Abstract: Aspects of the invention include a porous and water-permeable electrode for electrocatalysis comprising: a porous and water-permeable reactive electrochemical membrane (“REM”) comprising: a porous and water-permeable support membrane; wherein the support membrane comprises a titanium metal; and an electrocatalytic coating on at least a portion of the metal support membrane, the electrocatalytic coating being a tin oxide bilayer comprising: a first layer adjacent to and directly contacting the metal support membrane; wherein the first layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony; and a second layer adjacent to and directly contacting the first layer; wherein the second layer forms a surface of the REM such that the second layer is in direct contact with an aqueous solution when the REM is in contact with the aqueous solution; wherein the second layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony and nickel or cerium. Preferably, the support membrane is formed of a titanium metal.

Abstract: A system for capturing CO2 gas comprising: a gaseous feed stream having an initial concentration of the CO2 gas; wherein the gaseous feed stream is provided to a first reactor as a gaseous reaction stream; the first reactor comprising a sorbent composition and the gaseous reaction stream flowing therein, the gaseous reaction stream being in contact with the sorbent composition; and a first gaseous output stream having a concentration of CO2 being less than the initial concentration of CO2; wherein: the gaseous reaction stream comprises the CO2 gas and is characterized by a relative humidity of at least 5%; the sorbent composition comprises a metal carbonate material that reacts with the CO2 gas of the gaseous reaction stream thereby reducing CO2 gas concentration; and the first reactor comprises 35 wt. % or less of liquid water by weight of sorbent and liquid water.

Abstract: The systems and methods for wastewater treatment comprise a porous substrate with photocatalytic material(s), and optionally electrocatalytic material(s), for generation of hydroxyl radicals that decompose contaminants in wastewater. The systems and methods intentionally facilitate the photocatalytic and/or electrocatalytic generation of oxygen bubbles, which facilitate an increase in concentration of hydroxyl radicals and shrink the liquid layer of wastewater at photocatalytic and/or electrocatalytic surfaces where hydroxyl radicals are generated in order to decrease quenching of hydroxyl radicals and simultaneously increase utilization or efficiency of the hydroxyl radicals for decomposition of contaminants. In embodiments, the systems and methods prolong hydroxyl radical lifetime and enhance water treatment performance for residential, commercial, municipal, medical, and/or industrial applications.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for detecting microbial pathogens in a sample suspected of containing the pathogens. The method includes combining loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reagents and a polymer gel, such as a hydrogel, together with the sample to form a mixture. The gel polymerizes over a short time to immobilize the viral particles within the mixture. If target DNA/RNA are present in the sample, amplicons are produced. The target microorganisms are detected by visually detecting the presence or absence of the amplicons. The target microorganism concentrations may be determined based on the number of fluorescent amplicon dots after the reaction using a smartphone or a fluorescent microscope. The method may be employed for rapidly and inexpensively quantifying microbial pathogens in environmental water samples with high sensitivity.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a membrane-based, in-gel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system, kit and method for detection of a target microorganism in a sample suspected of containing the microorganism. LAMP reagents, a lysing agent and a hydrogel are placed together on a filter membrane loaded with a pre-filtered sample. The hydrogel polymerizes over a short time to immobilize any target DNA/RNA particles on the membrane. The system may include a compact, portable device that integrates heat incubation and fluorescence illumination, and also a cloud-based smartphone image analysis application for quantitative results interpretation. If target DNA/RNA are present in the sample, fluorescent amplicons are produced as a result of LAMP reaction. The target microorganisms are detected by visually detecting the presence or absence of the amplicons.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for detecting microbial pathogens in a sample suspected of containing the pathogens. The method includes combining loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reagents and a polymer gel, such as a hydrogel, together with the sample to form a mixture. The gel polymerizes over a short time to immobilize the viral particles within the mixture. If target DNA/RNA are present in the sample, amplicons are produced. The target microorganisms are detected by visually detecting the presence or absence of the amplicons. The target microorganism concentrations may be determined based on the number of fluorescent amplicon dots after the reaction using a smartphone or a fluorescent microscope. The method may be employed for rapidly and inexpensively quantifying microbial pathogens in environmental water samples with high sensitivity.

