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LOW COST, EFFICIENT MICROCHANNEL PLASMA OZONE GENERATOR FOR POINT OF USE WATER TREATMENT - PHASE I
Description:
A team of EP Purification and the University of Illinois engineers and chemists is pursuing the commercialization of low-cost microchannel plasma modules capable of efficiently producing ozone for water treatment. The conservation of water resources for human consumption is a growing national priority. Contamination of ground municipal water by animal manure, fertilizer and pharmaceuticals, for example, is posing an increasing hazard for human health. Ozone is a unique purification agent as it is the strongest oxidant and disinfect available commercially. It is known to be extremely effective for neutralizing pathogens (bacteria, viruses, cysts) and some pesticides, making it ideal for the disinfection of water, grain and vegetables. Another benefit of using ozone is that minimal disinfection byproducts or residues are produced during its use, as compared with chlorination. Also, ozonation is generally regarded as being superior to traditional disinfection through chlorination because the latter requires hazardous chemicals, produces carcinogenic byproducts when reacting with hydrocarbons in water, and leaves much to be desired from an environmental perspective. The primary drawback of ozonation for utility and consumer applications is cost and power consumption. This Phase I proposal leverages technology developed at the University of Illinois and EP Purification to realize low cost and yet robust ozone generators based on massively parallel plasmachemical processing of O2/N2 mixtures in large arrays of microcavity plasmas. Modules producing ozone at concentrations higher than 5 weight percent on efficiency of at least 180 g/kWh will be designed in Phase I, and Phase II will demonstrate and characterize a 100 g/hour ozone generator for treating water in small/medium system applications that is superior to existing technology in cost (capital and operating), efficiency and size.