SBIR PhaseI: Water Cleaning with Photocatalytic Nanofiber Mesh

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将进一步开发该公司的可见光激活光催化纳米纤维网技术，以清理石油和天然气钻井作业（如水力压裂）产生的采出水中的碳氢化合物污染。它涉及一种非常有前途和独特的方法，通过将污染物就地分解成环境友好的产品来去除石油污染水中的污染物。该提案探索了用于以高数量和低成本纳米制造基于CuO-WO 3系统的催化剂纳米网的新型可扩展工艺，并旨在评估其在分解广泛的BTEX（苯，甲苯，二甲苯和二甲苯）浓度方面的光催化效率。该领域的初步研究将提供这些补片的效力和可用性的明确措施。工艺条件的灵活性（与污染物的接触时间、可漂浮性、回收、再利用）是这种基于纳米材料的技术的关键特征之一，也是对经济水修复技术迫切需求的有力回应。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力涉及补救水中的石油污染。石油衍生物是对环境最危险的化合物之一。来自水力压裂操作的采出水导致大量被烃（例如BTEX）污染的水。光催化过滤网技术提供了一种以最具成本效益和生态友好的方式控制和清洁水中BTEX污染的方法。虽然目前的光催化剂仅被约2%的太阳辐照度激活，但太阳能网格对来自全太阳光谱的辐射做出响应。太阳能是免费的。除了水的修复，过滤网技术的直接用途，以及在生物医学和制药行业的设想。扩大纳米制造过程将在降低成本和增加用于实际商业产品的纳米网格的可用性方面提供显着的好处。这项技术的商业化将为熟练和非熟练工人创造新的就业机会，将提供机会培训劳动力使用纳米材料技术和纳米制造，使真实的和多功能的市场产品，它将有利于环境和人类福利。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will further develop the company's visible-light activated Photocatalytic Nanofiber Mesh technology to clean up hydrocarbon contamination in produced water resulting from oil and gas drilling operations, such as fracking. It involves a highly promising and unique approach to remove contaminants from petroleum-oil polluted water by decomposing them in-situ into environmental friendly products. The proposal explores novel scalable processes for nanomanufacturing the catalytic nanofiber mesh based on the CuO-WO3 system in high quantities and at low cost and aims to assessing their photocatalytic efficiency with respect to decomposing a wide range of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) concentrations. Pilot studies in the field will provide definite measures of the potency and usability of these nanofiber meshes. The flexibility of process conditions (contact time with pollutant, floatability, recovery, reuse) are among the key features of this nanomaterials-based technology and a solid response to an urgent need for economic water remediation technologies. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project involves remediating oil pollution in water. Oil derivatives are among the most dangerous compounds for the environment. Produced water from fracking operations results in large amount of water contaminated with hydrocarbons such as BTEX. The photocatalytic nanofiber mesh technology provides a means to contain and clean BTEX contamination in water, in a most cost-effective and ecofriendly manner. While current photocatalysts are activated by only about 2% of the solar irradiance, the nanofiber mesh responds to radiation from the full solar spectrum. And solar power is free. Apart from water remediation, immediate uses of the nanofiber mesh technology are envisioned in filtration, as well as in biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Scaling-up the nanomanufacturing process will provide significant benefits in terms of reducing the cost and increasing the availability of the nanogrids to be used in actual commercial products. Commercializing this technology will create new jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers, will provide the opportunity to train the workforce in using nanomaterials technology and nanomanufacturing to make real and versatile market products, and it will benefit the environment and the human welfare.