I-Corps: Novel Catalytic Ozonation Processes for Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of plasmon-enhanced catalytic ozonation innovations to provide a cost-effective solution to the water quality challenge associated with increasing recalcitrant organic pollutants in the source water. The system adaptability of the photo-assisted catalytic ozonation process could make it a competitive treatment technology that can accommodate to both current available centralized infrastructure and emerging distributed/reuse facilities. Thus, a successful commercialization effort will help address a significant societal challenge: increasing demand for clean water under the stress of rapid population growth, shortage of fresh water sources, climate change, impaired water sources, and aging infrastructure. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an innovation of a novel catalytic ozonation process mediated by plasmonic metal catalysts for the removal of recalcitrant organic pollutants from water. Effective degradation of representative pollutants was achieved in both synthetic solutions and real environmental waters with low energy consumption and byproduct formation. The superior treatment performance together with the low material costs, mature and facile synthesis methods, and good recyclability of the catalysts, all demonstrates the great commercialization potential of plasmon-enhanced catalytic ozonation processes. It is estimated that one-third of all counties in the contiguous U.S. will face high risk of water shortage by 2050 and a market worth of $128.78 billion is forecast for water and wastewater treatment technologies by 2029. Contamination of aquatic environment with thousands of organic chemicals, which often cannot be effectively removed in conventional water and wastewater treatment, is a key water quality problem. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.