Supercomputing for sustainability: University of Toledo researchers enhance water treatment technology

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan 13, 2025) — 

Anju R. Gupta's Interfacial Thermal and Transport Laboratory (ITTL) is driven by a passion for translating nature-inspired concepts into practical applications. The lab at the University of Toledo focuses on the interfacial engineering of both soft and hard materials, exploring thermally driven processes that involve heat transfer mechanisms and multiphase flows. This research has wide-ranging applications across energy, environmental and biomedical fields. 

“As an experimentalist, I've observed a growing trend in my field towards leveraging machine learning and statistical forecasting for materials discovery,” said Gupta, an associate professor of mechanical, industrial and manufacturing engineering. “Thanks to the free computational resources provided by the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), I was able to seamlessly integrate these powerful tools into my research toolkit.” 

Gupta’s research is centered on designing mixed matrix membranes for desalination (removal of mineral components from water) using a thermally driven process. In typical wastewater treatment, water is passed through a series of membranes and filters. Gupta and her doctoral student, Saketh Merugu, applied a different perspective on membrane design and its application in desalination to a new prototype. 

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Spaghetti inspired Dr. Anju Gupta and her team to create membranes with a similar structure, shown on the right using a scanning electron microscope image. These membranes are engineered with unique properties that enhance their ability to remove unwanted substances from wastewater, allowing for the recovery of large amounts of pure drinking water. Image credit: Dr. Anju R. Gupta

Gupta illustrated the process with an example involving saltwater.  

“Imagine you have a plastic polymer membrane with numerous pores, and I’m passing seawater through it at a high temperature,” Gupta said. “The salt accumulates on one side of the membrane while the water vapor passes through the tiny pores in the polymer film. Then, we condense the water vapor, resulting in pure water, with the salt left on the other side.” 

Traditional membranes have a poor ability to remove unwanted substances, resulting in low-quality water and low yield. They also have a shorter lifespan, which Gupta wanted to change with her prototype. 

“The OSC facilities helped us create machine learning and statistical forecasting simulations where we could predict the lifespan of the membranes,” Gupta said. 

The project received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), enabling Gupta and her team to physically experiment with their membrane filters. 

“Although the grant focused primarily on the experimental aspect, we always like to push the boundaries,” she explained. “We ran simulations through OSC for 100 to 200 hours at a time, training the data to predict the membrane lifespan so we could accurately inform our stakeholders how often they would need to change the membranes.” 

Gupta and Merugu filed a provisional patent for their membrane and are participating in NSF’s National I-Corps for customer discovery while continuing to refine their prototypes and explore new applications. The potential impact of their work is promising—from enhancing water quality to recovering valuable materials. With a focus on innovation and sustainability, Gupta’s research is paving the way for a cleaner, more efficient future.  

“We’re not just transforming wastewater into drinking water,” Gupta said. "We are developing sustainable technologies that enhance quality of life while educating a workforce equipped with both technical expertise and social responsibility for the challenges of the Anthropocene era.”  

Written by Lexi Biasi

Gupta presented her research at OSC’s April 2024 Research Symposium, which is held annually each spring to create engagement within the high performance computing community. 

The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) addresses the rising computational demands of academic and industrial research communities by providing a robust shared infrastructure and proven expertise in advanced modeling, simulation and analysis. OSC empowers scientists with the services essential to making extraordinary discoveries and innovations, partners with businesses and industry to leverage computational science as a competitive force in the global knowledge economy and leads efforts to equip the workforce with the key technology skills required for 21st century jobs.