Composite soft-liquid coatings for antifouling in wastewater treatment

Overview

The proposed solution focuses on the development of composite soft-liquid coatings for broad-spectrum antifouling, specifically targeting wastewater treatment applications. This innovative approach aims to eliminate the need for manual cleaning of wastewater sumps and toilet bowls by using a hydrophobic soft liner with micro-wrinkles that can be fitted to surfaces. The liner is infused with a lubricating layer that remains stable due to capillarity, ensuring that contaminants are effectively removed during flushing. This method leverages the failure mechanism of liquid infused surfaces, where shear-induced instability leads to the drainage of the oil film, carrying away foulants.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Hydrophobic soft liner: Composed of micro-wrinkles (~50 um) made from thin films of PDMS that self-wrinkle under plasma treatment, allowing for installation in both wet and dry conditions.
• Lubricating layer: Utilizes plant-based lubricants with viscosity tailored to match the shearing forces of typical toilets, ensuring effective drainage of contaminants with each flush.
• Sustainable materials: Future development plans include the use of sustainable materials such as alginate for liner fabrication.
• Installation flexibility: Potential for kirigami-inspired designs to ensure the liner conforms to various toilet bowl shapes.

Technology readiness level

The current technology readiness level is 3, indicating that active research is underway to validate the concept. Future validation steps include tuning the liner and lubricant properties to match typical toilet shearing forces, testing against various model foulants, and developing sustainable fabrication procedures. A bench-scale fluid system is planned for simulating flushing under different conditions to demonstrate cleaning performance.