SBIR Phase II: Removal of VOCs using novel photocatalytic materials and systems

SBIR 第二阶段：使用新型光催化材料和系统去除 VOC

• 批准号: 1927003
• 负责人: Melissa Petruska
• 金额: $ 72.78万
• 依托单位: SONATA SCIENTIFIC LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-10-01 至 2022-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1927003&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Removal; VOCs

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is establishment of sustainable, cost-effective technology to mitigate volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in a variety of industrial settings by using photocatalysts to effectively destroy them. The technology is broadly applicable to VOC removal and is highly relevant to environments with low levels of VOCs that pose health, environmental, and manufacturing risks and where current approaches underperform. The proposed innovation addresses key gaps limiting the successful application of photocatalysts to these environments, specifically the need to eliminate by-products that may form during VOC destruction and the implementation of high-performing photoreactors employing robust photocatalysts with long lifetimes. It is expected that the developed technology will extend to chemical processing on an industrial scale, including CO2 conversion. This technology will enable large-scale processes and has the potential for an extensive societal impact by reducing CO2 emissions that affect climate change. The technology will also form the core foundation of high performance and attractive residential products, which will improve indoor air quality in homes and businesses where VOCs pose health risks. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to improve indoor air quality in industrial settings by developing a photocatalytic technology platform that enables efficient and effective VOC removal. The technology will be particularly valuable in the presence of low-level contamination where alternative technologies are expensive, poorly performing, and adversely affect the environment. Photocatalysts are widely known as effective chemical scrubbers and disinfectants. When activated by light, their surfaces become chemically active via formation of reactive oxygen species, which decompose toxic VOCs. The objectives of this project are to overcome the key drawbacks of commercially available photocatalysts that inhibit their widespread use in industrial environments. Previous photocatalysts form by-products and intermediates, which may be toxic or which can contaminate the photocatalyst. Those products are powder-based, leading to shedding and high attrition. The proposed research will develop a photocatalyst and photoreactor systems that provide efficient light coupling and enable rapid reaction rates. The anticipated result is a highly robust photocatalyst with an optimized macroscopic form factor that is matched to a prototype reactor system. The technology developed in Phase II will be validated for industrial VOC mitigation in the parts per trillion range.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.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是建立可持续、经济高效的技术，通过使用光催化剂有效销毁挥发性有机化学品 (VOC)，以减少各种工业环境中的挥发性有机化学品 (VOC)。该技术广泛适用于 VOC 去除，并且与 VOC 含量较低的环境高度相关，这些环境会带来健康、环境和制造风险，并且目前的方法效果不佳。所提出的创新解决了限制光催化剂在这些环境中成功应用的关键差距，特别是需要消除在VOC破坏过程中可能形成的副产品，以及采用具有长寿命的强大光催化剂的高性能光反应器。预计所开发的技术将扩展到工业规模的化学加工，包括二氧化碳转化。该技术将实现大规模流程，并有可能通过减少影响气候变化的二氧化碳排放来产生广泛的社会影响。该技术还将构成高性能和有吸引力的住宅产品的核心基础，这将改善 VOC 造成健康风险的家庭和企业的室内空气质量。该 SBIR 二期项目旨在通过开发能够高效去除 VOC 的光催化技术平台来改善工业环境中的室内空气质量。该技术在存在低度污染的情况下尤其有价值，因为替代技术价格昂贵、性能不佳并对环境产生不利影响。光催化剂被广泛认为是有效的化学洗涤剂和消毒剂。当被光激活时，它们的表面会通过形成活性氧而变得具有化学活性，从而分解有毒的挥发性有机化合物。该项目的目标是克服市售光催化剂的主要缺点，这些缺点阻碍了其在工业环境中的广泛使用。以前的光催化剂会形成副产物和中间体，它们可能有毒或可能污染光催化剂。这些产品是粉末状的，会导致脱落和高磨损。拟议的研究将开发一种光催化剂和光反应器系统，提供有效的光耦合并实现快速反应速率。预期的结果是一种高度稳健的光催化剂，具有与原型反应器系统相匹配的优化宏观形状因数。第二阶段开发的技术将经过验证，可用于万亿分之一范围内的工业 VOC 减排。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。