Exploring and imaging nano- to micro-scale graphite-organic interactions underpinning novel water treatments

在本项目中，将评估这一工艺在销毁合成和复杂（天然）水体中的各种有机和有机金属化合物，如农药、药品、多环芳烃和三丁基锡方面的有效性。这将使用小型/实验室规模的装置以及较大的工业规模的治疗装置来完成。各种最先进的分析和成像技术，包括气相色谱和/或液相色谱质谱法，衰减全反射和原位多次内反射傅里叶变换红外光谱法，和透射电子显微镜将被用来检查背后的基本关系的附件，分离和可能的碎片化反应发生在吸附剂表面上的过程中。这些将包括实验，以取代的起始材料，并获得非原位反应表面的快照。为了补充成像工作，我们还将利用最近NERC资助的NIAFEM（纳米成像和环境材料分析）仪器，这是在英国独一无二的，结合了环境扫描电子显微镜，-拉曼和-X射线荧光。这些技术有可能允许在单个和亚颗粒水平上的有机组成和结构的详细信息。吸附物-有机物相互作用的模型将用于产生不同类别的有机/有机金属污染物的预测模型。重要的是，实验室规模和更大规模实验的协同作用，最先进的分析/成像技术和建模的使用将允许推断破坏过程的有效性，为我们对这种潜在重要的新型水处理方法的理解提供一个步骤的变化。从事这个跨学科项目的学生将获得水文学，有机（地质）化学，环境矿物学/表面化学和分析（地质）化学，并将适合在任何这些领域的背景的学生。他/她将设在地球与环境科学学院，并将有机会获得世界一流的设施，包括最近翻新的有机地球化学实验室和NERC资助的NIAFEM设施，在威廉姆森研究中心分子环境科学在UoM。将在同行评审出版物的论文中记录产出。学生将与该项目的工业合作伙伴Arvia Technology UK密切合作，带来适当的研究预算增强，获得工业规模的单位进行更大规模的实验，并接触到蓬勃发展的工业环境。阿维亚技术有限公司已经在朗科恩的希思商业和技术园建立了研究设施，将吸附与电化学再生相结合的（专利）过程商业化，以破坏含水有机物。它获得了众多创新，可持续性和实施奖项（IChemE，IET，RSC，Innovate 10，Rushlight，4 I），并在卫报的全球清洁技术100强名单中脱颖而出。学生将担任UoM和Arvia之间的联络人，并负责将本项目期间获得的所有重要学术知识转化为具有工业价值和实用的流程/协议。他/她还将参与Arvia内部的一系列商业活动，将被要求定期参加Arvia的技术团队会议，并最好每月（双月）提交一次研究更新。这将确保学生能够了解水务行业所需的监管要求、行业内的商业地位和机会以及知识产权意识。该项目汇集了一批在上述领域具有互补经验的（学术）主管和水务行业的集体经验。

In this project the effectiveness of this process for the destruction of a variety of organic and organometallic compounds, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and tributyltin, in synthetic and complex (natural) water matrices will beassessed. This will be done using, small/lab scale set ups as well as larger, industry size treatment units. A variety of state of the art analytical and imaging technologies, including gas chromatography and/or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance and in situ multiple internal reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy will be used to examine the fundamental relationships behind the attachment, detachment and possible fragmentation reactions that occur on the adsorbent surface during the process. These will include experiments to characterise the starting material and to acquire snapshots of ex situ reacted surfaces. To complement the imaging work we will also utilise the recently NERC-funded NIAFEM (Nanoscale Imaging and analysis of environmental materials) instrument, which is unique in the UK and combines environmental scanning electron microscopy, -Raman and -X-ray fluorescence. These techniques have the potential to allow detailed information about the organic composition and structure at the single and sub-particle level. Modelling of adsorbate-organics interactions will be used to produce predictive models for different classes of organic/organometallic contaminants. Critically, the synergy of the lab scale and larger scale experiments, the use of state of the art analytical/imaging techniques and modelling will allow the effectiveness of the destruction process to be deduced, providing a step change in our understanding of this potentially important novel water treatment method.The student working on this cross-disciplinary project will gain a wide breadth of training in hydrology, organic (geo)chemistry, environmental mineralogy/surface chemistry and analytical (geo)chemistry and would suit a student with a background in any of these fields. He/she will be based in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and will have access to world-class facilities, including the recently refurbished Organic Geochemistry Laboratories and the NERC-funded NIAFEM facility, in the Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science at UoM. Outputs will be captured in a thesis of peer reviewed publications. The student will work closely with the industrial partner in this project, Arvia Technology UK, bringing appropriate research budget enhancements, access to industry size units for the larger scale experiments and exposure to a thriving industrial environment. Arvia Technology Ltd has established research facilities at The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn to commercialise the (patented) process of adsorption coupled with electrochemical regeneration for the destruction of aqueous organics. It has received a multitude of awards for innovation, sustainability and implementation (IChemE, IET, RSC, Innovate 10, Rushlight, 4I) and also featured on the Guardian's Global Cleantech 100 List. The student will act as the liaison between UoM and Arvia and will be responsible for the transfer of all essential academic knowledge acquired during this project into industrially valuable and useful processes/protocols. He/she will also be involved in a range of commercial activities within Arvia, will be required to regularly attend Arvia's technical team meetings and present research updates ideally on a (bi)monthly basis. This will ensure that the student will gain an understanding of the regulatory requirements needed in the water industry, the commercial position and opportunities within the industry and IP awareness.This project brings together a team of (academic) supervisors with complementary experience in the fields mentioned above and collective experience of wat