www.pitapa.org Fall 2014 PENNSYLVANIA INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE A Commonwealth-University-Industry Partnership for Economic Development through Research, Technology, and Education PITA FUNDS IMPROVING WATER QUALITY IN THIS ISSUE… ——————————————— PITA FUNDS BETTER MONITORING OF CONTAMINANTS IN WATER SUPPLY ——————————————— NOVEL TECHNIQUE OFFERS NEW APPROACH TO WATER TREATMENT ——————————————— PITA COLLABORATION IMPROVES SUPPLY CHAIN DECISION MAKING ——————————————— PITA SUPPORTS RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY IN PA ——————————————— IMPROVING X-RAY IMAGING TO INSPECT CONCRETE STRUCTURES
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PITA FUNDS IN THIS ISSUE… ——————————————— … · 2015. 1. 27. · PITA is playing a key role in fostering successful collaborations between Pennsylvania
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With advances in renewable energy, new technologies are required to address the specific needs for
storing this energy. Grid-tied and distributed renewable energy sources—like solar power installations
and wind farms, for example—rely on energy that can be stored as power, which is then drawn from
and used intermittently. For this reason, large-scale energy storage is needed for this technology to
work. The performance of renewable energy sources and the cost to run them are major considerations
for Pennsylvania policymakers and companies that are transitioning the Commonwealth to a cleaner
form of energy consumption.
The successful Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) funded partnership
between Carnegie Mellon University researchers and Pittsburgh-based company Aquion Energy
has been furthering the technology needed in large-scale energy storage for renewables. They
have been working to develop the battery technology needed to make this process more efficient
and cost effective.
Jay Whitacre—founder of start-up company Aquion Energy and Carnegie Mellon University
professor of materials science and engineering and public policy—and Shawn Litster—associate
professor of mechanical engineering—have dedicated their work to finding low-cost electrochemical
approaches to bulk energy storage and implementing them into real-world renewable energy systems.
PITA funding has allowed them to fund the research and development needed to implement this
needed battery technology.
“This research is so important because it is a new and emerging battery chemistry that has
never been mass produced before,” explained Whitacre. “As such, there is an incredible amount of
R&D necessary to increase our understanding and remain competitive. PITA funding was critical in
catalyzing and growing the R&D connection between Carnegie Mellon and Aquion.”
“The collaborative nature of this PITA project makes it an incredibly valuable and productive research activity because we are able to leverage each other’s strengths on an industry-relevant research topic that could have significant positive impacts on society.” — Shawn Litster, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Specifically, Whitacre and Litster are developing a better and novel design of the electrode binder
materials within batteries that are used in energy storage systems. They are using new electronically
conductive polymers that allow for the creation of more energetically dense electrodes, which have a
higher mass fraction of active materials with superior electronic interconnection.
This increased electronic connection—provided in the battery technology—means that the energy
storage process works more efficiently and reliably, is environmentally friendly, versatile, cost effective,
Membrane processes play an important role in industrial wastewater treatment. A major
challenge to this technique is the formation of a fouling layer on the membrane surface that
encourages bacterial growth and decreases treatment performance.
One way of reducing membrane fouling is to use pre-treatment steps to remove organic matter
that encourages fouling in the wastewater. Pre-treatment steps are costly, but when necessary,
they significantly improve the performance of membrane systems. When they are not necessary,
however, they are costly without adding value. The challenge is that it is difficult to determine ahead
of time if pre-treatment is necessary.
Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Jeanne
VanBriesen—with the help of civil and environmental engineering graduate student Lauren
Strahs—has been working on a process to better anticipate which treatments will be needed to
reduce fouling. With Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) funding, they partnered
with Aquatech to develop a new analysis system for rapidly detecting foulants in industrial waters
prior to desalination.
Aquatech is a Canonsburg, PA based company that develops and manufactures water
technology for industrial and infrastructure markets, focusing on desalination, wastewater reuse,
and zero liquid discharge.
The research team has been conducting a field study at an Aquatech facility to
evaluate the potential for a spectroscopy-based analysis method to predict fouling and
pre-treatment requirements.
“The company wanted a very practical process that wouldn’t require a full chemical analysis to make a decision on pre-treatment.” — Jeanne VanBriesen, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
This new approach will allow treatment plants to make informed decisions about how to pre-
treat water as much as necessary but as little as possible. Engineering optimal pre-treatment will
ultimately save energy and reduce cost in the final treatment stage.
Novel Technique Offers New Approachto Water Treatment Process
For more information, contact Jeanne VanBriesen at [email protected]