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工肥料，但它的高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，特别是在英国耕地农业或其他集约化农业占主导地位的地区。高浓度的硝酸盐与各种健康问题有关，包括“蓝宝宝”综合症，而即使在较低浓度下，藻华的存在（由于向水道供应过多的营养物）也是一个经常出现的问题。为了解决这些问题，政府宣布英格兰的大片地区为“硝酸盐脆弱区”，对这些地区的农民和种植者采取特殊措施，同时也影响到开发商（因为污水和其他从住所流出的物质也会导致硝酸盐的积累）。因此，我们迫切需要在不损害农业或其他发展压力的情况下降低供水中硝酸盐浓度的方法。实现这一目标的途径之一是开发经济有效的方法从供水中去除硝酸盐。这就是领头申请者Molymem的用武之地。该公司是最近从曼彻斯特大学分拆出来的一家公司，曼彻斯特大学开发了一种基于二维材料的膜技术，这是曼彻斯特大学研究成果的关键部分。Molymem的技术受到专利保护，它是基于一种叫做二硫化钼的天然稳定材料的“纳米薄片”。我们发现这些“薄片”可以组装成膜结构，能够从水中去除离子（盐的成分）。这项提议的目标是测试这种方法对硝酸盐离子的去除，这将是一个非常有益的过程，原因如上所述。我们相信这种方法将具有成本效益，而且我们知道没有能够实现这一目标的直接竞争技术。否则，硝酸盐的去除需要吸附和/或离子交换，这就产生了固体不易再生的问题。另一种方法是通过细菌分解硝酸盐，但这也会产生问题，特别是在随后将水用作饮用水方面。Molymem正在与在水处理领域有着悠久历史的老牌公司/大学合作，他们将确保研究成果迅速转化为市场。