SBIR Phase II: High-Affinity Cyclodextrin Polymers for Point-of-Use Filtration Products

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过开发用于使用点/家庭过滤应用的先进吸附剂来解决饮用水污染问题。水资源中微量污染物、药物残留物、农药、工业化学品和其他有机化合物的浓度在十亿分之一以下，被认为是主要的污染因素。由于微污染物和其他污染物的存在，世界各地的消费者不再相信他们的饮用水的安全性。这些化合物是普遍存在的，并且可以在痕量浓度下呈现毒性。因此，消费者大大增加了塑料瓶装水的非可持续使用，现在这个市场的规模达到了2600亿美元。目前的使用点过滤产品主要设计用于改善味道和气味，并且通常在去除微污染物方面无效。CycloPure的技术是专门针对水中的微污染物而开发的。该项目的重点是进一步开发公司的环糊精吸附剂，以提高使用点过滤器的有效性。这种材料可以用作直接替代品，而无需改变过滤器设计。CycloPure的材料将使家庭能够安全地使用现成的自来水。SBIR第二阶段项目建议确定开发合适形状因子的策略，以将CycloPure的高亲和力环糊精吸附剂纳入使用点过滤器。该公司的吸附剂是由玉米淀粉衍生的环糊精与容易获得的单体在一个单一步骤的过程中反应形成的。在该项目的第一阶段期间，确定了用于生产粉末形式的吸附剂的可扩展的反应条件。流通应用，如重力过滤器，经常需要粒状颗粒来实现所需的流速。早期的活动将集中在颗粒形式的吸附剂的制备，以证明可扩展性和类似于粉末形式的去除性能的保留。此后，将进行柱研究，以评估在环境相关的微污染物浓度下，在流通条件下颗粒介质的去除性能。在确定吸附特性和适当的流动条件后，将建造一个原型使用点过滤器，并使用先进的分析技术对自来水中的微污染物进行测试，包括目标和非目标的组合。目标筛选方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过利用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to provide a solution to the problem of drinking water contamination by developing an advanced adsorbent for point-of-use/home filtration applications. Micropollutants, pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, industrial chemicals and other organic compounds present in water resources at trace concentrations of one part per billion and less, are recognized as a major factor of contamination. Consumers around the world no longer trust the safety of their drinking water due to the presence of micropollutants and other contaminants. These compounds are pervasive and can present toxicity at trace concentrations. As a result, consumers have significantly increased the non-sustainable use of plastic bottled water, now a $260 billion market. Current point-of-use filtration products are primarily designed to improve taste and odor, and are generally ineffective in removing micropollutants. CycloPure's technology has been developed specifically to target and remove micropollutants from water. This project focuses on the further development of the company's cyclodextrin adsorbent to improve the effectiveness of point-of-use filters. This material can be used as a drop-in replacement without changes in filter design. CycloPure's materials will allow households to safely use readily available tap water.This SBIR Phase II project proposes to identify strategies to develop a suitable form factor to incorporate CycloPure's high-affinity cyclodextrin adsorbent into point-of-use filters. The company's adsorbent is formed by reacting cyclodextrins, which are derived from corn starch, with readily available monomers in a single step process. During the Phase I period of this project, scalable reaction conditions were identified for production of the adsorbent in powder form. Flow-through applications, such as gravity filters, frequently require granular particles to achieve desired flow rates. Early activities will focus on the preparation of the adsorbent in granular form to demonstrate scalability and retention of removal performance similar to powder form. Thereafter, column studies will be performed in order to assess the removal performance of granular media under flow-through conditions at environmentally relevant micropollutant concentrations. Following identification of adsorption characteristics and appropriate flow conditions, a prototype point-of-use filter will be constructed and tested for the removal of micropollutants from tap water using advanced analytical techniques, including a combination of target and non-target screening approaches.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.