ENSSLED - Engineering Nanoparticles' Surface for Sustainable Descaling

ENSSLED - 工程纳米颗粒表面以实现可持续除垢

• 批准号: EP/Y028201/1
• 负责人: Jerry Heng
• 金额: $ 25.55万
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY028201%2F1
• 关键词: ENSSLED; Engineering; Nanoparticles; Surface; Sustainable

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) scaling of pipeline and flow systems is a long-standing and intractable problem, affecting many criticalindustries. Current descaling approaches involve labour-intensive manual scraping of scales, or the use of specialized chemicals todissolve the scales or to stop them from forming. Unfortunately, these approaches incur cost and time, are not universally applicableto all kinds of flow configurations and have otherwise raised environmental concerns as well. ENSSLED builds instead on analternative approach of using nanoparticles that can nucleate scales on themselves, rather than on the pipe walls. These sacrificialnucleants (SN) after scaling can be removed from the flow stream. But in practice, they often stick to the pipe walls due to theirrandom and disordered shapes (rhombohedral crystals or RC) attained during scaling. Conversely, ENSSLED proposes to investigatethe use of spherically shaped SN, synthesized from a bio-based environmentally friendly material called chitosan. Owing to its aminerichsurface property, chitosan can induce film-wise mineral growth (by a biomimetic process called biomineralization). ENSSLEDapplies these principles to control scaling around the SN in the form of films rather than disordered RC. By retaining the sphericalshape of the SN during scaling, the adhesion of the SN with that of the pipe walls could be minimized, thereby deterring scaleformation on the pipe walls and enabling complete recovery of the SN afterwards. This distinctive biomimetic strategy could offer anindustrially acceptable and sustainable approach toward passive descaling. ENSSLED plans to achieve these goals through amultidisciplinary approach involving SN synthesis, chitosan (biopolymer) processing, scaling analysis, and contact mechanics-basedadhesion measurements (between SN and the pipe walls).

碳酸钙（CaCO3）在管道和流动系统中的结垢是一个长期存在的棘手问题，影响着许多关键行业。目前的除垢方法包括劳动密集型的手工刮垢，或者使用专门的化学品溶解水垢或阻止它们形成。不幸的是，这些方法会产生成本和时间，并不普遍适用于所有类型的流动配置，否则也会引起环境问题。ENSSLED建立在另一种方法上，即使用纳米粒子，这种纳米粒子可以在自身而不是管道壁上形成水垢。结垢后的这些成核剂（SN）可以从流动流中除去。但在实际应用中，由于结垢过程中形成的随机无序形状（菱形晶体或RC），它们经常粘附在管壁上。相反，ENSSLED提出研究球形SN的使用，该SN由一种称为壳聚糖的生物基环境友好材料合成。由于其氨基表面性质，壳聚糖可以诱导膜状矿物生长（通过称为生物矿化的仿生过程）。ENSSLED应用这些原理来控制薄膜形式而不是无序RC形式的SN周围的缩放。通过在结垢期间保持SN的球形形状，可以使SN与管壁的粘附最小化，从而阻止管壁上的结垢形成，并且使得SN之后能够完全恢复。这种独特的仿生策略可以提供一种工业上可接受的和可持续的方法来实现被动式生物降解。ENSSLED计划通过涉及SN合成、壳聚糖（生物聚合物）加工、缩放分析和基于接触力学的粘附测量（SN和管壁之间）的多学科方法来实现这些目标。