SBIR Phase II: Simple and Effective Fouling Release Coatings To Make Industrial Heat Exchangers More Energy Efficient

SBIR 第二阶段：简单有效的除垢涂层，使工业热交换器更加节能

• 批准号: 1632244
• 负责人: Calvin Kennell-Heiling
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Nano Hydrophobics, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-10-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1632244&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Simple; Effective

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop and commercialize an innovative coating which minimizes the accumulation of mineral fouling on industrial heat exchanger surfaces. Heat exchangers are used to heat or cool fluids in industrial processes, such as chemical manufacturing, oil refining, power generation, food processing, electronics manufacturing, and many more. Air conditioning for factories and large commercial buildings also represents a significant use of heat exchangers. Fouling occurs when naturally dissolved minerals in water, often called "hard" water, precipitate out of the water when it contacts a hot surface. This fouling can be seen in a typical home on the surface of a teakettle or showerhead. The resulting mineral crystals adhere strongly, and form an insulating layer that materially reduces the thermal efficiency of industrial heat exchangers. Mineral fouling is estimated to cost U.S. industry $40 Billion per year, and waste $3 Billion of energy, representing upwards of 1% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to wasting energy, this worldwide, never-ending problem increases factory downtime and maintenance costs, causes industry to spend large amounts on chemical treatment of water supplies, and decreases the useful life of heat exchanger systems. An effective coating will result in substantial environmental benefits including the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the wasted energy, and a reduction of the water treatment chemicals, which eventually enter community wastewater streams.The coating material is a low surface energy, self-assembling hydrophobic material which is a composite of a host polymer and a nanoparticle. The low surface energy of the coating impedes the attachment of the minerals to the coated heat transfer surface. Phase I results showed that any fouling accumulation on a coated surface exhibits low adhesion strength, which allows any fouling that does occur to predominantly be dislodged by the force of the water flowing over it - a phenomenon call "self-cleaning." The coating is very thin - less than 500 nm - which minimizes impedance of heat transfer due to the presence of the coating itself. Phase II research will focus on optimizing the properties of the coating, including substrate adhesion, surface energy, and toughness to ensure a useful life under industrial conditions. This will be accomplished by changing the host polymer chemistry to facilitate self-assembly, and also by changing the chemistry of the nanoparticle to obtain a covalent bond between the host polymer and nanoparticle. Work will also be performed to design the application process for industrial scale, and validate lab results with field trials at industrial sites.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将进一步开发和商业化一种创新涂层，最大限度地减少工业热交换器表面的矿物污垢积累。 热交换器用于加热或冷却工业过程中的流体，例如化学制造，炼油，发电，食品加工，电子制造等等。 工厂和大型商业建筑的空调也是热交换器的重要用途。 当水中天然溶解的矿物质（通常称为“硬水”）在接触热表面时从水中沉淀出来时，就会发生污垢。 这种污垢可以在一个典型的家庭的茶壶或淋浴喷头的表面上看到。 由此产生的矿物晶体牢固地粘附，并形成绝缘层，从而大大降低工业热交换器的热效率。 据估计，矿物污染每年给美国工业造成400亿美元的损失，浪费30亿美元的能源，占美国温室气体排放量的1%以上。 除了浪费能源外，这一全球性的、永无止境的问题还增加了工厂停机时间和维护成本，导致工业在供水的化学处理上花费大量资金，并缩短了热交换器系统的使用寿命。 一种有效的涂层将带来巨大的环境效益，包括消除因浪费能源而产生的温室气体排放，并减少最终进入社区废水流的水处理化学品。涂层材料是一种低表面能、自组装疏水材料，是主体聚合物和纳米颗粒的复合物。涂层的低表面能阻碍矿物附着到涂覆的传热表面。阶段I的结果表明，涂覆表面上的任何污垢积累都表现出低粘附强度，这使得确实发生的任何污垢主要通过流过它的水的力而被去除-这种现象称为“自清洁”。“涂层非常薄-小于500 nm -由于涂层本身的存在，最大限度地减少了传热阻抗。 第二阶段的研究将侧重于优化涂层的性能，包括基材附着力、表面能和韧性，以确保在工业条件下的使用寿命。 这将通过改变主体聚合物化学以促进自组装，以及通过改变纳米颗粒的化学以获得主体聚合物和纳米颗粒之间的共价键来实现。 还将开展工作，设计工业规模的应用程序，并在工业现场进行现场试验，验证实验室结果。