Grantee Research Project Results
Solar-Powered Membrane System for Emergency Drinking Water Supply
EPA Grant Number: SU835528Title: Solar-Powered Membrane System for Emergency Drinking Water Supply
Investigators: Mi, Baoxia , Birney, Catherine
Current Investigators: Mi, Baoxia , Birney, Catherine , Manzi, Elizabethe , Lee, Michael , Fiedler-Ross, Vincent
Institution: University of Maryland - College Park
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2013 through August 14, 2014
Project Amount: $14,714
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2013) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
We propose to develop, test, and study a novel membrane separation system that holds great promise as a sustainable water purification technology for emergency or household drinking water supply. This system will integrate two emerging membrane processes: forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) and use solar panel to power the system. The proposed system will have a number of advantages including enhanced energy sustainability and high-quality product water.
Approach:
We will build a solar-powered FO-MD system, which is composed of a solar thermal panel to heat water, a three-channel membrane unit, three water tanks, two electronic scales, and a computer to record data. A thorough study will be carried out to clearly understand the effects of temperature, solute concentration, membrane module configuration, and operating parameters on water flux and contaminant removal of the combined FO-MD process. The following tests will be performed to evaluate the performance of the FO-MD system:
- Membrane fluxes will be monitored by measuring the weight change of the feed and effluent water tanks.
- Product water quality and solute transport will be monitored using conductivity meter.
- The energy and process sustainability will be evaluated by calculating energy flow in the membrane system and monitoring membrane fouling and integrity over time.
Expected Results:
The project will result in a solar-powered membrane system for emergency drinking water supply. The membrane system can be applied for on-site treatment of various water sources including contaminated field water, brackish water, storm water, and gray water. This system will be able to produce high-quality drinkable water as the high-rejection FO and MD membranes behave as dual retention barriers. The system will be operated under atmospheric pressure and low temperature, providing much flexibility for scaling up/down for on-site water treatment. This system is also expected to have low environmental impact and enhanced energy sustainability.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
emergency water supply, solar-thermal water treatment, thermal membrane process, off-grid drinking water supply;Progress and Final Reports:
The 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.