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

SBIR 第二阶段：有毒金属涂层的经济高效、对环境负责的替代品

• 批准号: 1660132
• 负责人: David Luebke
• 金额: $ 74.13万
• 依托单位: LumiShield Technologies Incorporated
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-15 至 2021-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1660132&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Cost; effective

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.

该小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目将通过新型铝基涂层的商业化，解决防腐市场对更环保的涂层替代品的迫切需求。 如果成功商业化，铝电镀工艺将取代多种现有的基于有毒金属的防腐蚀涂层。 这些涂料目前的市场价值每年100亿美元。 用铝代替有毒金属将消除它们释放到环境中。 预计这一过程也将比现有技术便宜。 成本的降低来自于电镀溶液、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海外环境责任较低的地区。 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，环境影响更小，成本更低。在满足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。该项目的智力价值与其在大气水分和氧气存在下对高活性金属的水性电镀的探索有关。 通常，铝的电镀是在惰性吹扫下在升高的温度下从有机溶剂如甲苯中进行的。 扩大这项技术的成本和困难阻碍了它在许多应用中的采用，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技术挑战，扩大生产铝涂层的水性铝电镀工艺。 需要解决的挑战包括工业规模电镀浴中的传质、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。