Award Data

The problem being addressed in this proposal is the existing extensive use of energy hungry hot water heaters in both residential and commercial building in the United States. In addition, any attempts to date to create a low energy hybrid hot water heater (HWH) have resulted in hot water heaters so loud that they cannot feasibly be used in residential applications. This project entails the develo ...

Industrial hydrogen production relies primarily on natural gas and hydrocarbon feedstocks to drive the various reaction chemistries that lead to hydrogen generation. Carbon dioxide, the ultimate co- product when such feedstocks and processes are employed, necessarily becomes a major contaminant of the generated hydrogen. Thus, carbon dioxide isolation and removal is an important process step in ...

Many refinery product streams, particularly those from Ultra Low Hydrodesulfurisation units, are prone to haze due to water emulsions. Haze is also problematic for biodiesel production, as hazy fuel cannot be used until the haze settles or is removed, which creates costly scheduling and shipping delays. This project will develop a novel membrane process for the removal of dissolved and dispersed ...

The recovery of heat currently wasted in exhaust gases can reduce fuel consumption in almost every commercial and industrial sector. In the electricity generation sector alone, even modest improvements in energy recovery effectiveness would result in billions of dollars in savings annually. New materials made from conductive graphite have created a significant opportunity to produce heat exchang ...

Compared with conventional processes used to produce many oxygenated chemicals, processes based on the selective catalytic oxidation of alkanes to produce oxygenates could yield enormous economic, energy, and environmental benefits. However, commercial development of such processes has been hindered, in part, because the excessive heat released by alkane oxidation causes over-oxidation (burning) ...

60104 Asbestos abatement costs, associated with the DOE¿s national weapons¿ complex clean-up efforts, may amount to $300-500 million, while nationally, asbestos abatement may cost more than $100 billion over the next 25 years. Abatement methods have changed little in the past 20 years, and there is a need for a cheaper, faster, and safer abatement method. This project will design, buil ...

Laser Technology Inc. (LTI) proposes a Phase II SBIR research project to further develop a Compact Shearography System, Analysis Method and Software for micro-crack detection in concrete. There is an urgent need to detect and characterize fine cracks in concrete that form because of various damage mechanisms including alkali-silicate reaction, delayed ettringite formation or frost damage. Fine s ...

60585 Fischer Tropsch (F-T) synthesis is a promising process for producing high quality, environmentally clean, diesel fuels. However, the separation of catalyst fines from the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reactor product stream has been a major impediment to applying the technology for the conversion of hydrocarbon resources such as coal and petroleum coke to clean burning fuels. This project w ...

60924 The development of affinity membranes has the potential to offer a quantum leap in membrane-based separation technology. Current polymeric membrane researchers modify surface functionality to offer a specific affinity; however, in the area of inorganic membranes, few similar activities exist. This project will develop an affinity inorganic membrane that can demonstrate separations ba ...

60311 There are economic and environmental justifications for replacing conventional distillation processes with simpler membrane separations in certain applications. However, at present, there are no commercial membranes able to withstand the aggressive conditions associated with important industrial chemicals, including hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, and ozone. Prototype, chemic ...