Advanced Materials and Emerging Technologies for Water Recycling, Reuse and Desalination

缺水是二十一世纪最紧迫的挑战之一。这一淡水危机不仅阻碍了社会和经济发展，而且还加剧了其他问题，如能源短缺、粮食短缺、生态系统破坏和人类健康。海水淡化以及废水回收和再利用被认为是在水文循环之外增加水资源的最有效途径。以膜为基础的工艺已被证明是从非饮用水水源生产淡水的通用和有效技术。因此，本研究的主要重点是开发新型的膜材料和工艺，以提高海水淡化的效率和降低能耗，以及水的回收和再利用。为了推进这一研究方向，这项研究将集中在以下几个方面：*a)研究海水淡化和水回收利用的新兴膜技术；b)开发纳米复合膜；c)优化水和废水处理的电化学过程。*拟议的研究是高度多学科的，涉及环境工程、聚合物化学、材料科学、微生物学和化学过程工程等多个学科。这项拟议的研究有望开发高通量、耐污染的正向渗透(FO)和全憎膜蒸馏(MD)膜，用于海水淡化和水的循环再利用，因此，将使基于膜的过程更有效地用于海水淡化和废水回收。新型防污染FO膜将显著降低运行成本，并延长膜的“有效寿命”，这意味着需要更少的更换。提出的防湿(全疏水)膜将使MD工艺更适用于处理各种具有挑战性的给水，如高盐度水力压裂水和反渗透(RO)无效的石油和天然气工业生产的水。此外，建议的电化学膜过滤技术将确保对高强度废水进行有效的预处理，以实现水的回收和再利用。总体而言，拟议的研究将有助于确保我们淡水供应的未来，研究结果不仅将使加拿大在水处理领域处于领先地位，而且还将增加我们对维持未来淡水资源的贡献，造福当地社区、国家和整个世界。拟议的研究还将提供极好的机会，培训多名高素质的人员，他们将构成加拿大的下一代环境劳动力。

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing challenges of the twenty-first century. This fresh water crisis inhibits not only societal and economic development, but also aggravates other issues, such as energy shortages, food scarcity, ecosystem destruction, and human health. Seawater desalination as well as wastewater recycling and reuse are considered the most effective ways to increase water resources beyond the hydrological cycle. Membrane-based processes have proven to be versatile and efficient techniques for the production of fresh water from non-potable water sources. Therefore, the primary focus of this proposed research is to develop emerging membrane materials and processes that can improve efficiency and reduce the energy consumption of water desalination, and water recycling and reuse. To advance this line of research, the investigation will focus on the following aspects:******a) Investigating emerging membrane-based technologies for desalination and water reclamation and reuse; b) Developing nanocomposite membranes, and; c) Optimizing electrochemical processes for water and wastewater treatment.******The proposed research is highly multidisciplinary and combines diverse disciplines including environmental engineering, polymer chemistry, materials science, microbiology, and chemical process engineering. The proposed research is expected to develop high flux, fouling resistant forward osmosis (FO) and omniphobic membrane distillation (MD) membranes for water desalination and water recycling and reuse and, therefore, will render membrane-based processes more efficient for use in desalination and wastewater reclamation. The novel anti-fouling FO membranes will significantly reduce operating costs and increase the “active lifespan” of the membrane, meaning less need for replacement. The proposed anti-wetting (omniphobic) membranes will make the MD process more applicable for treating various challenging feed waters, such as high salinity fracking water and water produced from oil and gas industries, where reverse osmosis (RO) is not effective. As well, the proposed electrochemical membrane filtration technology will ensure effective pretreatment of high-strength waste streams for water recycling and reuse. Overall, the proposed research will help to ensure the future of our fresh water supplies and the research outcomes will not only place Canada in a position of leadership in the field of water treatment, but also increase our contribution toward sustaining future freshwater resources for the benefit of local communities, the nation, and the world in general. The proposed research will also provide excellent opportunities to train multiple highly qualified personnel who will constitute the next generation of Canada's environmental workforce.**