Tailoring thin-film nanocomposite membranes for water reuse applications

CBET 1336532奥兰多科罗内尔（PI），霍华德温伯格（共同PI）北卡罗来纳州大学教堂山随着污染和需求对饮用水质量的压力越来越大，需要评估传统水源和处理的替代品。补充饮用水供应的一个有希望的选择是使用从受损的地表沃茨或二级废水流出物的高级处理产生的高质量再循环沃茨。先进的水处理厂通常使用高压膜，因为它们可以通过尺寸排阻，静电排斥和对污染物的低渗透性的组合一步去除大多数污染物。沸石薄膜纳米复合材料（TFNs）是一种新型的高压膜，它可以通过提高水的渗透性来降低膜处理的能耗，而不影响污染物的截留率，在某些情况下甚至可以提高其截留率。虽然TFNs的节能效益在处理低盐度沃茨时要大得多，在文献中没有证据表明TFN已经针对这些应用进行了优化，也没有评估它们对有机污染物的排斥。因此，本项目的目标是：（1）优化沸石TFN用于水回用应用，特别是通过增加水渗透性和新兴关注污染物（CEC）的排斥，（2）了解膜性能如何与膜的物理化学性质相关，以及（3）阐明污染物的物理化学性质与TFN的排斥效率之间的关系。本项目将评估的污染物是根据其对人类和生态健康的潜在危害而选定的，这些污染物在相关沃茨中的出现率很高，并且是总体水质的指标。 选择的污染物包括受管制和不受管制的消毒副产品，美国环境保护署最新污染物候选名单上的化学品，以及其他CEC。 这一跨学科项目将通过开发和评估用于处理低质量水和某些废水的更高效和更有效的膜来降低水再利用的成本。该技术不仅在水处理应用中有益，而且在使用膜分离的领域也有益，例如人工器官、燃料电池、气体分离和其他工业分离。 该项目的研究和教育活动还将产生以下更广泛的社会影响：（1）通过编写和传播科学教育材料加强中等教育，（2）通过传播互动教育材料鼓励科学和工程职业道路，以及（3）为研究生和本科生提供的跨学科和合作研究经验，通过在开发和应用保护公众健康的膜方面的强化培训，将化学和工程领域代表性不足的群体（妇女和少数民族）纳入其中。

CBET 1336532 Orlando Coronell (PI), Howard Weinberg (co-PI)The University of North Carolina at Chapel HillWith increasing stress placed on the quality of drinking water by contamination and demand, alternatives to traditional water sources and treatment need to be evaluated. A promising option for supplementing the drinking water supply is the use of high quality recycled waters produced from the advanced treatment of impaired surface waters or secondary wastewater effluent. Advanced water treatment plants often use high-pressure membranes because they can remove most contaminants in one step through a combination of size exclusion, electrostatic repulsion, and low permeability to contaminants. Zeolite thin film nanocomposites (TFNs) are a new type of high-pressure membrane that can reduce the energy costs of membrane treatment by increasing water permeability without compromising contaminant rejection and in some cases even improving upon it. While the energy saving benefits of TFNs are much greater for the treatment of low salinity waters, there is no evidence in the literature that TFNs have been optimized for these applications nor has their rejection of organic contaminants been evaluated. Accordingly, the objectives of this project are to: (1) optimize zeolite TFNs for water reuse applications, specifically by increasing water permeability and rejection of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), (2) understand how membrane performance is correlated to the physico-chemical properties of membranes, and (3) elucidate the relationship between the physico-chemical properties of contaminants and their rejection efficiency by TFNs. The contaminants that this project will evaluate were selected because of their potential harm to human and ecological health, are of high occurrence in the waters of interest, and are indicators of overall water quality. The contaminants selected include regulated and unregulated disinfection byproducts, chemicals on the latest contaminant candidate list of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other CECs. This interdisciplinary project will decrease the cost of water reuse through the development and evaluation of more efficient and effective membranes for treatment of low quality water and certain wastewaters. This technology will be beneficial not just in water treatment applications but also in fields using membrane separations such as artificial organs, fuel cells, gas separations, and other industrial separations. The research and educational activities of this project will also have the following additional broader and societal impacts: (1) enhancement of secondary education through the development and dissemination of scientific educational materials, (2) encouragement of science and engineering career paths through dissemination of interactive educational materials, and (3) interdisciplinary and collaborative research experience provided to graduate and undergraduate students, including underrepresented groups in chemistry and engineering (women and minorities) through intensive training in the development and application of membranes to protect public health.