Descripción del proyecto
El futuro de las nanoburbujas parece más brillante que nunca
Las nanoburbujas, con sus notables propiedades, ofrecen infinitas posibilidades para industrias que van desde el tratamiento de aguas residuales a la agricultura. Sin embargo, aprovechar estas pequeñas maravillas ha sido un reto formidable, hasta ahora. Aquí es donde entre en juego el proyecto NIMBLE, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación. Su objetivo es revolucionar la tecnología de las nanoburbujas y aprovechar el potencial de estas minúsculas maravillas. En concreto, abordará el principal obstáculo que ha sido crear y controlar la formación de nanoburbujas de forma reproducible. El equipo de NIMBLE aborda esta cuestión de frente, ofreciendo una solución eficiente desde el punto de vista energético con una estabilidad de las nanoburbujas que dura meses. El equipo del proyecto también aborda la enrevesada ciencia que detrás de las nanoburbujas y su liberación controlada. En NIMBLE se pretende arrojar luz sobre la formación de nanofases y sus aplicaciones en la captura de carbono, el tratamiento del agua y la agricultura.
Objetivo
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.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitución de acogida
4 Dublin
Irlanda