Precipitation of mineral deposits on the surface of domestic and industrial installations is a persistent issue, calculated to have an estimated economic cost of 0.2% of global GDP. The most common treatments employed to control mineral scaling generally involve the use of chemicals or a nano-filtration system. The former solution is economically viable, however has a significant environmental footprint. The latter suffers from the need for high energy consumption coupled with limited efficiency with monovalent ions.

The project brings together expertise in nanotechnology and surface engineering to deploy novel, environmentally-friendly antifouling materials to effectively mitigate mineral build-ups. This will be achieved through two strands of research focus. Firstly, prevention of mineral surface crystallization process, and secondly, if fouling has already occurred, minimizing the adhesion strength of the fouling layer to the substrate to facilitate easy detachment and cleaning. This alternative approach has been deployed successfully in the control of bio-fouling (e.g. paint preventing growth of subaquatic organisms on ships) but as yet remains an entirely new approach for mineral scale prevention.

The project focuses on nano engineering a new class of bioinspired materials in tandem with using cutting-edge analytic tools to characterise the surfaces. Finally, a comprehensive assessment of their antifouling performance will be sought. Liquid infused surfaces - constitute a novel class of material where a lubricant (typically an ionic liquid) is held in place in a nano porous substrate by capillary forces. This creates a self-healing, fouling repellent surface. These surfaces prevent mineral build-up by virtue of their low surface energy coupled with an interface which is defect free, down to the molecular scale. Recent studies from Leeds demonstrate that such surfaces are showing great potential in the laboratory environment.  The key goal will be the fabrication of a nano porous substrate using industrially relevant materials. The viability of various techniques (e.g. electrochemical etching, anodic oxidization) will also be evaluated and the topography of the surfaces (pore size, density) will be optimized to maximise retention of the lubricants. Surfaces stability - will be evaluated under a range of realistic environments including high pressure and temperature conditions. Additionally computational tools will assess the stability of the liquid infused surfaces under flowing conditions (flow entrainment, wetting characteristics).  Antifouling evaluation will be performed for a range of realistic scaling conditions (e.g. carbonate, sulphate). This will be achieved by using bespoke experimental rigs such as a modified rotating cylinder electrode and tube blocking rig.