EPA SBIR 2022-2023 Phase I Solicitation

Modular DNW technologies that intentionally reuse wastewater as an alternative to the conventional residential septic system. Proposed technologies will need to comply with future state level treatment requirements to protect public health. Ideally, technologies would be passive requiring minimal maintenance by homeowners or renters. Innovation is needed to make the technologies cheaper, easier to operate and maintain, easier to monitor to ensure treatment effectiveness, minimize waste byproducts, increase energy efficiency and easier to retrofit into existing homes.

Technologies to better characterize environmental samples of microplastics (5 mm – 1 nm or any defined subset) in environmental matrices such as water, wastewater, or soil. Technologies could include artificial intelligence or other methods to rapidly identify plastics. Of particular interest is the extraction and identification of nanoplastics from complex environmental matrices. Also of interest are the length of time and cost of each sample analysis associated with the proposed methods.

Relatively low-cost technologies that can be used to capture trash in streams or rivers before ultimate removal from the environment. Technologies must be suitable for use by smaller municipalities or non-governmental organizations that may not have much experience with using such devices, and must therefore be easy to install, clean out and maintain. Relevant direction on conditions under which the technology would ideally be used (e.g., stream flow rate) or other needs for use (e.g., need for power source, space requirements, etc.) should be clearly specified.

Innovative technologies for the rapid detection of contaminants of emerging concern in water. Contaminants of highest priority include total PFAS, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and stimulants. Technologies should be field-deployable, cost-effective, robust, user-friendly, sensitive and capable of detecting CECs in complex water environments including drinking water, groundwater, surface water and wastewater. Ideally, PFAS sensor technologies should detect PFAS at levels comparable to (or below) existing EPA methods (e.g., Methods 533 and 537.1, SW-846 Method 8327, and draft Methods 1633 and 1621).

New measurement technologies that can identify and quantify air toxic emissions. Technologies should provide real time, continuous measurements of concentrations with minimum detection limits below background concentrations or health risk-based thresholds. Additionally, new technology must be able to distinguish targets from potential interfering compounds. Technologies that can be used to detect or identify sources of air toxic emissions would be useful for addressing neighborhood-level concerns, which may not be seen with the current regulatory monitoring network.

Cost-effective, reliable, and accurate CEMS for HAP metals from stacks at stationary sources. The proposed CEMS should provide continuous compliance with applicable limits for small and mid-size industries. Furthermore, such technology should provide continuous emissions rate data in terms of the applicable limit (rather than parametric data), thus enhancing practical enforceability of the emissions limit or standard. Technologies would demonstrate that a representative particulate and gaseous metal sample can be collected through the proposed technology’s sample transport system. Technologies should significantly improve accuracy, reliability and effectiveness, and substantially lower capital and operating costs of existing technologies. Ideally, proposals would include laboratory demonstrations of the monitoring technology performance such as relative accuracy and detection limits.

New measurement technologies that provide continuous quantitative CH4 emission rates (e.g., over timeframes of hours or days) to increase the number of measurement data points available across multiple locations and source types to improve characterization of methane emissions. Estimating source emissions from nearby ambient monitoring measurements can require measurements of low methane concentrations and possibly simultaneous measurement of wind speed and direction. Important parameters include portability, measurement accuracy and repeatability, low cost of purchase and operation, ease of operation, and data recording and transmission capabilities.

Radon mitigation technologies using sub-slab depressurization have been demonstrated for many years but may not be practical for some applications due to cost or building characteristics. Of particular interest are alternatives to sub-slab depressurization radon mitigation strategies and technologies for low-income housing or for high-rise buildings, lower cost alternative materials for soil gas collection plenums in new construction, and effective methods for mitigating radon in well water. Important parameters include low cost of installation and operation, ease of maintenance and operation, and feasibility of retrofitting the proposed technology.

New technologies to help reduce GHG and ODS emissions by making the recovery of refrigerants easier, cheaper, and faster (e.g, mobile recovery units); new technologies for determining if discarded equipment still contains refrigerant; and new technologies for reclamation/recovery of refrigerants that are more efficient and affordable.

Solutions should foster social networking, collective action (e.g., citizen science, community-based disaster risk management, disaster preparedness committees), and or relationships that help community resilience especially in the context of disaster response and recovery. Disasters may include a variety of hazards such as extreme weather, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents, earthquakes, wildfire, etc. Technologies should be innovative and perform more effectively and affordably than currently available technologies.

Technologies are needed to help assess the effectiveness of chemical dispersants used for treatment of for oil spills that occur in and around inland waters. Technologies should be able to sense oil droplets in the size range of 1-1000 um (micrometers), be deployable from small underwater vehicles/platforms and be capable of real-time data delivery.

Such technologies could include but are not limited to apps and other devices to help consumers with awareness, planning, inventory management, and other behaviors related to food; smart appliances and improvements to refrigeration; and food packaging or storage that extends freshness and minimizes waste.

Technologies should support more efficient and effective collection, sortation, and processing of recycled materials and/or lead to the increased recyclability of products or increased recycled content within products.

Technology solutions to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering U.S. waterways and oceans with a focus on the incorporation of circular economy approaches which reduce material use, redesign materials to be less resource intensive, and recapture “waste” as a resource to manufacture new materials and products.

Development of pigments, dyes, paints, inks, or other methods of adding color to products that do not contain unintentional undesirable residuals/contaminants including PCBs and do not create undesirable byproducts including PCBs during the manufacturing process. These proposed products could employ processes that include innovative technologies for coloration such as biomimicry and structural color that do not require traditional pigments, dyes, paints, and inks or the generation of unintentional undesirable byproducts including PCBs. EPA is especially interested in supporting the development of new products that would meet the criteria for certification by EPA’s Safer Choice program: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice.

Anti-ozonant/anti-oxidant products or technologies, compatible with natural and synthetic rubber materials, that do not create undesirable oxidation byproducts under ambient conditions (e.g., in tires driving on the road) or have other negative environmental or human health impacts but retain strong anti-degradant properties to be competitive with existing technologies.

Technologies that are affordable and will help reduce the environmental impacts of U.S. corn and other row crop production while maintaining or increasing crop yields. Ideally, technologies could be applicable to improve production of many crops in the U.S. and abroad. These technologies should maintain or increase yields relative to conventional fertilizers and come with a net reduction of nutrient losses (nitrogen and especially phosphorus) to the environment via leaching, runoff, ammonia volatilization, and nitrous oxide emissions.

User friendly and interoperable tools to support greater automation of systematic review processes and improve consistency in the methods used in the evaluation of a chemical, its hazard, and risk from environmental health and safety scientific literature and regulatory data.