SBIR Phase I: Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes for making highly efficient water separation membranes for ultralow sulfur diesel fuels

SBIR 第一阶段：功能化多壁碳纳米管，用于制造超低硫柴油的高效水分离膜

• 批准号: 0912597
• 负责人: Vardhan Bajpai
• 金额: $ 9.99万
• 依托单位: Seldon Technologies, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0912597&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Functionalized; multi; walled

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel membrane based on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. This membrane will radically outperform conventional membranes used for water separation from ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD). Water present in ULSD forms highly stable emulsions which are very difficult to separate. There is a critical need for water separation from ULSD in diesel-vehicles because water drastically reduces the engines' durability and efficiency. Conventional membranes cannot destabilize these emulsions completely. Most importantly, these membranes perform differently over the range of ULSDs available. Surface chemistry of the fibers is critical for obtaining the optimal wetting behavior required for separation of such fuel-water systems. Multi-walled carbon nanotube surface chemistry will be used as a parameter for controlling the water-ULSD separation performance of the membrane. If successful, this would solve that long standing problem in the fuel industry and would also pave the way for subsequent products for water separation from liquids (e.g. biodiesels) which form highly stable emulsions with water. In the short term, this innovation would yield significant benefits for the ULSD vehicular industry by reducing the engines' maintenance and operational costs, while in the long term it would fulfill the challenging liquid-liquid separation needs of, among others, our chemical and pharmaceutical industries.On a broader scale, the potential commercial, societal, and scientific & technological benefits are numerous and profound. The commercial yields from this research and development involve setting a patent-protected standard for water separation from ULSD in a potential annual market of $3 billion in the US diesel-road-vehicular niche alone. Additional large ULSD markets are likely to arise in non-road and locomotive and marine sectors (mandated by 2014), and biofuels. Adaptations of this core liquid-liquid separation to related needs provide significant opportunities also. The societal benefits include cleaner fuel and air, longer injector/engine life, better combustion of ULSD, lower maintenance costs, new jobs, enabling use of high-sulfur fuel reserves, more efficient combustion of biofuels, products for export, and much more. Finally, Seldon's science team is building a deep understanding of MWCNT characteristics such as dispersion within its water filtration products, the fuel work potential here, and elsewhere. New functionalization and media fabrication strategies that Seldon will develop in this research project with this novel water-ULSD separation membrane and other efforts are all yielding a portfolio of expertise available to address broad issues, known and still to be identified.This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种基于功能化多壁碳纳米管的新型膜。 这种膜将从根本上优于用于从超低硫柴油燃料（ULSD）中分离水的传统膜。超低硫柴油中的水分会形成高度稳定的乳状液，很难分离。在柴油车辆中，迫切需要将水从超低硫柴油中分离出来，因为水会大大降低发动机的耐用性和效率。常规膜不能完全使这些乳液不稳定。 最重要的是，这些膜在可用的ULSD范围内表现不同。 纤维的表面化学对于获得这种燃料-水系统的分离所需的最佳润湿行为是至关重要的。多壁碳纳米管表面化学将被用作控制膜的水-ULSD分离性能的参数。 如果成功，这将解决燃料行业长期存在的问题，并为后续产品铺平道路，用于从液体中分离水（例如生物柴油），与水形成高度稳定的乳液。短期而言，这项创新技术可减低超低硫柴油车辆引擎的维修及运作成本，为业界带来重大利益。长远而言，这项技术可满足本港化学及制药等行业对液液分离技术的需求。从更广泛的层面来说，这项技术可为商业、社会及科学技术带来多方面的潜在效益。这项研究和发展的商业收益涉及为从超低硫柴油中分离水制定一个受专利保护的标准，仅在美国柴油-道路-车辆利基市场，潜在的年市场就达30亿美元。 其他大型超低硫柴油市场可能会出现在非道路和机车和海洋部门（到2014年强制执行）以及生物燃料。 将这种核心液-液分离适应于相关需求也提供了重要的机会。社会效益包括更清洁的燃料和空气、更长的喷射器/发动机寿命、更好的超低硫柴油燃烧、更低的维护成本、新的就业机会、能够使用高硫燃料储备、更有效的生物燃料燃烧、出口产品等等。最后，Seldon的科学团队正在深入了解多壁碳纳米管的特性，例如其水过滤产品中的分散性，以及这里和其他地方的燃料工作潜力。新的功能化和介质制造策略，Seldon将在这个研究项目中开发这种新型的水-ULSD分离膜和其他努力都产生了一个专业知识组合，可用于解决广泛的问题，已知的和仍有待确定。这个奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。