ELECTROCHEMICALLY BASED ADVANCED OZONATION MODULES FOR WATER STERILIZATION AND PURIFICATION

THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP SMALL-SCALE ELECTROCHEMICALLY BASED SYSTEMS FOR THE GENERATION OF HIGH CHEMICAL PURITY WATER FOR FIELD MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. POSSIBLE USES FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY INCLUDE STERILIZATION AND REMOVAL OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS FROM MEDICAL WASTE WATER AND FOR THE PREPARATION OF STERILE PYROGEN-FREE SOLUTIONS. THE APPROACH IS BASED UPON AN ADVANCED OZONATION PROCESS (I.E., THE COMBINATION OF OZONE WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND/OR UV LIGHT). AOP'S ARE EFFECTIVE FOR HOSPITAL WASTE WATER TREATMENT AND CAN BE USED FOR THE PREPARATION OF HIGH CHEMICAL PURITY PYROGEN-FREE WATER. HOWEVER, THE COMPLEXITY AND COST OF FORMING OZONE BY THE TRADITIONAL (CORONA DISCHARGE) METHOD RENDER AOP'S IMPRACTICAL FOR MANY MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. LYNNTECH, INC., HAS DEVELOPED AN ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE FOR THE PAIRED SYNTHESIS OF OZONE AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FROM WATER AND OXYGEN IN A PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE-BASED ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL. THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS GREATLY SIMPLIFIES OZONE GENERATION AND PROVIDES THE ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FORMATION. THESE FEATURES ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPACT, MODULAR AND EASY-TO-INSTALL CATALYZED OZONE TREATMENT SYSTEMS FOR USE IN FIELD MEDICAL UNITS. RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON DEMONSTRATING PROCESS FEASIBILITY FOR REMOVING TRACE ORGANIC CHEMICALS AND PYROGENS FROM WATER IN A LABORATORY TEST SYSTEM. PARAMETRIC TEST DATA WILL BE OBTAINED FOR SCALE-UP ACTIVITIES.