SBIR Phase I: An Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Electromechanical Steam Trap for Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Energy Savings

SBIR 第一阶段：用于减少温室气体排放和节能的工业物联网 (IIoT) 机电蒸汽疏水阀

• 批准号: 2324530
• 负责人: Brad Medford
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: IMPERIUM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2324530&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Industrial; Internet; Things

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a longstanding steam industry problem, the undetectable leaking of steam traps. In North America, $500 billion worth of steam is made every year for diverse industries: oil & gas, chemicals, food, medical, utilities, etc. Around 20% of the lost steam contributes to 1.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas which would be enough to generate electricity for 15 million homes. The key steam system issue comes from failed or underperforming traps that go undetected. A correctly working steam system is a closed loop environment that maintains the required pressure and temperature for proper steam flow. Over time, steam converts to liquid condensation and is captured in traps to be cleared on a regular basis to maintain the steam system performance integrity. In this project, a new trap system is designed to replace the current passive mechanical technology. The system integrates an active electromechanical system and remote monitoring using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors, providing steam operators with real-time monitoring and real-time data performance to identify steam trap and system issues for immediate resolution.This SBIR Phase I project identifies the known flaws of current steam trap design and operations by applying innovative solutions to the design a new trap. Current traps are purely mechanical that, when exposed to corrosive, high-pressure and temperature environments with repeated water discharge, wear out for a shortened lifespan. This technology may result into an optimal-performing steam system that continuously monitors steam flow for the best operational performance and reliable water removal. When a trap fails and steam is discharged, energy is lost, requiring boilers to consume added fossil fuels to generate additional replacement steam with unwanted greenhouse gas emissions. The new steam trap will (1) improve reliability by doubling the trap lifespan from 2-4 years to 10 years, (2) reduce the number of moving parts, (3) incorporate electronic sensors to monitor water condensation levels versus relying on mechanical floats or discs to detect and discharge condensate, and (4) provide real-time monitoring to collect and track unmonitored operational parameters continuously. This system will retrofit with existing traps for cost-effective operations and to will reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.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.

这个小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目解决了蒸汽行业长期存在的问题，即蒸汽疏水阀无法检测到的泄漏。 在北美，每年为不同行业产生价值 5000 亿美元的蒸汽：石油和天然气、化学品、食品、医疗、公用事业等。损失的蒸汽中约 20% 会产生 14 亿吨温室气体，这将导致足以为1500万个家庭提供电力。蒸汽系统的关键问题来自未检测到的故障或性能不佳的疏水阀。正确工作的蒸汽系统是一个闭环环境，可维持适当的蒸汽流量所需的压力和温度。随着时间的推移，蒸汽会转化为液体冷凝物，并被捕获在疏水阀中，并定期进行清理，以保持蒸汽系统性能的完整性。在这个项目中，设计了一种新的陷阱系统来取代当前的被动机械技术。该系统集成了主动机电系统和使用工业物联网 (IIoT) 传感器的远程监控，为蒸汽操作员提供实时监控和实时数据性能，以识别蒸汽疏水阀和系统问题并立即解决。该 SBIR 第一阶段项目通过应用创新的解决方案来设计新的疏水阀，识别当前蒸汽疏水阀设计和操作的已知缺陷。电流陷阱是纯机械的，当暴露于腐蚀性、高压和高温环境并反复排水时，会磨损并缩短使用寿命。该技术可能会产生性能最佳的蒸汽系统，该系统可以连续监控蒸汽流量，以获得最佳的运行性能和可靠的除水效果。当疏水阀发生故障并且蒸汽被排放时，能量就会损失，这就需要锅炉消耗额外的化石燃料来产生额外的替代蒸汽，从而产生不必要的温室气体排放。 新型蒸汽疏水阀将 (1) 将疏水阀的使用寿命从 2-4 年延长至 10 年，从而提高可靠性；(2) 减少移动部件的数量；(3) 与依赖机械浮子相比，采用电子传感器来监测水凝结水平或盘来检测和排放冷凝水，(4) 提供实时监控以连续收集和跟踪未监控的运行参数。 该系统将对现有捕集器进行改造，以实现具有成本效益的操作，并减少或消除温室气体排放。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。