Grantee Research Project Results
2023 Progress Report: Microwave-Catalytic Membrane for PFAS Degradation and Antiviral Applications
EPA Grant Number: SV840419Title: Microwave-Catalytic Membrane for PFAS Degradation and Antiviral Applications
Investigators: Zhang, Wen
Current Investigators: Zhang, Wen , Liu, Fangzhou , Suthammanont, Ashley , de la Rosa, Willma Arias
Institution: New Jersey Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: August 1, 2022 through July 31, 2024
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2022 through July 31,2023
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: 17th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2022) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards
Objective:
In the phase II research, we aim to to further assess the antiviral activity of the functionalized membrane system using a model bacteriophage as a common virus surrogate to address the demand for safe water production and minimize the persistent microbial risks. The catalyst coated microwave-assisted membrane filtration is expected to enhance the viral removal or inactivation compared to the same filtration process without catalyst or microwave irradiation, which leads to microwave catalysis reactions and viral inactivation. Besides, a suite of novel high-performance microwave-responsive catalysts will be created to devise functional microwave-enhanced liquid filtration systems. For instance, the electromagnetic properties such as permittivity, permeability and reflection loss (RL). The microwave penetration into the membrane modules, water and catalyst layers will be experimentally examine, followed by complementary Multiphysics COMSOL simulation to predict the results that are difficult to obtain experimentally (e.g., under variations of microwave frequency/power, irradiation location and membrane scale).
Progress Summary:
We have successfully evaluated the antiviral performance of microwave-responsive catalyst (BiFe3O4) with batch experiments. Compared with the treatment of only catalyst, only microwave, and water heating, the combination of microwave irradiation and catalyst led to the highest MS2 removal (0.66 log removal or 76% in 120 s), because thermal and non-thermal effects, such as from ROS, contributed to MS2 removal. Furthermore, with the continuous water filtration system, a log removal of 2.6 was achieved for MS2 within a contact time as low as 20 s using 125-W microwave irradiation with the initial MS2 concentration of 105 PFU∙mL-1. By contrast, almost no inactivation could be achieved without microwave irradiation. In addition, with microwave irradiation turned on at the filtration time of 6 min, the MS2 concentrations at HRTs of 60, 30, and 20 s decreased appreciably, with the corresponding LRVs of 3.3, 2.7, and 2.6, which means that increasing HRT favored the MS2 removal. Furthermore, with 125-W microwave irradiation for 2 min, the TMP increased from 2.4 psi to 3.5 psi and from 4.5 psi to 5.5 psi for HRTs of 30 s and 60 s, respectively. However, the TMP decreased from 6.5 psi to 5.8 psi for an HRT of 20 s after 60-s microwave irradiation, probably because surface bubbling removed surface foulants within the membrane pores or on the membrane surface, which increased the water permeability and reduced TMP. The measured transmembrane pressure (TMP) and LRV of MS2, indicates that MS2 removal decreased with the LRV reduced from 3.0 ± 0.6 to 2.2 ± 0.3 over five consecutive filtration cycles. TMP increased by ~20% by the last filtration cycle, probably due to membrane fouling caused by the deposition of any residual culture medium substances and adsorbed viruses. COMSOL simulation indicates that the catalyst surface could be heated up to 305 oC with 125-W microwave irradiation for 20 s and also analyzed microwave penetration into catalyst or water film layers.
Future Activities:
Task 1: Synthesis of different microwave-responsive catalysts
Task 2: Physicochemical and electromagnetic characterization of different microwave-responsive catalysts
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 9 publications | 4 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Liu F, Ma Q, Sabuj M, Yen S, Govindan D, Gao J, Zhao M, Elimelech M, Zhang W. Revolutionizing airborne virus defense:electromagnetic MXene-coated air filtration for superior aerosol viral removal. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2024;16(8):10148-10157. |
SV840419 (2023) SV840419 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
icrowave disinfection, Microwave catalysis, Waterborne virus, Bacteriophage MS2Relevant Websites:
Youtube - Double Layer Agar method for MS2 counting Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Microwave-Catalytic Membrane for PFAS Degradation | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.