SBIR Phase II: Real-Time Nitrogen Sensor for Wastewater Treatment Optimization

这个小型企业技术转移研究（STTR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是为废水处理过程控制和自动化提供氮传感器，每年可能为美国市政废水处理行业节省6亿美元的电能。城市污水处理工艺基于能源密集型曝气。目前，主要的监测方法是向实验室发送“抓取样本”，在接收结果方面存在延迟。通过对耗能的脱硝过程进行实时过程控制，可以减少20%或更多的电能使用。对每个城市污水处理厂的经济影响是每年平均节省20万美元的能源，投资回收期不到6个月，降低运营成本，同时减少/防止失控的污水事件。 实时氮传感器的竞争技术受到性能差、高维护需求、高成本和可靠性问题的限制。 拟议的新传感器提供了一个可靠的，具有成本效益的，低维护的替代品，在直接饮用水再利用（DPR）的潜在应用，并在农业肥料径流，工业排放和饲养场监测管理环境水质。 拟议中的系统将有助于确保国家的清洁水供应。此外，作为在相关领域使用的平台技术，未来的应用包括用于实时制造过程控制的工业传感器，用于化学和生物防御的国土安全传感，以及用于护理点诊断的生物医学用途。该STTR第二阶段项目建议开发一种红外检测传感器，用于实时监测城市污水中的硝酸盐，亚硝酸盐和氨。该技术通过基于光纤倏逝波技术的第一个工业规模传感器应用解决了水中的强红外衰减问题，通过红外波导而不是通过废水本身引导来自可调谐量子级联激光器的中红外辐射。作为封装介质的离子交换材料的结合减少了干扰并起到防止结垢的作用。 用于自动校准的新型控制算法可实现长期自主运行，并确保可靠的信噪比，从而实现对能源密集型曝气过程的全天候实时控制。所提出的氮传感器将具有从0.1 ppm到250 ppm的宽范围的灵敏度，并且可以用于在中红外光谱范围内具有指纹的其他重要化学物质，例如磷和有机污染物，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识产权进行评估来支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will be to supply nitrogen sensors for wastewater treatment process control and automation, potentially saving $600 M per year in electric energy for the U.S. municipal wastewater treatment industry. Municipal wastewater treatment processes are based on energy-intensive aeration. Currently, the primary monitoring method is sending “grab-samples” to a lab, with delays in receiving results. By enabling real-time process control of the energy-consuming denitrification process, electric energy usage can be reduced by 20% or more. The economic impact to each municipal wastewater treatment plant is an average energy savings of $200 k per year, with less than 6 months payback, and lower operating costs while reducing/preventing out-of-control effluent events. Competing technologies for real-time nitrogen sensors are limited by poor performance, high maintenance needs, high cost, and reliability problems. The proposed new sensor offers a reliable, cost-effective, low-maintenance alternative with potential applications in direct potable reuse (DPR), and managing environmental water quality in agricultural fertilizer runoff, industrial discharge and feed-lot monitoring. The proposed system will help assure the nation’s clean water supply. In addition, as a platform technology for use in related fields, future applications include industrial sensors for real-time manufacturing process control, homeland security sensing for chemical and biological defense, and biomedical use for point-of-care diagnostics. This STTR Phase II project proposes to develop an infrared-detection sensor for real-time monitoring of nitrogen as nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia in municipal wastewater. The technology addresses strong IR attenuation in water with the first industrial-scale sensor application based on a fiber-optic evanescent wave technique, guiding mid-IR radiation from a tunable quantum-cascade laser through an IR waveguide rather than through the wastewater itself. The incorporation of an ion-exchange material as an encapsulating medium reduces interference and acts as protection against fouling. Novel control algorithms for auto-calibration enable long-term autonomous operation and ensure a reliable signal-to-noise ratio, for 24x7 real-time control of the energy-intensive aeration process. The proposed nitrogen sensor will have a wide range of sensitivity, from 0.1 ppm to 250 ppm, and can be used for other important chemical species with fingerprints in the mid-IR spectral range, such as phosphorus and organic contaminants, making it a robust tool for water quality assessment.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.