A Refrigerated High Speed Centrifuge for Water Science and Technology Research

自2010年以来，获得安全饮用水一直被联合国视为基本人权。不幸的是，超过12亿人无法获得安全饮用水（1）。此外，许多有限的地表水源受到未经处理的废水的污染。每天，超过200万吨的人类排泄物被倾倒入水体;在发展中国家，超过70%的工业废水未经处理就进入接收水体。因此，非常需要对水科学以及水和废水净化技术有基本的了解，以解决全球水资源短缺问题。自2002年以来，申请人（廖宝强博士）的研究一直专注于确定下一代水净化技术。他们的研究主要有三个主题：1）。开发用于饮用水生产的先进膜过滤技术; 2.）开发先进的膜生物反应器技术，用于可持续的废水处理、生物能源生产和系统关闭;以及3.）森林废弃物生物炼制和微藻的先进膜技术开发 种植、收获和生物燃料生产。所有这些研究都需要对水的特性、水处理系统及其对水净化的影响有基本的了解。 水科学和技术是湖首大学的战略研究重点之一。有10多名教师在这些研究领域工作。为了促进这些领域的前沿研究，最先进的研究设施，如冷冻高速离心机（RHSC），对于水和废水中的水生胶体颗粒和生物聚合物表征至关重要。拟议的RHSC系统将提供有关水生胶体颗粒和水溶性聚合物和生物聚合物的浓度和大小的基本信息。这是必不可少的发展的理解水生胶体颗粒，聚合物和生物聚合物分子与膜的相互作用，从而优化膜分离系统及其对处理后的污水毒性的影响。这些设备将大大推进申请人的研究计划。这一设备将提供高素质人员的培训，并提高膜和生物废水处理系统的工艺效率、工艺设计和操作，从而降低运行成本和膜的寿命，并降低经处理的废水的质量。预计拟议的RHSC的增加将大大提高这些领域的研究能力，并为安大略西北部和加拿大提供HQP培训的机会。 (1)Shannon等人（2008），Nature，452，301-310.

Access to safe drinking water has been considered a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN) since 2010. Unfortunately, more than 1.2 billion people have no access to safe drinking water (1). Further, many of the limited surface water sources are polluted by untreated wastewaters. Every day, more than two million tons of human waste are dumped into water bodies; and more than 70% of industrial wastewater enters into receiving water bodies untreated in developing countries (1). Thus, it is highly desirable to develop a fundamental understanding of water science, and water and wastewater purification technologies to solve water scarcity problems globally. The applicant's (Dr. Baoqiang Liao) research has been focused on identifying the next generation of technologies for water purification since 2002. There are three main themes in their research: 1.) Development of advanced membrane filtration technologies for drinking water production; 2.)Development of advanced membrane bioreactor technologies for sustainable wastewater treatment, bioenergy production, and system closure; and 3.) Development of advanced membrane technologies for forest wastes biorefinery and microalgae cultivation, harvesting and biofuel production. All of this research requires a fundamental understanding of water characteristics, water treatment systems, and their impact on water purification. Water science and technology are among the strategic research priorities of Lakehead University. There are more than 10 faculty members working in these research areas. To facilitate cutting-edge research in these areas, state-of-the-art research facilities, like a refrigerated high speed centrifuge (RHSC), are essential and required for aquatic colloidal particles and biopolymers characterization in water and wastewater. The proposed RHSC system will provide fundamental information on the concentrations and sizes of aquatic colloidal particles and water soluble polymers and biopolymers. This is essential for the development of an understanding of aquatic colloidal particles, polymers, and biopolymer molecular interactions with membranes and thus optimization of membrane separation systems and their impact on treated effluent toxicity. This equipment will advance the applicants' research program significantly. This equipment will provide training of highly qualified personnel (HQPs) and improve process efficiency, process design and operations of membrane and biological wastewater treatment systems, and thus reduce the operating cost and the lifespan of membranes and the quality of treated effluent. It is anticipated that the addition of the proposed RHSC will enhance the research capacity in these areas significantly and provide opportunities of HQP training in Northwestern Ontario and Canada. (1) Shannon et al. (2008), Nature, 452, 301-310.