Abstract: A skid wheel system that has a shoe with two wheels attached. The first wheel is positioned adjacent to one side of the shoe and the second wheel is positioned adjacent to the other. The skid shoe has at least one connection opening to connect the skid shoe to a snow removal device. The circumferential edges of the wheels extend past at least the bottom, and protrude beyond the sides of the skid shoe, so as to protect the bottom, front and rear of the housing of the snow removal device from contact with concrete seams, and other uneven surfaces. The wheels can also, extend past the top of the shoe, so the system can be removed, rotated, and reattached in the event the bottom of the shoe wears to the point of no longer protecting the bottom of the snow removal device.

Abstract: A membrane, method and system are disclosed for rapid, sensitive and precise detection of an agent suspected of being present in a sample. The agent may be a cell or microorganism, e.g., a single pathogenic bacteria, and the sample may be small, e.g., milliliters of unprocessed environmental water. The sample is processed by filtering it through an asymmetric membrane having multiple layers. One layer has microchannels for capturing the agent and another layer has nanochannels for passing particles smaller than the agent. Amplification reagents, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reagents, are load onto membrane so that the microchannels act as nanoreactors, creating quantifiable amplicons within the pores on the exposed surface of the membrane in response to captured agent. The amplicons may be imaged and counted using a fluorescent camera. The membrane is capable of agent capture, concentration, purification, partition, lysis and digital LAMP without off-membrane sample treatments.

Abstract: An electrolysis electrode includes a metal-doped array of nanotubes formed on a substrate. The nanotube array (NTA) may be a stabilized metal-doped black TiO2 NTA formed on a titanium substrate, and the metal dopant may include any suitable metal, for example, cobalt. The metal dopant improves the reactivity of the electrode and enhances its service life. The metal-doped NTA electrode may provide improved chlorine evolution and/or oxygen evolution activity for electrochemical wastewater treatment. The electrode may also be useful for water splitting applications. Increasing the loading of the metal dopant may lead to the formation of a metal oxide layer on top of the NTA, which improves oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential.

Abstract: A self-diagnostic maintenance system for wastewater treatment employs unique environmental sensor configurations to link operational states of a water treatment system with unique failure modes of the system. Upon detection of failure modes, the maintenance system alerts users and operators via a short messaging service (SMS) of the problem, and can display step-by-step pictorial repair instructions for the operator to replace broken or malfunctioning parts, without the operator needing to diagnosis the problem or understand the detailed workings of the wastewater treatment system.

