SusChEM: Beyond Thermal Separations: Development of Ultra High Pressure Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Energy Efficient Desalination of Hypersaline Brines

建议编号：CBET 1701658高盐度工业废水的处理，例如来自石油和天然气工业、燃煤发电厂和内陆海水淡化设施的废水，是一个重大挑战。与工业废水处理相关的成本上升和环境问题要求开发低成本、节能的处理技术，以实现水的再利用，同时最大限度地减少需要处理的废水的量。与基于膜的反渗透(RO)工艺相比，目前的热法海水淡化技术效率相对较低且成本较高，后者大大降低了海水淡化的能源消耗和成本；然而，由于目前反渗透膜系统所能承受的最大水力有限(通常约为75bar)，传统的反渗透技术只能处理或浓缩高达海水盐度约两倍的给水。因此，传统的反渗透不能用于处理工业废水，因为工业废水的含盐量通常是海水的几倍。PI试图开发和表征新的反渗透膜，这种膜可以在高达400巴的超高压下运行。这些膜将促进高压反渗透(HPRO)或超高压反渗透(UHPRO)系统的开发，这些系统能够以能源效率和成本效益的方式处理高盐度工业废水。为了促进多样性和加强代表不足的群体对科学和工程的参与，PI将参与耶鲁大学的K-12外联活动，并通过研究和高级项目对本科生进行培训，以及研究生研究和学术生涯培训。该项目的具体目标包括：(I)提供对膜压实的基本了解，以及高度耐压力的TFC反渗透膜的理想支撑层性能；(Ii)利用为HPRO和UHPRO操作量身定做的聚合物和金属支撑物上的牺牲纳米链和层来开发聚酰胺选择性层，以及(Iii)分析在超高压和盐度下反渗透膜中的水和盐的传输行为。PIS将开发HPRO和UHPRO膜的新制造技术，并研究超高压和盐度下的基本膜性质和质量传输行为。这种突破性的膜将使反渗透技术的应用范围扩大到对大量高盐度盐水进行脱盐/浓缩，从而大大节省能源和成本。

PI Name: Menachem ElimelechProposal Number: CBET 1701658The treatment of high-salinity industrial wastewaters, such as those from the oil and gas industry, coal-fired power plants, and inland desalination facilities, is a major challenge. Rising costs and environmental concerns associated with the disposal of industrial wastewaters necessitate the development of low-cost, energy-efficient treatment technologies that can allow for water reuse while minimizing the volume of wastewater requiring disposal. Current thermal desalination technologies are relatively inefficient and expensive compared with membrane-based reverse osmosis (RO) processes, which have dramatically lowered the energy consumption and cost of seawater desalination; however, conventional RO can only treat or concentrate feedwaters up to approximately twice the salinity of seawater because of the limited maximum hydraulic pressure that current RO membrane systems can tolerate (typically about 75 bar). Therefore, conventional RO cannot be used to treat industrial wastewaters, which are typically several times more saline than seawater. The PIs seek to develop and characterize new RO membranes that can operate at very high pressures of up to 400 bar. These membranes will facilitate the development of high-pressure RO (HPRO) or ultra-high pressure RO (UHPRO) systems that are capable of treating high-salinity industrial wastewaters in an energy efficient and cost effective manner. To promote diversity and to enhance the involvement of under-represented groups in science and engineering, the PI will be engaged in Yale's K-12 outreach activities and in the training of undergraduate students through research and senior-level projects, and graduate student training for research and academic careers.Specific objectives of the project include: (i) providing fundamental understanding of membrane compaction and the ideal support layer properties for highly pressure-tolerant TFC RO membranes, (ii) developing a polyamide selective layer using sacrificial nanostrand layers on polymeric and metallic supports tailored for HPRO and UHPRO operation, and (iii) analyzing water and salt transport behavior through RO membranes at ultra-high pressures and salinities. The PIs will develop new fabrication techniques for HPRO and UHPRO membranes and investigate fundamental membrane properties and mass transport behavior at ultra-high pressures and salinities. Such breakthrough membranes would enable the expanded application of RO to desalination/concentration of large volumes of highly saline brines, which would in turn result in significant energy and cost savings.