SBIR Phase I: A Transformational Method to Extract Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) from Building Masonry

SBIR 第一阶段：从建筑砖石中提取多氯联苯 (PCB) 的变革方法

• 批准号: 2100092
• 负责人: Martha Inglese
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: MARLEY ENVIRONMENTAL INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-05-15 至 2022-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2100092&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Transformational; Method; Extract

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project is solving the legacy polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) problem impacting our aging schools and infrastructure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates as many as 55,000 schools and 800,000 government and non-government buildings may have been constructed with PCB-laden paints, caulks, mastics and adhesives before the 1979 PCBs ban. Simply removing the PCB-laden source in hopes it will eliminate the hazard has proven futile as a growing body of data is revealing PCBs from weathered caulk can leach as deep as 6-inches into adjacent porous masonry (e.g., concrete, brick, and mortar). Currently, total demolition and select removal (i.e., partial demolition) are the only EPA-approved PCB removal options and both are quickly filling up the handful of landfills willing to take it. The proposed technical innovation will transform a dormant government patent that extracts PCBs in paint, into a non-destructive treatment method that penetrates and extracts PCBs absorbed in building masonry. Such an innovation will have a direct and beneficial impact on the government agencies and school renovation commissions who cannot afford to demolish the old and rebuild new. This SBIR Phase 1 project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of two proprietary solvent-paste formulations at extracting PCBs from different masonry types after the source (e.g., caulk) has been removed. The solvent-paste is applied directly to the contaminated masonry surface and scraped off after a pre-determined treatment period. Once applied, the lipophilic alcohol in the solvent-paste penetrates the masonry’s open pore spaces, and solubilizes the PCB molecules it encounters along the way. The process of desorbing the PCBs from the inorganic masonry particles and into the applied paste is aided – via capillary action – by the lipophilic alcohol drawing the hydrophobic PCBs toward the paste. Technical challenges include desorbing the stickier spectrum of hydrophobic Aroclors (e.g., 1248, 1254, 1260) added to paints, caulks and adhesives in seasonally cool ( 50°F), wet weather. Since successful commercialization of an alternative PCB treatment technology requires approval from EPA in accordance with the PCB regulations (40 CFR 761), the performance of both solvent-pastes will be evaluated against the regulation’s stringent 1 ppm high occupancy cleanup criterion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是解决影响我们老化学校和基础设施的遗留多氯联苯 (PCB) 问题。美国环境保护署 (EPA) 估计多达 55,000 所学校和 800,000 所政府和机构。在 1979 年 PCB 禁令取消之前，非政府建筑可能已使用含有 PCB 的油漆、填缝剂、胶粘剂和粘合剂建造。含有多氯联苯的来源希望消除这种危害，但事实证明是徒劳的，因为越来越多的数据显示，风化填缝料中的多氯联苯可以渗入相邻多孔砖石（例如混凝土、砖块和砂浆）达 6 英寸深。目前，全部拆除和选择性拆除（即部分拆除）是 EPA 批准的唯一的 PCB 拆除方案，并且这两种方案都很快填满了少数愿意采取这种技术创新的垃圾填埋场。将把一项提取油漆中多氯联苯的休眠政府专利转变为一种渗透并提取建筑砖石中吸收的多氯联苯的无损处理方法，这样的创新将对无力承担费用的政府机构和学校装修委员会产生直接和有益的影响。拆除旧建筑并重建新建筑 该 SBIR 第一阶段项目旨在证明两种专有溶剂膏配方在从不同砖石类型（例如，将溶剂糊剂直接涂抹到受污染的砖石表面，并在预定的处理时间后刮掉，溶剂糊剂中的亲脂性醇会渗透砖石的开放孔隙空间，并溶解这些物质。沿途遇到的 PCB 分子通过毛细管作用将 PCB 从无机砖石颗粒中解吸到所涂的浆料中。技术挑战包括在季节性凉爽 (50°F)、潮湿的天气中解吸添加到油漆、填缝剂和粘合剂中的疏水性 Aroclors（例如 1248、1254、1260）。替代 PCB 处理技术的商业化需要根据 PCB 法规 (40 CFR 761) 获得 EPA 的批准，其性能两种溶剂浆料的质量将根据法规严格的 1 ppm 高占用清洁标准进行评估。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。