Advanced Materials and Emerging Technologies for Water Recycling, Reuse and Desalination

水资源短缺是21世纪最紧迫的挑战之一。这种淡水危机不仅抑制了社会和经济发展，而且还加剧了其他问题，如能源短缺、粮食短缺、生态系统破坏和人类健康。海水淡化以及废水回收和再利用被认为是增加水循环以外水资源的最有效途径。膜基工艺已被证明是从非饮用水源中生产淡水的通用和高效技术。因此，本研究的主要重点是开发能够提高海水淡化效率和降低能耗的新兴膜材料和工艺，以及水的回收和再利用。为了推进这方面的研究，调查将集中在以下几个方面：******a)调查用于海水淡化和水回收再利用的新兴膜基技术；b)开发纳米复合膜；c)优化水和废水处理的电化学工艺。******建议的研究是高度跨学科的，结合了不同的学科，包括环境工程，高分子化学，材料科学，微生物学和化学过程工程。该研究有望开发出高通量、抗污染正向渗透（FO）和全疏膜蒸馏（MD）膜，用于海水淡化和水回收再利用，从而使膜基工艺更有效地用于海水淡化和废水回收。新型防污FO膜将显著降低运营成本，增加膜的“有效寿命”，这意味着更少的更换需求。所提出的抗润湿（全疏水）膜将使MD工艺更适用于处理各种具有挑战性的给水，例如高盐度压裂水和石油和天然气工业生产的水，这些水的反渗透（RO）效果不明显。此外，所提出的电化学膜过滤技术将确保对高强度废水进行有效的预处理，以实现水的循环再利用。总的来说，拟议的研究将有助于确保我们未来的淡水供应，研究成果不仅将使加拿大在水处理领域处于领先地位，而且还将增加我们对维持未来淡水资源的贡献，以造福当地社区、国家和整个世界。拟议的研究还将为培养多名高素质人才提供极好的机会，这些人才将构成加拿大下一代的环境工作人员

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing challenges of the twenty-first century. This fresh water crisis inhibits not only societal and economic development, but also aggravates other issues, such as energy shortages, food scarcity, ecosystem destruction, and human health. Seawater desalination as well as wastewater recycling and reuse are considered the most effective ways to increase water resources beyond the hydrological cycle. Membrane-based processes have proven to be versatile and efficient techniques for the production of fresh water from non-potable water sources. Therefore, the primary focus of this proposed research is to develop emerging membrane materials and processes that can improve efficiency and reduce the energy consumption of water desalination, and water recycling and reuse. To advance this line of research, the investigation will focus on the following aspects:******a) Investigating emerging membrane-based technologies for desalination and water reclamation and reuse; b) Developing nanocomposite membranes, and; c) Optimizing electrochemical processes for water and wastewater treatment.******The proposed research is highly multidisciplinary and combines diverse disciplines including environmental engineering, polymer chemistry, materials science, microbiology, and chemical process engineering. The proposed research is expected to develop high flux, fouling resistant forward osmosis (FO) and omniphobic membrane distillation (MD) membranes for water desalination and water recycling and reuse and, therefore, will render membrane-based processes more efficient for use in desalination and wastewater reclamation. The novel anti-fouling FO membranes will significantly reduce operating costs and increase the “active lifespan” of the membrane, meaning less need for replacement. The proposed anti-wetting (omniphobic) membranes will make the MD process more applicable for treating various challenging feed waters, such as high salinity fracking water and water produced from oil and gas industries, where reverse osmosis (RO) is not effective. As well, the proposed electrochemical membrane filtration technology will ensure effective pretreatment of high-strength waste streams for water recycling and reuse. Overall, the proposed research will help to ensure the future of our fresh water supplies and the research outcomes will not only place Canada in a position of leadership in the field of water treatment, but also increase our contribution toward sustaining future freshwater resources for the benefit of local communities, the nation, and the world in general. The proposed research will also provide excellent opportunities to train multiple highly qualified personnel who will constitute the next generation of Canada's environmental workforce.**