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Utilizing Capacitive Deionization to Desalinate Water in a Mobile Unit Powered by Solar Energy

Undergraduate #46
Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Water
Session: 1
Room: Council

Tynecia Davis - University of Houston
Co-Author(s): Tynecia Davis 1, Jessica Perez 2, Seydrec Sloan 3, Juan Ebron Jr. 4 , Casandra Lira 5, Kayla Olivo 6, Isaac Heil 4, Njideka Nnorom 7,8, Tanya Rogers 7,8, Rafael Verduzco 7,81 University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004, USA;2 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obsipo, CA 93407, USA;3 Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA;4 Harrisburg University, Harrisburg, PA 17101;5 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA;6 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA;7 Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA;8 NSF Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment, Houston, TX



Due to only 3% of freshwater being accessible globally, one-third of the population is affectedby drinkable water, requiring the need for auxiliary purification methods. This lack of accessibility to drinkable water has accentuated the need for alternative distillation technologies such as reverse osmosis and desalination. These processes require high energy and are non- regenerable, and produce high waste. To address the global need for water accessibility in remoteand off-the-grid locations, we have developed a mobile, low-energy, regenerable water purification device using capacitive deionization (CDI). Capacitive deionization is an ion-removing technique that purifies water by separating contaminants via charge attraction in porous electrodes by measures of a continuous-flow process, alternating between adsorption and regenerable desorption cycles. To accomplish this, we designed and fabricated a 3D-printed CDI reactor. An 8in x 7in reactor was created to allow for a higher surface area of water to be processed through the system at a faster flow rate. Saltwater containing 584.4 mg/L of water was passed through the reactor at a flow rate of 5 mL/min and conductivity changes weremonitored. To supply energy to the reactor, a solar-powered system with real-time feedback was developed. The total charge applied to the entire system was 150 mV. The initial conductivitywas measured at 1.12 milli Siemens per centimeter (mS/cm) and the final conductivity was 1090 mS/cm. A higher voltage was applied to maximize filtration efficiency (1.2V), but was not achieved due to an unknown voltage drop in the electrical system. All system components wereintegrated into a mobile cart for ease of deployment and use in remote locations. The potency of our system and energy analysis demonstrates that this scientific proposal is a conceptual approach to understanding the numerous phenomena of CDI. This desalination system can essentially be used to achieve and provide potable water to areas with inaccessibletechnological advancements. What is here is only the beginning of CDI innovation.References: Porada, S., Zhang, L., & Dykstra, J. E. (2020, May 18). Energy consumption inmembrane capacitive deionization and comparison with reverse osmosis. Desalination.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011916419322003.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Funder Acknowledgement(s): Funding for this project was provided by the NSF ERC REM program award 2005008 to the Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) Center (EEC-1449500).

Faculty Advisor: Tanya Rogers, Njideka (Syndi) Nnorom, Rafael Verduzco, rafaelv@rice.edu

Role: I helped design and build the reactor used to deionize water. I collected data used to determine the efficiency of the reactor.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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