STTR Phase I: Nano Functionalized Capacitive Deionization For Water Purification

这项小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是进一步开发一种技术，从而释放大量新的水供应。该技术可以潜在地为反渗透（RO）提供急需的替代水净化技术，反渗透（RO）是目前应用最广泛的适用于总溶解固体的技术。拟议的技术旨在解决水再利用、水循环、水净化、微咸海水淡化和无盐水软化等方面未满足的需求。该解决方案可适用于水质，包括受总溶解固体、硝酸盐、砷、氟化物和其他污染物损害的供水。该技术可应用于电网、商业和工业过程中，用于使用低质量的灰水、废水、再用水、地下水和住宅用水。这个项目的成功将有助于减轻与水有关的环境、社会和经济威胁。STTR一期项目旨在优化第三代电容去离子电极，以提高充电效率、能源利用率、水回收率、使用寿命和进料浓度。最初的目标是从矿物或盐污染的饲料中去除至少2000ppm，并以低成本回收至少70%。将探索更高浓度的水杂质，以确定操作包络线。计划中的实验旨在帮助量化离子基团的表面功能化如何提高电荷效率并影响重要的电子特性，如电容、电阻和使用寿命。这些特性将根据不同的进料溶液浓度、特定浓度进料溶液的净化能力、水回收率和纳米级电极孔隙特征进行交叉检查。不同链长的离子分子将被测试其将共离子排斥从介孔延伸到电容电极的大孔部分的能力。将进行吸附研究，以确定附着在纳米级电极孔表面的离子基团的数量，并确定它们附着的稳健性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to further develop a technology that will unlock large new supplies of water. The technology can potentially provide a much-needed alternative to reverse osmosis (RO) for water purification, currently the most widely used technology applicable to total dissolved solids. The proposed technology seeks to address unmet needs in water reuse, water recycling, water purification, brackish desalination, and salt-less water softening. The solution may be applicable to water quality, including water supplies impaired with total dissolved solids, nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, and other contaminants. The technology may have applications in electric grid, commercial, and industrial processes for the use of low-quality grey water, wastewater, re-used water, ground water, and residential water. Success of this project would help in mitigating environmental, social, and economic threats related to water. This STTR Phase I project seeks to enable optimization of third generation capacitive deionization electrodes for improved charge efficiency, energy usage, water recovery, lifetime and feed concentration. An initial target is to remove at least 2000 ppm from a mineral- or salt-contaminated feed and recover at least 70% at low cost. Higher concentrations of water impurities will be explored to determine the operational envelope. The planned experiments intend to help quantitate how surface functionalization with ionic groups increases charge efficiency and affects important electronic properties such as capacitance, resistance, and operating lifetime. These properties will be cross checked against different feed solution concentrations, the ability to purify a given concentration of feed solution, water recovery, and nanoscale electrode pore characteristics. Ionic molecules of different chain lengths will be tested for their ability to extend co-ion exclusion beyond mesopores into the macropore portion of capacitive electrodes. Adsorption studies will be performed to determine the number of ionic groups attached to the nanoscale electrode pore surfaces and to determine the robustness of their attachment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.