Spacer production scale-up via proprietary 3D-additive manufacturing for industrial desalination

通过用于工业海水淡化的专有 3D 增材制造扩大垫片生产规模

• 批准号: 10074349
• 金额: $ 63.05万
• 依托单位: EVOVE LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Launchpad
• 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=10074349
• 关键词: Spacer; production; scale; up; via

Water filtration for desalination and other applications supports net zero and resource efficiency in supply chains and manufacturing processes. The global membrane filtration market is ~$25bn (Verified Market Research 2019) but a key problem is that filtration is energy intensive, especially if flow pressure drops or biofouling occurs. For instance, desalination consumes ~3 KWh per m3 of water processed. Plant operators demand reductions to 1.5 KWh/m3 which would reduce costs and carbon footprint.Industry solutions to address these performance issues include designing membrane spacers to decrease fluid resistance causing pressure drops. However, current spacer technology comprises first-generation plastic structures that are not application or membrane specific. Their simplistic design accelerates biofouling which requires chemical treatment. This reduces membrane and spacer lifespan to ~3 years vs a targeted 10 years.Evove are leading membrane manufacturers with patented filtration products and designers of a cutting-edge spacer technology. Added Scientific (ASL) are independent experts in Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing. Together they have partnered to conduct an industrial research project that aims to solve the industry challenge of poor spacer performance during filtration. The project will involve thorough development and re-engineering of Evove's TRL5 spacer prototype to enable scaled-up production at high-throughput and high-fidelity of spacers using novel 3D-material printers. As no current printer technology exists, a bespoke printer will be designed and built.The outcome of this project would result in a fully commercial manufacturing solution for Evove's spacers. This project will bring advanced additive manufacturing capability to Liverpool, create local jobs and deliver export opportunities for the UK. For these reasons, this industrial research project strongly aligns with the launchpad round2 competition scope.

用于脱盐和其他应用的水过滤支持供应链和制造过程中的净零和资源效率。全球膜过滤市场规模约为250亿美元（2019年验证市场研究），但一个关键问题是过滤是能源密集型的，特别是在流动压力下降或发生生物污损的情况下。例如，脱盐每处理一立方米水消耗约3千瓦时。工厂运营商要求降低至1.5 KWh/m3，这将降低成本和碳足迹。解决这些性能问题的行业解决方案包括设计膜垫片，以降低导致压降的流体阻力。然而，目前的间隔物技术包括第一代塑料结构，其不是应用或膜特定的。其简单的设计加速了需要化学处理的生物污垢。这将膜和垫片的使用寿命从目标的10年缩短到3年左右。Evove是领先的膜制造商，拥有专利过滤产品和尖端垫片技术的设计师。Added Scientific（ASL）是增材制造（AM）和3D打印领域的独立专家。他们共同合作开展了一项工业研究项目，旨在解决过滤过程中垫片性能差的行业挑战。该项目将涉及Evove的TRL 5间隔器原型的彻底开发和重新设计，以使用新型3D材料打印机实现高通量和高保真间隔器的规模化生产。由于目前没有打印机技术存在，一个定制的打印机将被设计和建造。这个项目的结果将导致一个完全商业化的制造解决方案，为Evove的间隔。该项目将为利物浦带来先进的增材制造能力，创造当地就业机会，并为英国提供出口机会。由于这些原因，这个工业研究项目与launchpad第二轮比赛范围非常一致。