SBIR Phase I: A Portable Water Treatment Unit Using Microfluidic Cavitation Mechanism

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目建议使用高效的基于微流体的工艺来清洁和消毒受污染的水。Veloctron将建造便携式水处理装置，并测试其杀灭病原体和去除颗粒的效率。将测试使用微气泡团去除污染物的可行性，以及随后通过内爆气泡团降解病原体和化合物的可行性。这项研究的更广泛/商业影响是提供解决办法，使在危机中或在没有适当水卫生基础设施的地区能够使用可能受污染的水。使用未经处理的水对全世界人民的健康构成严重威胁。根据疾病预防控制中心的数据，超过1亿美国人从地下水中获取水供应，超过50%的水传播疾病爆发是由于未经处理的水。此外，在洪水、飓风、地震或恐怖袭击等危机期间，清洁水源可能受到污染，这带来了额外的挑战，因为现有的水处理基础设施可能无法及时作出反应。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project propose to use a highly effective microfluidic based process to clean and disinfect contaminated water. Veloctron will build the portable water treatment unit and test the efficiency in killing pathogens and removing particles. The feasibility of removing contaminants using micro bubble clusters and the subsequent degradation of pathogens and chemical compounds by imploding the bubble clusters will be tested. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are to provide solutions that would enable the use of potentially contaminated water in a crisis or in areas without proper water sanitation infrastructures. The use of untreated water poses a severe health threat to populations throughout the world. According to the CDC, over 100 million Americans obtain their water supply from ground water,and over 50% of the reported waterborne outbreaks were due to untreated water. In addition, the potential contamination of clean water sources during crises such as flooding, hurricanes, earth quakes, or terrorist attack poses additional challenges because the established water treatment infrastructure may be unavailable to respond in time.