Award Data

Fresh water cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (HAB), have potentially many adverse environmental impacts. For instance, bloom mats of filamentous algae are believed to reduce ambient light levels below those required for submerged aquatic vegetation to survive. Blue-green algae, form blooms that make a surface scum and have been associated with low levels of dissolved oxygen that can be lethal ...

The release of mercury into the environment via combustion processes has become an issue of concern for the US and the entire world. Major sources either are regulated or are under review to develop regulations to reduce emissions. ADA Technologies has successfully demonstrated the performance of a novel reactive scrubbing technology for the removal of vapor-phase mercury from incinerator exhaus ...

Gasification provides a potential means of deriving clean energy from biomass waste materials. One of the greatest obstacles to the effective gasification of animal and farm waste is the slagging behavior of the residual ash at temperatures that yield the most efficient gasification performance. Many wastes are particularly problematic for dry ash gasification processes, especially waste from co ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses the need for improved monitoring technologies for continuous particulate mass and chemical speciation of ambient aerosols. Aerodyne Research, Inc. will develop a prototype Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACMS) that measures ambient aerosol mass and chemical composition of non-refractory submicron aerosol particles in real-tim ...

Acrolein (CH2=CHCHO) has been identified by the U.S. Clean Air Act as a hazardous air pollutant because of its adverse health effect, particularly on respiratory systems. There are both anthropogenic and natural sources of acrolein in the environment. Acrolein is produced by combustion sources (e.g. vehicle exhaust, prescribed agricultural burning, cigarette smoke) and industrial sources, includi ...

A compact and affordable, microchip-based system for the automated, in situ analysis of inorganic ions in atmospheric aerosols will be develop and verified against traditional, filter-based methods. Our approach combines tow new technologies: (1) a growth tube impactor for particle collection and (2) lab-on-a-chip (LOC) analysis of sulfates and nitrates. The growth tube impactor enlarges indivi ...

Concern for the potential health effects of inhaled particulates led to a federal standard governing coarse particles, or PM10, for particles below 10 ¿m and subsequently to a fine particle (PM2.5) standard in 1997, for particles below 2.5 ¿m. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retained the PM10 standard because all particles below 10 ¿m can penetrate into the pulmonary region. Be ...

Polymer composites are widely used for automotive body panels to save weight, increase fuel efficiency, and eliminate corrosion. However, unlike metals, structural polymers are not electrically conductive; thus, they are not amenable to the industry standard technique of electrostatic spray painting (ESP). Current methods for adapting polymers to ESP pose serious environmental and economic chall ...

The goal of this Phase I research project is to investigate the feasibility and commercial potential of using the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDPTM) as a low-temperature sterilization process for medical equipment. Current sterilization technologies that pose a risk to health care workers and the environment are being phased out of use (e.g., ethylene oxide sterilization). T ...

Baldwin Environmental Inc. (BEI) successfully completed an SBIR Phase I project that demonstrated the feasibility of designing and producing a Fine and Coarse Particulate Monitoring System (FCPMCEMS). This system simultaneously measures and reports mass concentrations of fine and coarse particulate material using Atmospheric Dispersion Simulation and Beta Attenuation Monitoring (BAM). A design a ...