A novel method for scale inhibition by the synergistic action of triboelectric nanogenerator and copper-based alloy

Abstract

In order to improve the scale inhibition of copper-based alloys, a novel method is proposed by the synergistic action of triboelectric nanogenerator and copper-based alloy. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based on copper-based alloy material embedded in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was constructed, and a scale inhibition structure of coupling the (solid-liquid) triboelectric nanogenerator and the copper-based alloy was designed. Additionally, the alloy scale inhibition device was constructed by utilizing alloys as the scale inhibition element, and the synergistic scale inhibition device was developed by utilizing a coupled structure. Power generation performance tests were conducted for both scale inhibition elements, and scale inhibition effectiveness tests were conducted for both synergistic scale inhibition devices. Measurement results show that the power generation performance of the synergistic scale inhibition element is significantly higher than that of the alloy scale inhibition element. This indicates that the addition of solid-liquid TENG can greatly increase the surface potential of the alloy scale inhibition element. The enhancement of the scale inhibition performance of the alloy scale inhibition element by solid-liquid TENG is primarily due to this principle. The scale inhibition performance experiment measurement results show that the synergistic scale inhibition effect of solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerator and copper-based alloy can be realized. The remaining calcium ion concentration in the water treated by the coupling structure is higher than that in the water treated by the copper-based alloy. The scale inhibition rate of copper-based alloy embedded in the solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerator is significantly increased. Therefore, the scale inhibition performance of copper-based alloy embedded in triboelectric nanogenerators can be improved significantly.