Development of novel UV reactors operating with microplasma technology for water treatment

本研究项目应用新兴技术机遇来解决与清洁饮用水相关的重要健康/环境挑战。微腔等离子体或“微等离子体”照明技术是一种新的光源，能够产生不同波长的紫外（UV）辐射在一个细长和平坦的形式。这项技术为开发新型紫外线净水器创造了机会，从而扩大了紫外线技术的范围和适用性，在过去几年中，紫外线技术被认为是最好的水净化替代品之一。**在拟议的研究计划中，我们计划研究如何利用微等离子体紫外线的某些独特特征来显著改善水的净化。我们将研究微等离子体紫外水处理的基本原理及其在新型紫外反应器开发中的应用。此外，我们将研究微等离子体紫外线的几个独特特性的影响，这些特性可能会导致更有效的水净化方法。此外，我们将模拟、设计和制造原始的微等离子体紫外反应器原型，以确定这种新兴技术在水净化方面的能力及其新的潜在应用。**总的来说，我们的团队在UV反应器的开发和应用方面拥有超过30年的工业，学术界和社区经验。我们与三家加拿大UV公司有强有力的支持和合作伙伴关系，这些公司贡献了工业专业知识，并为该技术的商业化提供了潜在途径。我们的国际合作伙伴是世界领先的紫外线微等离子体辐照器制造商。**我们期望这个项目能够开发出新一代具有特殊功能的高效紫外光反应器，并有可能在项目完成后的短短几年内推向市场。经济效益，可能达到数百万美元，可能会被加拿大紫外线反应器制造商资本化，其全球销售额可观。****

This research program applies an emerging technological opportunity to address an important health/environmental challenge associated with clean drinking water. Microcavity plasma or "microplasma" lighting technology is a new light source capable of generating ultraviolet (UV) radiation of different wavelengths in a slim and flat form. This technology creates the opportunity for the development of novel UV-based water purifiers, thereby expanding the reach and applicability of UV technology, which has come to be considered one of the best water purification alternatives in the last few years.** In the proposed research program, we plan to investigate how certain distinctive features of microplasma UV can be utilized to significantly improve water purification. We will study the fundamentals of microplasma UV for water treatment and its application in the development of novel UV reactors. Further, we will investigate the impact of several unique characteristics of microplasma UV, which are likely to result in much more efficient methods of water purification. Furthermore, we will simulate, design, and fabricate original microplasma UV reactor prototypes to identify the capabilities of this emerging technology for water purification as well as its new potential applications. ** Collectively, our team has over 30 years of experience in industry, academia, and communities on the development and application of UV reactors. We have strong support and partnership with three Canadian UV companies that contribute industrial expertise and provide a potential pathway to commercialization of the technology. Our international collaborator is a world-leading manufacturer of UV microplasma irradiators. ** We expect this project to result in the development of a new generation of highly efficient UV photoreactors with special features, which could potentially be marketed within a short few years of the completion of the project. The financial benefits, potentially amounting to millions of dollars, will likely be capitalized upon by Canadian manufacturers of UV reactors with substantial global sales.****