SBIR Phase II: Affordable Onsite Wastewater Treatment Solution

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响解决了现有现场废水处理技术的糟糕性能和负担不起的问题。在夏威夷，州政府要求在2050年之前对全州8.8万个化粪池进行升级，但研究表明，97%的房主将负担不起升级的费用。此外，由于场地大小、等级和敏感的接收环境限制，估计55%的夏威夷房主将需要安装传统化粪池系统以外的系统。夏威夷家庭靠近海洋，这使得他们特别容易受到海平面上升的影响，海平面上升扰乱了化粪池系统等基于土壤的处理技术。这在美国的许多沿海社区都是一个问题，但也许最明显的是在佛罗里达州的迈阿密-戴德县，据估计，到2040年，那里每年都会有%的县化粪池开始失效。现有的化粪池系统升级是存在的，但它们采取化粪池系统附加组件或包装工厂的形式，这总是会推高处理系统的成本。这个SBIR二期项目正在开发一种形状和大小类似于太阳能热水器的废水处理技术。该系统设计为被动运行，类似于化粪池，但利用共生藻类-细菌生物膜内的光合作用提供高质量的好氧处理，与昂贵的包装工厂不相上下。处理单元的地上类型保护处理过程不受高地下水位的影响，即使在极端洪水事件期间也是如此，防止疾病和污染的传播。此外，将该单元放置在地面上大大简化了安装过程，以避免昂贵的挖掘成本和挖掘房主后院的费用。该团队已经成功地试行了一项概念验证，并提供了第一阶段资金。进入第二阶段，该团队将对处理单元的关键几何和操作参数进行设计迭代，并在现场对原型进行连续的试点测试。其目标是确定弹性商业处理产品的最佳制造和设计标准，以满足在敏感接收环境中使用的行业标准。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。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the poor performance and unaffordability of existing, onsite, wastewater treatment technologies. In Hawaii, the state government has mandated the upgrade of 88,000 cesspools across the state by 2050, but studies have shown that 97% of homeowners will not be able to afford the upgrade. Further, an estimated 55% of Hawaiian homeowners will need to install a system other than a conventional septic system due to site sizing, grading, and sensitive receiving environment constraints. The proximity of Hawaiian homes to the ocean makes them particularly susceptible to rising sea levels that disrupt soil-based treatment technologies like septic systems. This is a problem in many coastal communities in America, but perhaps most notably in Miami-Dade County, FL where an estimated 64% of county septic tanks will begin to fail annually by 2040. Existing upgrades to septic systems exist but they take the form of septic system add-ons or package plants that invariably drive up the cost of treatment systems. This SBIR Phase II project is developing a wastewater treatment technology similar in shape and size to a solar hot water heater. The system is designed to operate passively, similar to a septic tank, but utilizing photosynthesis within a symbiotic algal-bacterial biofilm to provide high quality aerobic treatment on par with expensive package plants. The aboveground typology of the treatment unit protects the treatment process from high groundwater levels even during extreme flooding events, preventing the spread of disease and pollution. Further, situating the unit aboveground greatly simplifies the installation process to avoid expensive excavation costs and unearthing of homeowner backyards. This team has successfully piloted a proof-of-concept with Phase I funding. Moving into Phase II, the team will perform design iteration on the key geometric and operational parameters of the treatment unit and subject prototypes to sequential pilot tests in the field. The objective is to identify optimal manufacturing and design criteria for a resilient commercial treatment product that meets industry standards for use in sensitive receiving environments.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.