Award Abstract # 1534304
DMREF: Collaborative Research: An integrated multiscale modeling and experimental approach to design fouling-resistant membranes

NSF Org: CBET
Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Recipient: CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: July 20, 2015
Latest Amendment Date: June 25, 2021
Award Number: 1534304
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Robert McCabe
CBET
 Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
ENG
 Directorate for Engineering
Start Date: January 1, 2016
End Date: September 30, 2021 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $969,089.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $969,089.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2015 = $969,089.00
History of Investigator:
  • Eric Davis (Principal Investigator)
    ericd@clemson.edu
  • Scott Husson (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • David Ladner (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Sapna Sarupria (Former Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Clemson University
201 SIKES HALL
CLEMSON
SC  US  29634-0001
(864)656-2424
Sponsor Congressional District: 03
Primary Place of Performance: Clemson University
SC  US  29634-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
03
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): H2BMNX7DSKU8
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): DMREF
Primary Program Source: 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 8400, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 829200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.041

ABSTRACT

1534304(Sarupria) & 1533874(Battiato)

This project addresses a grand challenge facing society today--how to make clean water available to a growing population at low cost. Membranes used in water treatment processes are exposed to feed waters containing organic, inorganic, and biological species, which leads to fouling and loss of membrane productivity over time. Since performance loss due to fouling is one of the largest costs associated with membrane processes in water treatment, discovery of new surface treatments that limit fouling would have significant economic and societal impacts. Fouling propensity of a membrane depends greatly on its surface properties such as chemistry and morphology. The goal of this project is to develop the multiscale mathematical framework to predict fouling behavior on the surfaces of membranes with different geometric patterns and chemical coatings. The ability to predict fouling properties of new membrane surfaces in silico will accelerate the discovery of novel membrane designs and decrease the time from laboratory to market.

In this project, comprehensive studies involving iterative feedback between computational modeling and experimental measurements will be performed to test two main hypotheses: (1) targeted combinations of geometric and chemical patterns on a membrane surface will significantly reduce membrane fouling, and (2) experimentally-trained multiscale computational models will accelerate the discovery of novel geometric and chemical surface modifications that significantly reduce membrane fouling. This research will (i) produce a mathematical framework and corresponding models to identify the physical mechanisms and geometric features controlling mass and momentum transfer through and over micro- and nanopatterned membranes, (ii) provide a deep understanding of how foulants and energy fluxes are controlled and regulated by complex topologies, and (iii) elucidate how the macroscopic behavior of filtration flow rates and reactive transport processes are coupled with phenomena at the micro- and nano-scale. This work will be transformational because delivering an experimentally-validated computational framework will enable rapid screening of many membrane surface modifications to short-list the most promising ones for further testing, and it will lead to a leapfrog improvement in membrane filtration technologies. This project will provide a multidisciplinary environment for training graduate and undergraduate researchers. New communication platforms such as Zoom video conferencing will be used to deliver virtual science demonstrations and laboratory tours to elementary school students. Virtual and interactive conferences will be held bi-annually to educate a broad audience about membrane science, water purification and materials engineering.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Ladner, D.A.; Zhou, X.; and Xie, P "Computational fluid dynamics modeling of drinking water treatment unit processes" Encyclopedia of Water: Science, Technology, and Society , 2019
Malakian, A.; Husson, S.M. "Evaluating protein fouling on membranes patterned by woven mesh fabrics" Membranes , v.11 , 2021 , p.730 10.3390/ membranes11100730
Malakian, A.; Husson, S.M. "Understanding the roles of patterning and foulant chemistry on nanofiltration threshold flux" J. Membr. Sci. , 2020
Malakian, A.; Husson, S.M. "Visualization of biofouling on herringbone patterned membranes by confocal microscopy." J. Membr. Sci. , 2021
Malakian, A.; Zhou, Z.; Messick, L.; Spitzer, T.; Ladner, D.A.; Husson, S.M "Understanding the role of pattern geometry on nanofiltration threshold flux" Membranes , v.10 , 2020 , p.445 10.3390/membranes10120445
Weinman, S.T. Fierce, E.M.; Husson, S.M. "Nanopatterning commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes" Sep. Purif. Technol. , v.209 , 2019 , p.646 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2018.09.012
Weinman, S.T.; Husson, S.M "Influence of chemical coating combined with nanopatterning on alginate fouling during nanofiltration" Journal of Membrane Science , v.513 , 2016 , p.146 10.1016/j.memsci.2016.04.025
Xie, P.; Cath, T.Y.; Ladner, D.A. "Mass transport in osmotically driven membrane processes." Membranes , v.11 , 2021 , p.29
Xie, P.; Murdoch, L.C.; Ladner, D.A. "Mitigating membrane fouling with sinusoidal spacers" Desalination and Water Treatment , v.168 , 2019 , p.56
Zhou, Z; Ling, B.; Battiato, I.; Husson, S.; and Ladner, D.A. "Concentration polarization over reverse osmosis membranes with engineered surface features" Journal of Membrane Science , 2020

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Membrane fouling is one of the most important and challenging problems in membrane science. This multidisciplinary research effort advanced the basic science associated with membrane fouling during the purification of impaired waters. Fouling propensity of a membrane depends greatly on its surface properties such as chemistry and morphology. The goal of this collaborative research and education program was to develop the multiscale mathematical framework to predict fouling behavior on the surfaces of membranes with different geometric patterns and chemical coatings. This framework will accelerate the discovery of innovative fouling resistant membrane designs. To achieve this goal, investigations examined the roles of pattern geometry and feature sizes, surface chemistry, foulant type, and operating conditions on membrane fouling. Performance and characterization measurements used standardized protocols to collect data for model training and validation. 

In this research program, comprehensive studies involving iterative feedback between computational modeling and experimental measurements were performed to test two main hypotheses: 1) targeted combinations of geometric and chemical patterns on a membrane surface significantly reduce membrane fouling, and 2) experimentally-trained multiscale computational models accelerate the discovery of novel geometric and chemical surface modifications that significantly reduce membrane fouling. This effort (i) produced a modeling framework to identify the physical mechanisms and geometric features controlling mass and momentum transfer through and over micro- and nano-patterned membranes, (ii) provided increased understanding of how foulants and energy fluxes are controlled and regulated by complex topologies, and (iii) elucidated how the macroscopic behavior of filtration flow rates and reactive transport processes are coupled with phenomena at the micro- and nano-scale. This work is useful because delivering an experimentally-validated computational framework will enable rapid screening of many membrane surface modifications to short-list the most promising ones for further testing.


Last Modified: 04/22/2022
Modified by: David A Ladner

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