SBIR Phase I: Terahertz hydration monitoring for paper manufacturing

这个小企业创新研究计划（SBIR）第一阶段项目将专注于太赫兹（THz）水合映射系统的设计，建造和验证，用于造纸。太赫兹辐射被定义为电磁频谱的亚毫米区域，是一个相对较新且不断扩展的研究领域，有望实现独特的成像能力。THz成像利用100 GHz至10 THz波段的照明，在NIR、可见光和UV波段的系统无法获得的目标中产生对比度。太赫兹照明是理想地适合于非破坏性评估，安全成像，过程控制，和医学成像的一些原因，包括其非电离性质，其波长，其可实现的宽瞬时带宽，以及大的真实的和虚部的介电常数的水在太赫兹频率。造纸业目前缺乏具有足够空间分辨率和水浓度灵敏度的水合计量学来检测干燥纸产品中水的局部分布，并且当前的工业标准是昂贵的，并且由于其相关的电离辐射而具有安全问题。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力跨越了依赖于谨慎湿度控制的几个领域，包括木材制造、塑料、农业、化学加工和混凝土制造。这项建议最初将集中于造纸过程，这是一个非常昂贵的，资本密集型的过程。造纸机的停机时间和废纸（不需要的纸）都是非常有价值的。因此，过程控制是关键，快速和一致地去除水的能力是最重要的过程控制变量之一。超出规格的水分会增加停机时间，降低效率，增加成本，增加废料水平，并降低消费者的质量。目前的过程控制技术是不够的，并导致增加的成本，增加的能源使用，以及大量的废纸，必须回收或填埋。全球造纸业规模庞大，仅美国每年的销售额就超过1300亿美元，产品产量近1亿吨。因此，过程控制的改进可以显著减少全球能源使用、全球木材消耗和纸张成本。

This Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the design, construction, and verification of a terahertz (THz) hydration mapping system for use in paper manufacturing. THz radiation is defined as the submillimeter region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and is a relatively new and expanding area of research that promises unique imaging capabilities. THz imaging utilizes illumination from the 100 GHz to 10 THz band to generate contrast in targets unavailable to systems operating in the NIR, visible, and UV bands. THz illumination is ideally suited to nondestructive evaluation, security imaging, process control, and medical imaging for a number of reasons, including its nonionizing nature, its wavelength, its achievable broad instantaneous bandwidth, and the large real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant of water at THz frequencies. Paper manufacturing currently lacks hydration metrology with sufficient spatial resolution and water concentration sensitivity to detect local distributions of water in drying paper products, and the current industry standard is costly and has safety concerns due to its associated ionizing radiation. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project spans several fields that rely on careful moisture control, including wood manufacturing, plastics, agriculture, chemical processing, and concrete manufacturing. This proposal will initially focus on the papermaking process, which is a very expensive, capital-intensive process. Both downtime on a paper machine and scrap paper (unwanted paper) are highly valuable. As a result, process control is key, and the ability to remove water quickly and consistently is one of the most important process control variables. Out-of-spec moisture increases downtime, reduces efficiency, increases costs, increases scrap levels, and reduces quality to the consumer. Current process control techniques are insufficient and lead to added cost, increased energy use, and a large amount of wasted paper that must be recycled or land filled. The global paper manufacturing industry is enormous, with over $130 billion in sales and nearly 100 million metric tons of product annually in the U.S. alone. Therefore, improvements in process control can result in significant reductions in global energy use, global wood consumption, and paper costs.