SBIR Phase II: Effective Treatment of Groundwater Pollution Using a System Utilizing Controlled Release Polymer Materials

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将试点实地测试控释聚合物（CRPs）作为原位化学氧化（ISCO）修复材料。通过控制氧化剂有效载荷的释放时间，CRPs技术可以在较长时间内处理受污染的水，从而消除污染物反弹的发生，从而缩短了总体清理时间和总成本。ISCO是亚表面污染物修复技术中发展最快的领域。目前商业化的ISCO调配方法利用液体氧化剂作为试剂，具有短期反应活性（天）。为了解决污染物回弹问题，这些可注射配方需要昂贵的再注射。该项目将产生一种对环境无害的新产品，并通过单次应用在延长的治疗期（数月至数年）内实现氧化剂的持续释放。CRPs是一项新技术，为14亿美元的化学处理修复市场提供了高度可调的修复修正。最终，以crp为基础的处理将减少暴露于已知会导致许多人类健康失调的地下水污染物。该二期研究项目的技术目标是实地测试CRPs专利的可控释放聚合物技术，用于污染地下水的原位化学氧化。为了支持现场测试，将为第一阶段建立的初始最小可行产品开发一个中试规模的制造过程。可制造性将在产品质量和稳定性、产量和成本方面进行测试。基于多种氧化剂的CRPs配方将用于解决广泛的环境污染物，包括氯化溶剂，BTEX（苯/甲苯/乙苯/二甲苯），PAH（多环芳烃），MTBE（甲基叔丁基醚）和石油烃。CRPs将在两个受影响土壤和地下水的实地地点进行试点试验。将测量氧化剂传递和污染物降解的速率和持续时间。特别是，试点现场测试将评估crp消除反弹的能力。现场数据和计算模型将用于创建补救设计工具，以规定未来的CRP剂量部署策略。总的来说，这个第二阶段项目将导致对CRPs技术的现场性能的清晰理解，以指导未来的全面部署和市场采用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will pilot field test controlled release polymers (CRPs) as an in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) remediation material. With a controlled time release of the oxidant payload, the CRPs technology treats contaminated water over longer periods eliminating the occurrence of contaminant rebound resulting in overall shorter cleanup time and total cost. ISCO is the fastest growing field among sub surface contaminant remediation technologies. Current commercial ISCO deployment methods utilize liquid oxidants as reagents which possess short term reactivity (days). To address contaminant rebounding, these injectable formulations require costly re-injections. This project would result in a novel product that is environmentally benign and achieves sustained release of oxidative agents over extended treatment periods (months to years) with a single application. CRPs are a novel technology, offering a highly tunable remediation amendment for the $1.4B Chemical Treatment Remediation Market. Ultimately, CRPs based treatments will decrease exposure to groundwater contaminants known to cause many human health disorders.The technical objectives in this Phase II research project will be to field test CRPs patented, controlled release polymer technology for in situ chemical oxidation of contaminated groundwater. To support field testing, a pilot scale manufacturing process for the initial minimum viable product established in Phase I will be developed. Manufacturability will be tested in terms of product quality and stability, throughput, and cost. CRPs formulations based on multiple oxidants, will be manufactured to address a broad range of environmental contaminants including chlorinated solvents, BTEX (benzene/toluene/ethylbenzene/xylene), PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), and petroleum hydrocarbons. CRPs will be pilot tested at two field sites with impacted soil and groundwater. The rate and duration of oxidant delivery and contaminant degradation will be measured. In particular, pilot field testing will assess the ability of CRPs to eliminate rebounding. Field data and computation modeling will be used to create a remediation design tool to prescribe future CRP dosing deployment strategies. Collectively, this Phase II program will result in a clear understanding of in-field performance of the CRPs technology to guide future full scale deployment and market uptake.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.