SBIR Phase II: Affordable Onsite Wastewater Treatment Solution

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛/商业影响解决了现有的、现场的废水处理技术的性能差和负担不起的问题。在夏威夷，州政府要求到2050年全州升级88,000个污水池，但研究表明，97%的房主将无力承担升级费用。此外，由于场地规模、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除传统化粪池系统之外的系统。夏威夷的房屋靠近海洋，这使得它们特别容易受到海平面上升的影响，海平面上升会破坏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，但也许最明显的是佛罗里达州迈阿密-戴德县，据估计，到2040年，该县64%的化粪池将开始失效。现有的化粪池系统的升级是存在的，但它们采取了化粪池系统附加组件或包装工厂的形式，这总是会提高处理系统的成本。SBIR二期项目正在开发一种在形状和尺寸上类似于太阳能热水器的废水处理技术。该系统被设计为被动操作，类似于化粪池，但利用共生藻-细菌生物膜内的光合作用，提供与昂贵的包装植物相当的高质量好氧处理。处理单元的地上类型保护处理过程免受高地下水水位的影响，即使在极端洪水事件期间，也可以防止疾病和污染的传播。此外，将单元置于地面上大大简化了安装过程，避免了昂贵的挖掘成本和房主后院的挖掘。这个团队已经成功地用第一阶段的资金进行了概念验证。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，并对原型进行现场连续试点测试。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/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.