SBIR Phase II: A Cost-effective, Environmentally-responsible Alternative to Toxic Metal Coatings

该小型企业创新研究二期项目将通过新型铝基涂料的商业化，解决防腐市场对更环保的涂料替代品的迫切需求。如果成功商业化，铝电镀工艺将取代现有的多种基于有毒金属的防腐涂层。目前这些涂料的市场价值为每年100亿美元。用铝代替有毒金属将消除它们向环境中的释放。预计该工艺的成本也将低于现有技术。成本的降低源于镀液、废物处理和金属成本的降低。通过降低耐腐蚀涂层的成本，也有可能减少电镀工作流向对环境不太负责的海外地区。对于最初的目标市场航空航天工业来说，该工艺的可用性将意味着工人的工作条件更安全，对环境的影响更小，成本更低。在解决涂料市场这些需求的过程中，该研究将阐明与高活性金属物种电镀相关的各种有趣现象。这个项目的智力价值在于它探索了在大气湿度和氧气存在下的高活性金属的水性电镀。通常，铝的电镀是在惰性吹扫下从有机溶剂如甲苯在高温下进行的。这项技术的费用和规模化的难度阻碍了它在许多应用中的应用，这些应用可能会很好地利用铝涂层。该项目的目标将是克服扩大铝水电镀工艺生产铝涂层的技术挑战。需要解决的挑战包括工业规模电镀槽的传质、电流分布和涂层质量控制。为了应对这些挑战，项目团队将与电镀行业的合作伙伴密切合作，最终在商业电镀车间大规模展示该技术。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will address a pressing need for more environmentally responsible coating alternatives in the anti-corrosion market through the commercialization of a novel aluminum-based coating. If successfully commercialized, the aluminum electroplating process will displace multiple existing anti-corrosion coatings, which are based on toxic metals. The current market for these coatings is valued at $10 billion annually. The replacement of the toxic metals with aluminum will eliminate their release into the environment. The process is also expected to be less expensive than the incumbent technologies. The reduction in cost arises from decreases in plating solution, waste treatment, and metal costs. By decreasing the cost of corrosion-resistant coatings, it may also be possible to reduce the flow of plating jobs to less environmentally responsible areas overseas. For the aerospace industry, which is the initial target market, the availability of the process will mean safer conditions for workers, less environmental impact, and lower costs. In the process of addressing these needs in the coatings market, the research will elucidate a variety of interesting phenomena associated with electroplating of highly active metal species.The intellectual merit of this project is associated with its exploration of aqueous electroplating of highly active metals in the presence of atmospheric moisture and oxygen. Typically, electroplating of aluminum has taken place from organic solvents such as toluene at elevated temperatures under an inert purge. The expense and difficulty in scaling this technology has prevented its adoption for many applications, which might make good use of aluminum coatings. The goal of the project will be to overcome the technical challenges in scaling-up an aqueous aluminum electroplating process for producing aluminum coatings. Challenges to be addressed include mass transfer, current distribution, and coating quality control in industrial-scale plating baths. To address these challenges, the project team will work closely with partners in the electroplating industry, ultimately demonstrating the technology at scale in a working commercial plating shop.