SBIR Phase I: Bendable Ceramic Paper Membranes

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目致力于前所未有的高性能和低成本陶瓷膜的制造和表征-可弯曲的陶瓷纳米线膜。膜分离过滤是现代工业的重要组成部分。有机聚合物膜因其制造成本低、柔性好等特点，在这些市场中占据主导地位。尽管陶瓷膜具有优异的性能，但由于其高昂的制造成本和僵硬的结构，并未被广泛采用。在这个项目中，NoVarials将应用一种新的制造策略，以高质量和低成本的陶瓷纳米线为基础制造下一代陶瓷膜。这些陶瓷膜(1)将与聚合物膜一样弯曲和灵活，从而可以集成到螺旋缠绕系统中，以获得高膜填充密度，是传统陶瓷膜的5-10倍；(2)将以低成本制造，仅为传统陶瓷膜的10-20%；(3)将是不含有机添加剂的纯陶瓷，因此具有陶瓷材料的所有优越性能；(4)将拥有直径为2-100 nm的纳米孔径，用于柔性玻璃纤维膜失效的超滤。这些陶瓷纳米线膜将成为膜工业的颠覆性技术。陶瓷膜具有柔性和可弯曲性、制造成本低、温度稳定性高、对酸、碱和氯化学惰性、使用寿命长以及纳米孔等诸多优点的前所未有的结合，将使其迅速渗透到目前的传统陶瓷膜市场。此外，对于目前以有机聚合物膜为主的市场，陶瓷膜将是一个强大的竞争对手，在传统陶瓷膜因高成本而失效以及聚合物膜因稳定性较低而失效的新应用中，陶瓷膜将是一个高潜力的候选者。该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-5)资助。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project addresses the fabrication and characterization of unprecedented high performance and low cost ceramic membranes - Bendable Ceramic Nanowire Membranes. Membrane-based separation and filtration is a significant part of modern industries. Organic polymer membranes, due to their low manufacture cost and flexible feature, are dominating these markets. Ceramic membranes, despite their intrinsically superior properties, have not been widely adopted due to their high manufacture cost and rigid structures. In this program, Novarials will apply a novel fabrication strategy to make next-generation ceramic membranes based on high quality and low cost ceramic nanowires. These ceramic membranes (1) will be as bendable and flexible as polymer membranes so that they can be integrated into spiral wound systems to achieve high membrane packing density which is 5 to 10 times that of conventional ceramic membranes; (2) will be manufactured at low cost which is 10~20% of conventional ceramic membranes; (3) will be pure ceramic without organic additives, and thus pertain all the superior properties of ceramic materials; (4) will posses nanosized pore of 2 to 100nm in diameter for ultrafiltration where flexible glass fiber membranes failed.These ceramic nanowire membranes will be a disruptive technology in membrane industry. The unprecedented combination of many advantages of the ceramic membranes including flexibility and bendability, low manufacture cost, high stability to temperature, chemical inertness to acids, bases and chlorine, long operation life, as well as nanosized pores, will make them quickly penetrate into the current markets of conventional ceramic membranes. In addition, the ceramic membranes will be a strong competitor to current organic polymer membrane-dominated markets and a high potential candidate for new applications where conventional ceramic membranes failed due to high cost and where polymer membranes failed due to low stability.This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).