SBIR Phase I: Improving Indoor Air Quality using a Biosilica Based Functional Paint & Coatings Photocatalyst

SBIR 第一阶段：使用生物硅基功能涂料改善室内空气质量

• 批准号: 1746759
• 负责人: Nicholas Day
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Diatomix, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2018-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1746759&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Improving; Indoor; Air

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a material which when added to commercial paint and coatings can improve indoor air quality by actively removing and degrading Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Indoor air quality is generally five times worse than outdoor air quality and VOCs are prevalent in indoor environments, being emitted from typical household items like electronics, cleaners, and flooring. People spend 90% of their lives in indoor environments, making poor indoor air quality a more acute health risk. VOCs are known to cause and worsen allergic diseases such as asthma and eczema, which combined, costs the United States approximately $56 billion in medical spending and lost work productivity every year. Alleviating the discomfort and financial burdens posed by allergic diseases can improve the standard of living of over 60 million affected Americans in the United States. Low- and zero-VOC paints ($9 billion market) are the fastest growing segment of architectural paints ($62 billion market). This technology has the potential to dramatically improve indoor air quality and make everyday living better for children, the elderly, and adults suffering from allergic diseases.The intellectual merit of this project will further the understanding of using diatoms in conjunction with a photocatalyst to harvest light as an energy source for the removal of pollutants from environments. Diatoms have been shown to increase the collection of ultraviolet, blue and red wavelengths of light. As a substrate for photocatalysts which utilize these wavelengths, diatoms may provide a superior light collection capability, increasing the effectiveness of photocatalysts. The proposed aim is to show an increase in the photocatalytic rate of VOC degradation which could help to make metal oxide photocatalysis a more viable option for air treatment. The proposed research makes the following contributions: 1) advancement of efficient visible light photocatalysis with a diatom-based additive; 2) understanding integration of photocatalytic paint additives into base paint and coatings mixtures, optimized for minimal paint substrate degradation and maximal photocatalytic degradation of indoor air-pollutants; and 3) long-term improvement of indoor air quality. Overall it is expected that this Phase I will show diatoms, as substrates, can increase the rate of photocatalysts up to two times under typical irradiation sources. This project targets cleaner indoor environments through pollutant removal activity without increased energy usage.

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种材料，当添加到商业油漆和涂料中时，可以通过主动去除和降解挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）来改善室内空气质量。室内空气质量通常比室外空气质量差五倍，VOC在室内环境中普遍存在，从电子产品，清洁剂和地板等典型家用物品中排放。人们一生中90%的时间都在室内环境中度过，使室内空气质量差成为更严重的健康风险。众所周知，VOC会导致和恶化哮喘和湿疹等过敏性疾病，美国每年的医疗支出和工作效率损失约为560亿美元。减轻过敏性疾病带来的不适和经济负担可以改善美国6000多万受影响的美国人的生活水平。低VOC和零VOC涂料（90亿美元的市场）是建筑涂料（620亿美元的市场）中增长最快的部分。这项技术有可能极大地改善室内空气质量，使儿童、老人和患有过敏性疾病的成年人的日常生活更美好。该项目的智力价值将进一步理解使用硅藻与光催化剂结合使用，以收集光作为能源来去除环境中的污染物。硅藻已被证明可以增加紫外线，蓝色和红色波长的光的收集。作为利用这些波长的光催化剂的基底，硅藻可以提供上级光收集能力，从而增加光催化剂的有效性。拟议的目标是显示VOC降解的光催化速率的增加，这可能有助于使金属氧化物催化剂成为空气处理的更可行的选择。拟议的研究做出了以下贡献：1）使用基于光催化剂的添加剂推进高效可见光催化剂; 2）了解将光催化涂料添加剂整合到基础涂料和涂料混合物中，优化最小的涂料基质降解和最大的室内空气污染物光催化降解; 3）长期改善室内空气质量。总的来说，预计该阶段I将显示硅藻作为基质，可以在典型的照射源下将光催化剂的速率提高高达两倍。该项目的目标是在不增加能源使用的情况下，通过污染物清除活动来清洁室内环境。