SBIR Phase I: Plastic Waste Oxidation to Soil Carbon Amendments

SBIR第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将是将某些塑料回收到土壤改良剂中，以改善环境退化和农业健康。 塑料废物是一种持久性环境污染物，部分原因是缺乏综合技术来减少这些石化产品的流通库存，以及塑料衍生和回收产品的低价值。混合塑料废物中所含的碳既是一种重要的污染物，也是国内农业和再生退化土壤的潜在有价值的替代原料。土壤碳是建立土壤健康、农业生产力和粮食安全的关键驱动力，也是长期固碳的重要储存库。该项目修复传统上不可回收的低价值混合塑料废物，并将其转化为高价值的堆肥类材料。拟议的研究开发了一个低成本，分布式，分散的过程，适用于小，偏远，农村，边缘化和代表性不足的社区，以实现可持续的，家庭固体废物管理，以及建立和再生土壤健康自给自足的地方agricultur.This SBIR第一阶段项目将规模和优化塑料氧化过程，采用了一种新的高效分子内修饰的芬顿氧化。该水性方法利用低成本的绿色催化剂，其不需要高温或有机溶剂来裂解和氧化各种商业聚合物成适合作为土壤微生物基质和土壤有机碳改良剂的生物可利用的长链脂肪酸。与自然生物降解的高度可变过程相比，这种反应通过受控的化学氧化确保在环境应用之前完全修复。这项研究的目的是描述这一新的过程，建立一个可扩展的技术经济模型，以指导大规模的翻译。方法包括近红外光谱法，以跟踪塑料废物处理中常见的微塑料和其他有毒成分的消除。塑料衍生的、对环境有益的土壤改良剂将在温室和田间试验中进行进一步研究，以评估关键的农艺指标，如微生物-微生物相互作用、土壤健康、生产力等。该奖项反映了NSF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 impact of this SBIR Phase I project will be to recycle certain plastics into soil amendments to improve both environmental degradation and agricultural health. Plastic waste is a persistent environmental pollutant partly due to the lack of comprehensive technologies to reduce the in-circulation inventory of these petrochemical products, and comparably low value of plastic-derived and recycled products. The carbon contained within mixed plastic waste represents both a significant pollutant, but also a potentially valuable alternative feedstock for domestic agriculture and regenerating degraded soils. Soil carbon is a key driver in building soil health, agricultural productivity and food security, as well as a significant reservoir for long-term carbon sequestration. This project remediates traditionally non-recyclable, low-value mixed plastic waste and transforms it into a high value compost-like material. The proposed research develops a low-cost, distributed, decentralized process suitable for small, remote, rural, marginalized and underrepresented communities to achieve sustainable, domestic solid waste management as well as build and regenerate soil health for self-sufficient local agriculture.This SBIR Phase I project will scale and optimize a plastic oxidation process that employs a novel high efficiency intramolecular modification of Fenton oxidation. The aqueous process utilizes a low-cost, green catalyst that does not require high temperatures or organic solvents to cleave and oxidize a wide range of commercial polymers into bioavailable long-chain fatty acids suitable as a soil microbe substrate and soil organic carbon amendment. Compared to the highly variable process of natural biodegradation, this reaction ensures complete remediation before environmental application through controlled chemical oxidation. This research will aim to characterize this novel process towards a scalable technoeconomic model to guide translation at scale. Methods include near-infrared spectroscopy to track the elimination of microplastics and other toxic components common to plastic waste processing. The plastic-derived, environmentally beneficial soil amendments will be further studied in greenhouse and field trials to evaluate key agronomic indicators, such as amendment-microbe interactions, soil health, productivity and others.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.