Award Data

Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2). Human activity related radiative forcing by methane accounts for about half of that caused by CO2. In the U.S., the largest industrial source of CH4 is oil and gas systems. Fugitive sources are often identified as potentially large sources of CH4 emissions; however, multiple measurement challenges inhibit more co ...

Plastic Ocean Waste (POW) is accumulating in our oceans and on our beaches at an accelerating rate. Eight million metric tons (8M MT) of plastic is entering the world's oceans each year at a rate of one ton per minute. Alaska represents 53% of the U.S. coastline. During Phase I, we estimated the amount of POW accumulating on Alaska's shorelines at 34,500 to 51,700 MT/yr at a rate of three ton per ...

Approximately 25% of all anthropogenic generated methane comes from the oil and gas industry, and it is estimated that ~6% of those emissions are from storage tanks used in the production phase. Methane has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere but has a significantly greater warming potential than carbon dioxide on short time scales. The emissions from these storage tanks are not well known, and n ...

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used extensively since the 1940s due to their chemical stability and unique thermophysical properties. Those same properties make PFAS extremely recalcitrant environmental pollutants, and bioaccumulative toxins. Regulations are rapidly being established by U.S. states, including Michigan, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, beholding municipal water u ...

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking proposals that will improve the U.S. recycling system.PKS Consulting is an Alaska-based small technology firm that proposes the development of a Mobile Plastic Ocean Waste (POW) Recycler that can be moved from community to community to produce Recycled Plastic Lumber (RPL) products from locally collected POW. Fishing gear is primarily composed of Poly ...

The EPA has identified a need for new methods and instrumentation to characterize size, shape, and composition of microplastics, especially in the size range of 1 µm – 1 mm. To meet the needs identified by EPA, we propose development of a portable sensor for improved microplastic sampling and characterization useable at remote measurement sites or fixed installations. The sensor would be connec ...

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of the six "criteria" pollutants listed in the Clean Air Act that are regulated under the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). SO2 is the most abundant anthropogenic sulfur compound in the troposphere, and is mainly emitted through coal and petroleum combustion, petroleum refining, and metal smelting operations. Although national ambient air quality trend ...

Repeated use of aqueous firefighting foams containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has contaminated hundreds of sites. To delineate the extent of contamination, many of these sites are undergoing intensive site investigations and generating large quantities of investigation derived wastes (IDW). Current disposal practices of landfilling or incineration are costly and burdensome. This ...

To monitor the freshness of fresh produce in storage and during transportation, we propose using a gas sensor based on swept]wavelength broadly tunable external cavity quantum cascade lasers (EQCCLs).These sensors detect, identify, and quantify multiple chemical species in the airspace near the sensor continuously and in real]time, with part]per]billion level sensitivity. The sensors will ...

Cybersecurity remains a top priority for the Military Health System (MHS). In SBIR Phase II research and development (R&D), Management Sciences, Inc. (MSI) has developed and demonstrated a cyber-secure prototype Multi-Level Security (MLS) software upgrade