The minimisation of nitrate levels in water

最大限度地减少水中的硝酸盐含量

• 批准号: 10049504
• 金额: $ 56.48万
• 依托单位: MOLYMEM LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Investment Accelerator
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10049504
• 关键词: minimisation; nitrate; levels; water

Nitrate is widely used as an artificial fertiliser, however its high solubility and stability means it has become concentrated in many ground-waters and other water sources, particularly in areas of the UK where arable farming or other intensive agriculture dominates. High concentrations of nitrate are associated with various health problems, including "Blue baby" syndrome, whereas even at lower concentrations, the presence of algal blooms (due to excessive nutrient supply into watercourses) poses a frequent problem. To counter these issues, the government has declared large swathes of England as "Nitrate Vulnerable Zones", which place special measures on farmers and growers in these regions and also affect developers (as sewage and other outflows from habitations also causes nitrate build-up). We therefore urgently need ways to reduce nitrate concentrations in water supplies, without necessarily compromising agriculture or other pressures on development. One route to achieve this is to develop cost-effective methods to remove nitrate from water supplies. This is where the lead applicants, Molymem, come in. The company is a recently formed spin-out from the University of Manchester, who have developed a membrane technology, based on the 2D materials which have been a key part of the research achievements at the University of Manchester. Molymem's technology, which is patent protected, is based on "nanoflakes" of a naturally occurring, stable material called Molybdenum disulfide. We have found that these "flakes" can be assembled into membrane structure, which are capable of removing ions (the constituents of salt) from water. The goal of this proposal is to test this approach with respect to the removal of the nitrate ion, which would be a hugely beneficial process for the reasons outlined above. We believe the approach would be cost-effective and we know of no directly competitive technology which is capable of achieving this goal. Nitrate removal otherwise requires adsorption and/or ion-exchange, which generates problems with the solids that cannot easily be regenerated. Another approach is via bacterial decomposition of the nitrate, but this also gives problems, especially with respect to the subsequent use of the water as potable water. Molymem are partnering with established companies/universities with long track records in the water treatment area, who will ensure that the research will be rapidly translated to the market.

硝酸盐被广泛用作人造肥料，但是其较高的溶解度和稳定性意味着它已经集中在许多地下水和其他水源中，尤其是在英国耕种或其他密集农业的地区。高浓度的硝酸盐与各种健康问题有关，包括“蓝色婴儿”综合征，而在较低的浓度下，藻华的存在（由于养分过多引起的养分供应到水库中）也会引起常见问题。为了应对这些问题，政府已宣布英格兰大部分地区为“硝酸盐脆弱区”，该地区对这些地区的农民和种植者采取了特殊措施，也影响开发商（因为居住的污水和其他流出也导致硝酸盐的堆积）。因此，我们迫切需要方法来降低水供应中的硝酸盐浓度，而不必损害农业或其他开发压力。实现这一目标的一种途径是开发具有成本效益的方法，以从供水中去除硝酸盐。这是首席申请人Molymem进来的地方。该公司是曼彻斯特大学最近成立的拆分，该公司基于曼彻斯特大学研究成就的重要组成部分开发了膜技术。 Molymem的技术是受专利保护的，它基于一种天然存在的稳定材料的“纳米片”，称为二硫化钼。我们发现这些“薄片”可以组装到膜结构中，这些膜结构能够从水中去除离子（盐的成分）。该提案的目的是在去除硝酸盐离子方面测试这种方法，由于上述原因，这将是一个非常有益的过程。我们认为，这种方法将具有成本效益，我们不知道能够实现这一目标的直接竞争技术。硝酸盐去除否则需要吸附和/或离子 - 交换，这会产生无法轻易再生的固体问题。另一种方法是通过硝酸盐的细菌分解，但这也会带来问题，尤其是在随后使用水作为饮用水方面。 Molymem正在与知名公司/大学合作，在水处理区中具有长期记录，他们将确保将研究迅速转化为市场。