Abstract: A portable pathogen analysis system (PPAS) designed to detect microbial pathogens at the point-of-sample collection. The system comprises a concentration tube used for the concentration of microbes in large volumes of water samples using super absorbent polymer (SAP) beads and a hand-powered centrifuge; and a processing component, which functions as a portable lab-on-a-disc droplet digital nucleic acid amplification system, which integrates DNA extraction, nucleic acid amplification, and post-amplicon analysis in a single unit. The present invention provides a fast, cost-effective, and user-friendly solution for microbial water quality analysis in low-resource settings.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention include a porous and water-permeable electrode for electrocatalysis comprising: a porous and water-permeable reactive electrochemical membrane (“REM”) comprising: a porous and water-permeable support membrane; wherein the support membrane comprises a titanium metal; and an electrocatalytic coating on at least a portion of the metal support membrane, the electrocatalytic coating being a tin oxide bilayer comprising: a first layer adjacent to and directly contacting the metal support membrane; wherein the first layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony; and a second layer adjacent to and directly contacting the first layer; wherein the second layer forms a surface of the REM such that the second layer is in direct contact with an aqueous solution when the REM is in contact with the aqueous solution; wherein the second layer comprises tin oxide doped with antimony and nickel or cerium. Preferably, the support membrane is formed of a titanium metal.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a skid wheel system that has a skid shoe and a first skid wheel and a second skid wheel. The first skid wheel is positioned adjacent a first side of the skid shoe and the second skid wheel is positioned adjacent a second side of the skid shoe. The skid shoe has at least one connection opening that is configured to connect the skid shoe to a snow removal device with a connection member. The circumferential edge of the first skid wheel and the second skid wheel extends past at least a bottom of the skid shoe in order to mitigate wear and damage caused by engagement of a ground surface with the skid shoe and the snow removal device while improving traversal of the snow removal device over the ground surface.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for detecting microbial pathogens in a sample suspected of containing the pathogens. The method includes combining loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reagents and a polymer gel, such as a hydrogel, together with the sample to form a mixture. The gel polymerizes over a short time to immobilize the viral particles within the mixture. If target DNA/RNA are present in the sample, amplicons are produced. The target microorganisms are detected by visually detecting the presence or absence of the amplicons. The target microorganism concentrations may be determined based on the number of fluorescent amplicon dots after the reaction using a smartphone or a fluorescent microscope. The method may be employed for rapidly and inexpensively quantifying microbial pathogens in environmental water samples with high sensitivity.

Abstract: A portable pathogen analysis system (PPAS) designed to detect microbial pathogens at the point-of-sample collection. The system comprises a concentration tube used for the concentration of microbes in large volumes of water samples using super absorbent polymer (SAP) beads and a hand-powered centrifuge; and a processing component, which functions as a portable lab-on-a-disc droplet digital nucleic acid amplification system, which integrates DNA extraction, nucleic acid amplification, and post-amplicon analysis in a single unit. The present invention provides a fast, cost-effective, and user-friendly solution for microbial water quality analysis in low-resource settings.

Abstract: An electrolysis electrode includes a metal-doped array of nanotubes formed on a substrate. The nanotube array (NTA) may be a stabilized metal-doped black TiO2 NTA formed on a titanium substrate, and the metal dopant may include any suitable metal, for example, cobalt. The metal dopant improves the reactivity of the electrode and enhances its service life. The metal-doped NTA electrode may provide improved chlorine evolution and/or oxygen evolution activity for electrochemical wastewater treatment. The electrode may also be useful for water splitting applications. Increasing the loading of the metal dopant may lead to the formation of a metal oxide layer on top of the NTA, which improves oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential.

Abstract: A water purification anode has a first semiconductor contacting a second semiconductor at a heterojunction. The second semiconductor includes TiO2 and excludes bismuth and niobium. The first semiconductor includes iridium. In some instances, the anode includes a current collector in direct physical contact with the first semiconductor. The anode can be arranged in water such that at least one face of the second semiconductor is in direct physical contact with the water.

Abstract: A water purification anode has a first semiconductor contacting a second semiconductor at a heterojunction. The second semiconductor includes TiO2 and excludes bismuth and niobium. The first semiconductor includes iridium. In some instances, the anode includes a current collector in direct physical contact with the first semiconductor. The anode can be arranged in water such that at least one face of the second semiconductor is in direct physical contact with the water.

Abstract: A water purification electrode composed of a porous carbon material is disclosed. The electrode may be used as a flow-through cathode in an electro-peroxone process providing high H2O2 production activity for electrochemical wastewater treatment. The porous carbon material is a binding agent-free carbon structure that enables H2O2 to be electro-generated in situ at cathode. The porous carbon material may be synthesized from resorcinol and can provide a relatively large reaction surface area of 200-800 m2/g. The porous carbon material also achieves low energy consumption as well as a wide pH working range, making it suitable for treating many types of organic, inorganic, and biological contaminants in water. The electrode may be integrated with an anode, ozone generator, and other components into a compact, integrated water purification system.

Abstract: The disclosure provides for thin films that can be used to tune the catalytic characteristics of heterogeneous electrocatalysts.