Project description
The future of nano-bubbles appears brighter than ever
Nano-bubbles, with their remarkable properties, offer endless possibilities for industries ranging from wastewater treatment to agriculture. Yet, harnessing these tiny marvels has been a formidable challenge - until now. Enter the ERC-funded NIMBLE project. It aims to revolutionise nano-bubble technology and unlock the potential of these minuscule wonders. Specifically, it will address the primary hurdle that has been to create and control nano-bubble formation reproducibly. NIMBLE addresses this head-on, offering an energy-efficient solution with nanobubble stability lasting months. The project also tackles the intricate science behind nano-bubbles and their controlled release. NIMBLE aims to shed light on nano-phase formation and its applications in carbon capture, water treatment, and agriculture.
Objective
Nano-bubbles exhibit several unique physical and mechanical characteristics, such as dramatically reduced buoyancy, extremely high surface area/volume ratio, large zeta potentials, enhanced solubility of gas in water. These properties render them good candidates for several commercial applications, such as fine-particle flotation, wastewater treatment, and in food and agricultural industries. A most important challenge lies in establishing facile and easily-controlled methods to promote nano-bubble formation, and, indeed, liquid-phase nano-droplets, i.e. in realising reproducibly and consistently a nano-phase. NIMBLE revolutionises formation of the nano-phase, providing substantial enhancement in effective gas/liquid solubility in water and aqueous media. Further, energy demands are very low visà-vis other nanobubble-generating technologies, with nanobubble stability over months.
A ‘Grand Challenge’ lies in understanding underlying mechanistic phenomena involved in nano-phase formation, and the metastability of pure nanobubbles. Indeed, developing experimental and theoretical insights into controlled, on-demand release for nanobubbles is also vital for efficient process-engineering applications. In this ERC ‘NIMBLE’ project, state-of-the-art computer-simulation methods in molecular and larger- (continuum-) scale will be employed in tandem with advanced experimental set-ups and techniques to investigate and manipulate mechanisms of nano-phase formation in the presence of electric fields (Work-Package 1), as well as its controlled, on-demand release (Work-Package 4), with applications to carbon capture and agriculture using nanobubbles’ “carrier” personality. NIMBLE will employ state-of-the-art experimental and simulation methods to investigate and manipulate nano-phase formation in electric fields and controlled release and study their mobility and carrier agency, with applications in carbon capture, water treatment and agriculture.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
4 Dublin
Ireland