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

这个小型企业技术转移研究（STTR）二期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。城市污水处理过程是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”，接收结果会有延迟。通过对耗能的脱硝过程进行实时过程控制，电能的使用可以减少20%或更多。对每个城市污水处理厂的经济影响是平均每年节省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。竞争对手的实时氮传感器技术受到性能差、维护需求高、成本高和可靠性问题的限制。提出的新型传感器提供了一种可靠、经济、低维护的替代方案，在直接饮用再利用（DPR）、农业肥料径流、工业排放和饲养场监测中的环境水质管理方面具有潜在的应用前景。拟议中的系统将有助于确保国家的清洁供水。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，以及用于即时诊断的生物医学用途。本STTR二期项目拟开发一种红外探测传感器，用于实时监测城市污水中硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐和氨氮。该技术解决了水中强烈的红外衰减问题，首次实现了基于光纤倏逝波技术的工业规模传感器应用，通过红外波导引导来自可调谐量子级联激光器的中红外辐射，而不是通过废水本身。离子交换材料作为封装介质的掺入减少了干扰并作为防止污垢的保护。新颖的自动校准控制算法可实现长期自主运行，并确保可靠的信噪比，实现对高能耗曝气过程的24x7实时控制。提出的氮传感器将具有广泛的灵敏度范围，从0.1 ppm到250 ppm，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，如磷和有机污染物，使其成为水质评估的强大工具。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。

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.