Developing novel electro-spun nano-fibre membrane adsorption systems for water treatment

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Access to safe drinking water is a necessity of life and has been declared by the United Nations as a human right. Although Canada is blessed by its vast water resources, anthropogenic activities over the past few decades have significantly eroded the quality of our water supplies. In 2001, Environment Canada's National Water Institute published a list of 15 threats related to the quality of drinking water sources in Canada, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), trace heavy metals, and pathogens. PPCPs have been detected in sub-ppm levels in many drinking water supplies. Although the long-term effect of PPCPs on human health has not been fully understood, with increasing public awareness all three levels of government in Canada have taken steps to address this rapidly growing issue. Moreover, with the accelerated pace of urbanization and industrialization, point source industrial discharges and urban runoffs have resulted in increased occurrence of trace heavy metals such as arsenic in the water supplies. It is estimated that in the Great Lakes region alone, between 100-1000 tons of trace metals are discharged annually due to runoffs. In the case of arsenic, new standards set by Health Canada (10 ppb) require the upgrading of many of the small water treatment systems. However, the cost of such upgrades is prohibitively large. Microbial contamination of water persists to be a major issue both in developing and developed countries. During 2009-2010, 33 drinking water-associated outbreaks were reported in the U.S., with 1,040 cases of illness, 85 hospitalizations, and nine deaths. In 2000, contaminated drinking water in Walkerton, Ontario caused seven fatalities and more than 2500 hospitalizations. According to Health Canada, as of January 2014, 88 First Nations communities were under drinking water advisories. In this project, we aim to develop novel technologies based on nano-fibrous adsorption membranes that can remove the above contaminants from the drinking water supplies in a cost effective way. Such technologies not only will guide the future regulations, but also will improve the public health and benefit our economy through the creation of new jobs and advancement of Canada's water industry.