SBIR Phase II: Optimized Hydrothermal Reactor for Scalable and Affordable Destruction of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS)

SBIR 第二阶段：优化的水热反应器，可大规模且经济地销毁全氟和多氟物质 (PFAS)

• 批准号: 2232969
• 负责人: Brian Pinkard
• 金额: $ 97.93万
• 依托单位: AQUAGGA, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-05-01 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2232969&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Optimized; Hydrothermal

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the acceleration of a new technology for the destruction of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), otherwise known as “forever chemicals”. PFAS chemicals are widely used in firefighting foams and consumer goods. However, they are incredibly recalcitrant environmental pollutants, highly toxic to humans, and very hard to destroy. Widespread contamination of soil, groundwater, and drinking water at sites near airports, military bases, and manufacturing sites is driving a global effort to remove and destroy PFAS toxins. PFAS are poorly broken down by incineration and they do not have a natural half-life. The environmental remediation industry needs effective technology for on-site, end-of-life destruction of PFAS. The technology being developed in this SBIR Phase II project is energy efficient, scalable, pairs with existing technologies, and can be deployed at-scale for the destruction of PFAS-rich wastes. This SBIR Phase II project seeks to reduce technical risks related to system corrosion and chemical consumption in the development and scale-up of the hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT) process for the destruction of PFAS. Hydrothermal processing has historically been plagued by challenges with corrosion and low component lifetimes, and/or has requiring the use of expensive alloys, replaceable system components, and/or elegant chemical corrosion prevention strategies. This said, hydrothermal processes are some of the most effective and efficient technologies for destroying hazardous wastes, such as PFAS. This project will focus on measuring and mitigating the material corrosion challenges to enable more widespread adoption of hydrothermal processes for waste disposal. Additionally, HALT processing requires the use of alkaline chemicals as process additives. In this project, by adopting chemical recycling strategies, the use of chemicals may be drastically reduced, improving overall unit economics and reducing the environmental footprint of HALT processing.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.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）II期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是加速了一种新技术，以破坏有毒的人群和多氟烷基（PFA），否则称为“永远的化学物质”。 PFAS化学品被广泛用于消防泡沫和消费品。但是，它们越来越顽固地环境污染物，对人类剧毒，并且很难破坏。在机场，军事基地和制造地点附近的土壤，地下水和饮用水的广泛污染正在推动全球努力去除和破坏PFAS毒素。 PFA因机构而崩溃了，他们没有天然的半衰期。环境修复行业需要有效的技术来实现PFA的现场，临终关系破坏。在这个SBIR II期项目中开发的技术是能节能的，可扩展的，与现有技术配对，并且可以在尺度上部署以破坏PFAS富含PFAS的废物。该SBIR II期项目旨在减少与系统腐蚀和化学消耗有关的技术风险，以开发和扩大水热酒精治疗（Halt）过程，以破坏PFA。历史上，水热处理受到腐蚀和较低的成分寿命的挑战，并且/或需要使用昂贵的合金，可更换的系统组件和/或优雅的化学腐蚀预防策略。也就是说，水热过程是破坏危险废物的一些最有效，最有效的技术，例如PFA。该项目将着重于衡量和减轻材料腐蚀挑战，以使更多地采用水热过程以进行废物处理。此外，停止处理需要将合金化学品用作工艺添加剂。在该项目中，通过采用化学回收策略，可以大幅度降低化学物质的使用，改善整体单位经济学并减少HALT处理的环境足迹。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛影响的审查审查标准来通过评估来获得的支持。