STTR Phase I: Effective Treatment of Groundwater Pollution Using a System Utilizing Controlled Release Polymer Materials

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种修复受污染水的技术。这些被称为控制释放聚合物结构(CRPS)的新材料正在被开发用于原位化学氧化(ISCO)。ISCO是一种先进的修复技术，在减少地下水污染方面已被证明有效。目前，在环保局的国家优先事项清单上，有1322个地点已经或预计会向环境中排放有害污染物。CRPS为这个价值600亿美元的巨大市场提供低成本、灵活的补救材料。这项专有技术抵消了日益严重的水资源短缺和导致水源受损的基础设施老化的影响。目前的ISCO方法需要使用危险的液体氧化剂，这些氧化剂对工人的安全构成重大风险，并不是在所有环境下都有效。CRPS可以作为固体提供，设计用于在几个月到几年的过程中处理特定的污染区。预计CRPS可以通过以下方式改变修复行业：1)确保工人安全，2)降低劳动力成本，3)允许持续、长期的治疗，降低重新部署成本，3)提供可调的可调性，以满足特定的场地特征或毒素，以及4)由于易用性的提高，使ISCO成为更具吸引力的补救方法。该计划将开发和优化材料配方，包括活性成分装载、稳定性和商业使用的搬运/运输。同样，将研究可用于大规模生产的方法，以及动态流动污染水研究中的性能测试。工作将调查CRPS在多种环境模拟下调节受控释放速率的能力，以确定甲基叔丁基醚(MTBE)等污染物的降解。MTBE被用作燃料添加剂，是地下储罐泄漏造成的一种常见的地下水污染物。甲基叔丁基醚因其在水中的溶解性和流动性以及环境持久性而特别成问题。将在一定的浓度范围内测试CRPS对污染物的降解，以得出剂量响应曲线。总体而言，这一第一阶段计划将导致对CRPS性能的明确理解，以指导未来的试点规模实地研究。将评估CRPS与当前ISCO补救技术的成本和部署战略，为商业化做准备

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a technology for remediating contaminated water. These new materials that called controlled release polymer structures (CRPS) are being developed for In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO). ISCO is an advanced remediation technology that has proven efficacy in reducing groundwater pollution. There are currently 1,322 sites on the EPA's National Priorities List where hazardous contaminants have or are expected to be released into the environment. CRPS serves this large $60 billion market with a low-cost, flexible remediation material. This proprietary technology offsets growing water scarcity and aging infrastructure that leads to compromised water sources. Current ISCO methods require using hazardous liquid oxidizers that pose significant worker safety risk and are not effective in all environments. CRPS can be delivered as a solid designed to treat specific contaminated zones over the course of months to years. It is expected that CRPS can transform the remediation industry by: 1) ensuring worker safety, 2) reducing labor costs, 3) allowing sustained, long term treatment decreasing redeployment cost, 3) providing tunability to meet specific site characteristics or toxins, and 4) allowing ISCO to be a more attractive remediation approach due to increased ease of use.The technical objectives in this Phase I research project are to support scale-up manufacturing and efficacy testing in preparation for field-testing at a contaminated groundwater site. This program will develop and optimize material formulation including active ingredient loading, stability, and handling / transport for commercial use. Likewise, methods amendable to large-scale manufacturing will be investigated as well as performance testing in dynamic flow contaminated water studies. Work will investigate the ability of CRPS to be tuned for controlled release rates under multiple environmental simulations to determine contaminant degradation such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE is used as a fuel additive and is a common groundwater contaminant that results from leaking underground storage tanks. MTBE is particularly problematic due to its solubility and mobility in water as well as environmental persistence. Contaminant degradation by CRPS will be tested over a range of concentrations to yield dose response curves. Collectively, this Phase I program will result in a clear understanding of CRPS performance guiding future pilot scale field studies. Cost and deployment strategies of the CRPS compared to current ISCO remediation technologies will be evaluated in preparation for commercialization