Advancing Resource Recovery from Waste Streams

在全球范围内，由于城市化和工业化的稳步发展，产生了越来越多的废物和废水。这导致严重的环境退化，威胁到地球的可持续性。然而，如果管理得当，可以通过回收水和磷等重要营养物质等宝贵资源来产生重大的经济活动。磷（P）是所有生物所必需的;由于过度消耗，P的矿物沉积正在耗尽。虽然从各种废物中回收磷的研究还处于初级阶段，但这已经是一个价值42亿美元的全球机会。加拿大拥有丰富的淡水资源，但分布不均和干旱导致一些地区经常缺水。循环再造各工业活动的用水，是有效的水资源管理方法，可减轻有关行业的食水负担。在本提案中，我们将讨论对加拿大经济至关重要的三个重要的水密集型行业。水产养殖是增长最快的食品行业之一。凭借广阔的沿海地理，丰富的淡水和既定的全球贸易路线，加拿大拥有63.5亿美元的经济活动，在水产养殖方面具有重大优势。水产养殖废水中含有蛋白质、激素、抗生素等多种有机物，但富含磷（P），高达1000 mg/L以上，在处理出水时可回收P。纸浆和造纸（P&P）是加拿大经济的重要组成部分，对GDP的贡献为78.4亿加元。由于存在许多有毒有机物，如树脂酸、单宁等，P&P废水对接收水体造成重大损害。传统的石油和天然气开采产生高度复杂的废水（采出水，每年每口井200 - 1600万升）。高盐度是处理和再利用这一大量水的关键限制之一。在接下来的五年里，该发现计划的具体目标是：（i）开发和优化水产养殖的处理方案，特别强调磷的回收，（ii）改进膜蒸馏工艺，以处理高盐度水，以及（iii）评估旋转带式过滤器从P&P工厂废水中去除颗粒磷和有毒疏水化合物的性能。拟议的计划将培养三名博士，三名MESc和五名UG使用优秀的CFI和RTI资助的最先进的基础设施在我的实验室，化学工程和温室的共同实验室（测试回收P）在西部大学和兰顿学院，在特洛伊和USP技术的工业实习，和Pall Water使用安全的Mitacs赠款。拟议的研究将导致传统有机膜的创新，包括高表面积石墨烯和二氧化钛纳米管（TNT），用于电凝聚的新型电极和电池设计，以及基于绿色化学的新型吸附剂用于回收P。

Globally, increasing volumes of waste and wastewater are generated due to steady rise in urbanization and industrialization. This causes serious environmental degradation threatening sustainability of the planet. However, properly managed, significant economic activities can be generated by recovering valuable resources such as water and important nutrients like phosphorus. Phosphorus (P) is essential for all living things; mineral deposits of P are depleting due to over consumption. Although, P recovery research from various wastes is at initial stages, it is already a global opportunity of US$ 4.2 billion. Canada is rich in freshwater resources, but uneven distribution and drought create routine water shortages in several parts. Recycling water from various industrial activities is an effective way of water management, reducing the fresh water burden of the relevant industry. In this proposal, we will address three important water-intensive industries, important to Canadian economy. Aquaculture is among the fastest growing food sectors. With enormous coastal geography, an abundance of freshwater and established global trade routes, Canada has major advantages for aquaculture with $6.35 billion in economic activity. Aquaculture wastewater contains numerous organic compounds mainly protein, hormones and antibiotics, but rich in phosphorus (P), as high as =1000 mg/L; P can be recovered while treating the effluent. Pulp and paper (P&P) are an important part of the Canadian economy with $7.84 billion contribution to GDP. P&P effluents cause significant damages to receiving water bodies due to the presence of many toxic organics such as resin acids, tannins, etc. Conventional oil and gas extraction produce a highly complex wastewater (produced water, 2.0-16 million liters per well per year). The elevated salinity is one of the key limitations for treatment and reuse of this vast amount of water. Over the next five years, the specific objectives of this Discovery program are: (i) development and optimization of treatment scheme for aquaculture with special emphasis on P recovery, (ii) improved membrane distillation process to treat water with high salinity, and (iii) evaluate the performance of a rotary belt filter for removal of particulate P, and toxic hydrophobic compounds from P&P mill effluents. The proposed program will train three PhD, three MESc and five UG using excellent CFI and RTI funded state-of-the-art infrastructure at my laboratory, common laboratory at chemical engineering and Greenhouse (testing recovered P) at Western University and Lambton College, with industrial internships at Trojan and USP Technologies, and Pall Water using secured Mitacs grants. The proposed research will lead to innovations in traditional organic membranes incorporating high surface area graphene and titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs), novel electrode and cell design for electrocoagulation, and new adsorbents based on green chemistry for recovering P.