SBIR Phase I: Affordable Onsite Wastewater Treatment Solution

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为房主提供负担得起的现场污水处理解决方案。夏威夷的珊瑚礁正受到威胁，因为全州数十万个现场处理系统的产品渗入地下水，最终到达沿海生态系统。拟议的现场废水处理技术将解决这一问题，并带来广泛的环境效益。夏威夷州已经立法要求在2050年之前更换住宅污水池，以减少溪流和海洋中的污染。不幸的是，升级成本如此之高，以至于90%的夏威夷粪池所有者负担不起升级费用。提出的技术可以将升级成本降低5-10倍。虽然最初的应用将在夏威夷，但这项技术将在全国范围内适用。该系统采用藻类细菌生物膜对化粪池循环废水进行被动曝气，以进行硝化、反硝化和异养操作。之前对abPBR用于现场处理的研究表明，abPBR具有去除高营养物和BOD的能力，但只有在主动维护和泵送再循环的情况下才能去除。这个项目提出了一个具有这种性能的新系统，但没有高维护或能源需求。一种新型的基于对流的被动再循环过程将是本研究的主要焦点，重点是确定实验确定的被动再循环速率和内部温度如何与计算模型以及现场住宅废水处理系统的标准相一致。该项目还将探索由于气体从溶液中流出而导致的再循环中断的易感性和影响。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 Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide homeowners with an affordable on-site wastewater treatment solution. Hawaii’s coral reefs are under threat from products of hundreds of thousands of onsite treatment systems across the state seeping into the groundwater and eventually reaching the coastal ecosystem. The proposed onsite wastewater treatment technology could will address this with wide-ranging environmental benefits. The State of Hawaii has legislated the replacement of residential cesspools by 2050 in order to reduce the pollution in streams and the ocean. Unfortunately, upgrade costs are so high that 90% of Hawaiian cesspool owners can’t afford the upgrade. The proposed technology can reduce the cost of upgrades by 5-10x. While the initial application will be in Hawaii, the technology will have national applicability. The proposed system uses an algal bacterial biofilm to passively aerate wastewater recirculated from a septic tank to conduct nitrifying, denitrifying, and heterotrophic operations. Previous investigations into abPBR use for onsite treatment have shown the capacity for high nutrient and BOD removal, but only with active maintenance and pumped recirculation. This project proposes a novel system with this performance but without high maintenance or energy demands. A novel convection-based passive recirculation process will be the primary focus of this study, with a focus on determining how experimentally determined passive recirculation rates and internal temperatures align with computational models, as well as standards for on-site residential wastewater treatment systems. The project will also explore susceptibility to and impact of disrupted recirculation due to gases coming out of solution.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.