议的催化剂和处理方案通过以创纪录的效率近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，缓解了这些问题。通过降低处理成本、提高水再利用能力以及更好地满足法规要求，许多行业可能会受益于在其处理过程中实施这项技术。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 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.