新加坡南洋理工大學(xué)的科學(xué)家們開(kāi)發(fā)出一種新型納米過(guò)濾器，這種過(guò)濾器可以將污水處理中所需的能源消耗量降低5倍。
通常情況下，污水處理過(guò)程中水凈化的最后一個(gè)步驟，超濾（UF）膜過(guò)濾掉小顆粒之前，需要使用反滲透（RO）膜。
在反滲透過(guò)程中，水在高壓下被推動(dòng)經(jīng)過(guò)精密膜，從而將水分子與殘余污染物分離開(kāi)，這些污染物非常微小，比人類(lèi)頭發(fā)絲的寬度還小1000倍，如鹽、重金屬以及像苯這種有毒化學(xué)物質(zhì)。
這種高水壓，通常是10bar以上，意味著(zhù)大量的能源消耗。
南洋理工大學(xué)的專(zhuān)利技術(shù)，納米過(guò)濾中空纖維膜在超濾和反滲透中都可以應用，能夠將這兩個(gè)過(guò)程結合。
它只需要2bar的水壓（這個(gè)壓力相當于家用壓力鍋的壓力）就能過(guò)濾掉相同類(lèi)型的污染物。它產(chǎn)生的水幾乎與通過(guò)反滲透過(guò)程的水一樣純凈。
新加坡南洋理工大學(xué)南洋環(huán)境和水資源研究所花費了兩年時(shí)間開(kāi)發(fā)出了這一突破性的技術(shù)，目前，該技術(shù)正由南洋理工大學(xué)的衍生公司De.Mem進(jìn)行商業(yè)化運作。
De.Mem在越南和新加坡?lián)碛?2家污水處理廠(chǎng)，該企業(yè)將在新加坡建設一個(gè)試點(diǎn)生產(chǎn)廠(chǎng)制造這種新型膜。
南洋環(huán)境和水資源研究所執行主任，南洋理工大學(xué)教授Ng Wun Jern說(shuō)，對新加坡來(lái)說(shuō)，這項新技術(shù)標志著(zhù)另一個(gè)巨大的進(jìn)步，因為它是市場(chǎng)首創(chuàng )。
“隨著(zhù)城市化進(jìn)程的加快和全球人口的快速增長(cháng)，更多的城市和社區在滿(mǎn)足日益增長(cháng)的清潔水和污水處理需求方面，將面臨前所未有的挑戰，”Ng教授說(shuō)。
“如果我們試圖解決日益增長(cháng)的清潔水需求，那么世界所需要正是像南洋理工大學(xué)新型納米過(guò)濾中空纖維膜這樣的創(chuàng )新技術(shù)，它能夠讓我們以較低的成本，處理污水，生產(chǎn)清潔水，而且該技術(shù)還具有高可靠性和易于維護的優(yōu)點(diǎn)。”
南洋環(huán)境和水資源研究所膜技術(shù)中心主任，南洋理工大學(xué)教授Wang Rong領(lǐng)導研究團隊設計了新型納米過(guò)濾膜，他表示他們的這項技術(shù)已經(jīng)成熟，可以進(jìn)入商業(yè)生產(chǎn)階段。
“污水處理產(chǎn)業(yè)面臨的主要挑戰之一是，目前的反滲透過(guò)程是能源密集型，需要停機維護，”Wang教授解釋道，他是南洋理工大學(xué)土木與環(huán)境工程學(xué)院的主席。
“我們的新型膜非常容易制造，只需利用低成本的化學(xué)物質(zhì)，比傳統的化學(xué)制品便宜30倍，這使其適合大規模生產(chǎn)。”
De.Mem公司的首席執行官Andreas Kroell先生說(shuō)，這種新型膜填補了目前污水處理方面的市場(chǎng)空白。
“我們在實(shí)驗室里已經(jīng)看到，當我們用新型納米過(guò)濾膜處理工業(yè)廢水時(shí)，生產(chǎn)出的清潔水質(zhì)量可以與反滲透過(guò)程相媲美，而且只需要很低的壓力，從而降低了成本，”Kroell說(shuō)。
“這樣一個(gè)有效且高效的技術(shù)具有巨大的市場(chǎng)潛力，可以應用于許多De.Mem的項目中，包括工業(yè)廢水的處理。”
在將該技術(shù)投入大規模生產(chǎn)之前，De.Mem公司將會(huì )在它的工廠(chǎng)進(jìn)行實(shí)際應用，測試這個(gè)新型膜技術(shù)，以驗證它的有效性和效率。
Energy saving filters for wastewater treatment
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University （NTU Singapore） have invented a new type of nanofilter that could reduce the energy needed to treat wastewater by up to five times.
Typically, for the last steps of water purification in a wastewater treatment process, an ultrafiltration （UF） membrane filters out small particles before a reverse osmosis （RO） membrane is used.
In reverse osmosis, water is pushed through an extremely fine membrane at high pressure to separate water molecules from any remaining contaminants which are tiny – about a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, such as salt, heavy metals and toxic chemicals like benzene.
This high water pressure, typically 10 bars and above, means that the water pumps need a lot of energy.
However, NTU's proprietary nanofiltration （NF） hollow fibre membrane does away with both ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, combining the two processes.
It also requires only 2 bars of water pressure, similar to the pressure found in a typical home pressure cooker, to filter out the same type of contaminants. Yet it produces water that is almost as pure as through reverse osmosis.
This breakthrough technology took NTU's Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute （NEWRI） about two years to develop and is now being commercialised by an NTU spin-off company De.Mem.
De.Mem which owns over a dozen water treatment plants in Vietnam and Singapore, will be building a pilot production plant in Singapore to manufacture the new membranes.
NTU Professor Ng Wun Jern, the executive director of NEWRI, said the new technology marks yet another huge step forward for Singapore, as it will be the first of its kind to hit the market.
"With the increasing urbanisation of cities and fast growing global population, more cities and communities will face an unprecedented challenge to meet its growing demand for clean water and wastewater treatment," Prof Ng said.
"If we are to address the ever increasing demand for clean water, what the world needs are innovative technologies like NTU's new nanofiltration hollow fibre membrane that allow us to treat and produce extremely clean water at a low cost, yet have high reliability and are easy to maintain."
NTU Professor Wang Rong, the director of NEWRI's Singapore Membrane Technology Centre who led the team in designing the new NF membrane, said they had designed it for commercial scale-up and production.
"One of the main challenges faced by the industry is that current reverse osmosis processes are energy intensive, with down time needed for maintenance," explained Prof Wang, who is also the Chair of NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
"Our new membrane is also easy to manufacture using low-cost chemicals that are 30 times cheaper than conventional chemicals, making it suitable for mass production."
Mr Andreas Kroell, Chief Executive Officer of De.Mem said the new membrane fills a gap in the current market for water treatment solutions.
"We have seen in the labs that when we treat industrial wastewater with the new nanofiltration membranes, the quality of clean water produced is comparable to reverse osmosis but requires much lower pressure, hence lowering costs," Mr Kroell said.
"Such an effective and efficient technology has significant market potential and can be used in many of De.Mem's projects that involve the treatment of industrial wastewater."
De.Mem will test the new membrane modules in real world usage in its plants to verify its effectiveness and efficiency before scaling up to a full industrial production line.
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