PFI-TT: Water disinfection using safe and sustainable copper combined with a locally enhanced electric field

PFI-TT：使用安全且可持续的铜结合局部增强电场进行水消毒

• 批准号: 2329669
• 负责人: Xing Xie
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2329669&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; TT; Water; disinfection; using

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project are to enable safer, more sustainable approaches to disinfecting water while minimizing the use of chlorine and its harmful disinfection byproducts. It is still a challenge finding suitable alternatives to chlorine, but using naturally abundant copper metal may be the solution. The proposed innovation combines the natural antimicrobial properties of copper with a low voltage, locally enhanced electric field to reduce the consumption of both copper and electricity, cut annual operational cost, and minimize disinfection byproducts. With the successful maturation and commercialization of this technology, the long-term goal is to launch a spin-off company to manufacture and provide alternative and sustainable solutions for water disinfection across many potential market segments (point-of-use at home, swimming pools and spas, commercial hot water lines, etc.) to minimize the negative health impacts currently associated with standard chlorine-based disinfection. Beyond this goal, all undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students involved in the project will gain the technical and entrepreneurial skills to tackle problems with evidence-based decision-making and an entrepreneurial mindset, further enabling their success for translating innovations in the future.The proposed project focuses on the further development and maturation of a chlorine-free water disinfection technology that synergistically combines locally enhanced electric field treatment and the natural biocidal effect of copper ions (LEEFT-Cu) to kill pathogens. This approach enables highly effective microbial inactivation with low copper doses and low electrical energy consumption. The underlying mechanism exploits the enhanced electric field attributed to the coaxial electrode configuration, which increases the permeability of cell membranes for microbial copper uptake, resulting in more efficient inactivation. The main goal of this PFI-TT project is to address knowledge gaps and technical barriers of the LEEFT-Cu technology identified through our previous market research and customer discovery. During this project, we will 1) test the antimicrobial efficiency of LEEFT-Cu for different microorganisms; 2) study the effect of water temperature on the performance of LEEFT-Cu; 3) develop strategies that allow LEEFT-Cu to be effective for water with higher conductivities; 4) increase the loading and utilization of Cu in LEEFT-Cu devices to reduce the in-use replacement frequency and cost; and 5) evaluate the scalability and implementation of LEEFT-Cu through a pilot test with an industry partner.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.

该创新合作伙伴关系 - 技术转化 (PFI-TT) 项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是实现更安全、更可持续的水消毒方法，同时最大限度地减少氯及其有害消毒副产品的使用。寻找合适的方法仍然是一个挑战。氯的替代品，但使用天然丰富的铜金属可能是解决方案。拟议的创新将铜的天然抗菌特性与低电压、局部增强的电场结合起来，以减少铜和电力的消耗，降低年度运营成本，并最小化随着该技术的成功成熟和商业化，长期目标是成立一家分拆公司，为许多潜在细分市场（家庭使用点）制造和提供替代和可持续的水消毒解决方案。 、游泳池和水疗中心、商业热水管道等），以尽量减少目前与标准氯消毒相关的负面健康影响。除此目标外，参与该项目的所有本科生、研究生和博士后都将获得技术和知识。解决问题的创业技能基于证据的决策和创业思维，进一步使他们能够在未来成功转化创新。拟议项目的重点是进一步开发和成熟无氯水消毒技术，该技术协同结合局部增强电场处理和铜离子（LEEFT-Cu）的天然杀菌作用可以杀死病原体，这种方法可以以低铜剂量和低电能消耗实现高效的微生物灭活，其基本机制利用了同轴电极的增强电场。该 PFI-TT 项目的主要目标是解决通过我们之前的市场研究和发现的 LEEFT-Cu 技术的知识差距和技术障碍。在该项目中，我们将 1) 测试 LEEFT-Cu 对不同微生物的抗菌效率；2) 研究水温对 LEEFT-Cu 性能的影响；使LEEFT-Cu对电导率较高的水有效；4）增加LEEFT-Cu装置中Cu的负载和利用率，以减少使用中的更换频率和成本；5）评估LEEFT-Cu的可扩展性和实施通过与行业合作伙伴的试点测试。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。