Feasibility Assessment for Passive Silver Delivery Supported by Inorganic 3D Printed Lattice Monoliths

Ceramic lattices, 3D-printed via the process known as robocasting, have shown great promise as sorbents, catalysis supports, and monoliths for the adsorption and desorption of carbon dioxide. Structures can be created which have a great deal of surface area per unit volume, porosity accessible in three dimensions, and low pressure drop penalties. It is proposed that similar structures can be suitable supports for passive silver ion (Ag+) dosing into water to provide disinfection. Like polyurethane foams which incorporate AgCl as the source of passive Ag+ delivery, inorganic ceramic lattices incorporating AgCl are envisioned. In this paper, a combination of modeling and preliminary results for 3D-printed porous alumina used to support AgCl will be discussed. It is concluded that stable inorganic lattices incorporating AgCl are feasible. However, their performance, long-term viability, and optimization need to be further studied.