CAREER: Accelerating sustainable water treatment using smart ultraviolet light emitting diodes

职业：使用智能紫外线发光二极管加速可持续水处理

基本信息

批准号：
2046660
负责人：
Samuel Snow
金额：
$ 53.49万
依托单位：
Louisiana State University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2021-05-15 至 2026-04-30
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2046660&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
CAREER Accelerating sustainable water treatment

项目摘要

Over the past few decades, light emitting diodes, or LEDs for short, have become a common feature in nearly every home. More recently, researchers have created LEDs that can shine high-energy ultraviolet (UV) rays. UV rays have been widely used in various fields, including in the water treatment industry to kill germs and to remove pollutants in water. However, the adoption of UV technology in the water industry has been hindered by relatively higher cost and low energy efficiency. UV LEDs have many advantages over existing UV light technology due to greater energy efficiency, greater durability, lower cost, and ability for digital interfacing. The goal of this CAREER project is to develop the first Smart UV LED systems utilizing novel rapid pulsed UV LEDs. This will be achieved through a series of experiments to understand the mechanisms for UV catalyzed chemical reactions to kill pathogens and degrade pollutants. Successful completion of this research will provide benefits globally through the development of hand-held devices for more efficient treatment of water at lower cost in remote places. This research will be integrated with an education program focused on engaging middle and high school students in STEM activities to increase scientific literacy. College students will have opportunities for study abroad trips to developing countries to test new devices while training graduate students to perform cutting edge scientific experiments. The overall goal of this project is to develop a mechanistic understanding of UV-LED catalyzed photochemical reactions to enable the design of Smart UV-LED technologies. Specifically, the research objectives are to: 1) identify and select for specific radicals produced during chlorine photolysis to optimize micropollutant degradation in complex water matrices; 2) harness the ability to apply a duty cycle to UV-LED lamps to enhance UV and chemical-UV disinfection processes to disrupt cellular repair and achieve targeted damage of cellular components; and 3) to include high school research interns, undergraduates, and graduate students in the process of designing and testing novel UV-LED devices for application in developing countries. The project will be accomplished using custom-designed LED photoreactors, a suite of state-of-the-science radical characterization techniques based on electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and microbiological assays to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of cellular disruption. Portable, Smart UV-LED devices will be constructed using Arduino microcontrollers to control the pulse frequency and duty cycle. Together, these improvements will pave the way for the next leap forward in sustainable water treatment, water reuse, and point-of-use technologies. Successful completion of this research will have potential to contribute to fundamental scientific advancement in related fields such as polymer curing and photolithography. The research will be tightly integrated with STEM education and outreach efforts to train and encourage the next generation of leaders in water science and technology.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.

在过去的几十年中，发射二极管或简称LED已成为几乎每个家庭的共同特征。最近，研究人员创建了可以发光高能紫外线（UV）射线的LED。紫外线已被广泛用于各个领域，包括在水处理行业中杀死细菌并去除水中的污染物。但是，较高的成本和低能源效率，阻碍了水行业中紫外线技术的采用。由于能源效率更高，耐用性，更低的成本和数字接口的能力，紫外线LED比现有UV轻型技术具有许多优势。该职业项目的目标是利用新型快速脉冲紫外线LED开发第一个智能紫外线LED系统。这将通过一系列实验来了解紫外线催化的化学反应的机制，以杀死病原体和降解污染物。这项研究的成功完成将通过开发手持设备的开发在全球范围内提供福利，从而在偏远的地方以较低的成本对水进行更有效的处理。这项研究将与一项旨在使中学生参与STEM活动以提高科学素养的教育计划。大学生将有机会前往发展中国家学习新设备，同时培训研究生进行最先进的科学实验。该项目的总体目标是对紫外线领导的催化光化学反应有一种机械理解，以实现智能紫外线领导的技术的设计。具体而言，研究目标是：1）识别并选择在氯光解过程中产生的特定自由基，以优化复杂水基质中的微污染物降解； 2）利用将占空比循环应用于UV领导的灯的能力，以增强紫外线和化学 - 紫外消毒过程，以破坏细胞修复并实现细胞成分的靶向损害； 3）在设计和测试以紫外线领导的新型设备来应用发展中国家，包括高中研究实习生，本科生和研究生。该项目将使用定制设计的LED光电反应器，基于电子自旋谐振光谱的科学自由度表征技术以及微生物学测定法，以阐明细胞破坏的潜在机制。将使用Arduino微控制器来构建便携式，智能UV领导的设备，以控制脉冲频率和占空比。这些改进将为可持续水处理，水资源和使用点技术的下一个飞跃铺平道路。这项研究的成功完成将有可能为相关领域（例如聚合物固化和光刻学）的基本科学发展做出贡献。这项研究将与STEM教育和外展紧密融合，以训练和鼓励水科学技术领域的下一代领导者。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，认为值得通过评估来获得支持。