SBIR Phase II: Nanocellulose-based Adjuvant Formulation for the Reduction of Agrochemical Drift and Volatilization

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛的商业影响是提供一种环保、高效、成本实惠的佐剂产品，以解决除草剂漂移的紧迫问题。多年来，种植有机、非转基因(非转基因)和特种作物的农民由于挥发性除草剂(如麦草畏)的漂移而蒙受了数亿美元的经济损失。麦草畏是一种用于除草的高挥发性高效除草剂。麦草畏对非转基因作物和自然景观的破坏一直是一个普遍存在的问题。2021年，27个州报告了约4,000起与敌草畏有关的除草剂滥用投诉。如果成功商业化，这种新的佐剂将帮助所有关键的利益相关者，包括种植转基因作物和使用麦草畏的农民，以及那些种植非转基因作物并不希望麦草畏漂移的农民。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会促进和改善国民经济和健康以及为美国公民的福祉保护环境的法定使命。在这个SBIR第二阶段项目中提出的创新是一种来自可再生资源的生物基乳剂佐剂，具有挥发性和漂移减少剂和表面活性剂的组合功能，将用于减少除草剂的挥发性和偏离目标的移动，并改善其传播。这种佐剂具有环境和经济利益，使其相对于市场上可获得但效率较低的石油基和合成佐剂具有竞争优势。这项正在申请专利的技术是一种平台技术，可以应用于从涂料到制药的其他行业。该项目设定了以下技术目标，以评估和论证这项创新的商业可行性：1)评估几种易漂移的除草剂在不同使用率下与助剂一起使用时的液滴动力学，2)完成助剂的注册，3)进行现场试验，以评估与助剂一起使用时麦草畏和麦草畏-草甘膦坦克混合物的颗粒漂移，4)低隧道场试验，以评估坦克混合物在不同表面上的挥发性，5)评估助剂对麦草畏药效的影响，这些影响在南部和中西部很常见，6)扩大最低生存能力产品的生产。这一奖项反映了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。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide an ecofriendly, efficient, and cost affordable adjuvant product to solve the pressing problem of herbicide drift. For years, farmers growing organic, non-genetically modified (non-GM) and specialty crops have incurred financial losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars due to drift of volatile herbicides such as dicamba, a highly volatile and efficient herbicide that is used to get rid of weeds. The devastation of dicamba on non-GM crops and the natural landscape has been a widespread issue. In 2021, about 4,000 dicamba-related herbicide misuse complaints were reported across 27 states. If successfully commercialized, the new adjuvant will help all key stakeholders, including farmers who grow GM crops and use dicamba, and those who grow non-GM crops and do not want drift of dicamba. The award reflects NSF’s statutory mission of promoting and improving national economy and health, as well as protecting the environment for the well-being of U.S. citizens.The innovation proposed in this SBIR Phase II project is a bio-based emulsion adjuvant, derived from renewable resources, with the combined functionality of a volatility and drift reducing agent and surfactant that will be used to reduce the volatility and off-target movement of herbicides and improve their spreading. The adjuvant has environmental and financial benefits that give it a competitive edge over commercially available but less efficient petroleum-based and synthetic adjuvants on the market. The patent-pending technology is a platform technology that can be applied to other industries from paints and coatings to pharmaceuticals. The project sets the following technical objectives to evaluate and demonstrate the commercial feasibility of the innovation: 1) assess droplet dynamics of several drift-prone herbicides when used in conjunction with the adjuvant at different use rates, 2) complete the registration of the adjuvant, 3) conduct field trials to evaluate particle drift of dicamba and dicamba-glyphosate tank mixes when used in conjunction with the adjuvant, 4) low tunnel field test to assess volatility of tank mixes on different surfaces, 5) evaluate the effects of the adjuvant on dicamba efficacy that are common in the South and Mid-West, and 6) scale up the production of the minimally viable product.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.