SBIR-STTR Award

Respirator masks are worn by workers in many industries, such as oil and gas, metal working, hazardous materials, environmental clean-up, and chemical research and manufacturing. The most common type of respirator mask is one where the user replaces the filter cannister or cartridge periodically. These cartridges cost approximately $5 to $20 depending on level of protection and manufacturer. The service life of a replaceable filter cartridge is not specific to the application and can vary greatly depending on the wearer's lung capacity, strenuousness of the work, type and concentration of chemical exposure, and environmental factors. Service life may range from minutes to days. Currently there are no “smart” filter cartridges capable of reliably alerting the wearer to imminent chemical breakthrough and subsequent loss of protection against chemical injury. This proposal describes a novel use of low-cost microsensors to develop new Smart-Respirator masks to help protect workers from inhalation exposure to harmful chemical vapors. Seacoast Science, Inc. proposes developing embeddable detectors. Operating specification for the embeddable detectors will be provided by specifications provided by Honeywell, Inc., a major respirator manufacturer. The proposed detectors will monitor the remaining service life of replaceable chemical-vapor filter-cartridges used for a wide range of high-risk occupations, including workers in the oil and gas, painting, metal working, and hazardous materials industries. Honeywell is developing a wireless interface which will interrogate embedded sensors for an indication of remaining service life. This is the first-step toward smart-clothing and other protective equipment for workers in other chemical industries. Ultimately, the detectors can be wirelessly linked to an exposure/location mapping system, to help identify chemical leaks, so the workplace can be made safer. For high polarity chemicals such as aldehydes and ethers, Seacoast's chemicapacitor is an ideal detector. For lower-polarity chemicals such as most petrochemicals and chlorocarbons, Seacoast proposes an impedance- based detector. To prove feasibility in Phase I, Seacoast will develop a set of detectors for three common chemicals (toluene, trichloroethylene, and acetone) designed to meet specifications for size, power, transduction mechanism, responsivity, and minimum sensitivity. Seacoast's Phase I objectives are to (1) develop and optimize the detectors; (2) demonstrate that when these devices are embedded into a filter bed, at various locations, they can be used to develop a spatial-temporal model of chemical breakthrough; (3) to deliver working prototypes to Honeywell for testing in their labs, and (4) develop designs for Phase II optimization, extensive testing, and pre-production.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
“Smart Respirators - Embedded detectors for real-time monitoring of end-of-service-life in respirator filter cartridges” PROJECT NARRATIVE This proposal describes a novel use of low-cost microsensors to develop new Smart- Respirator masks to help protect workers from inhalation exposure of harmful chemicals. Seacoast Science, Inc. will develop embeddable detectors using specifications provided by Honeywell, Inc., a respirator manufacturer, to monitor the remaining service life in replaceable chemical-vapor filter-cartridges. The sensors will detect chemical vapors used for a wide range of high-risk occupations, including workers in the oil and gas, painting, metal working, and hazardous materials industries.

Project Terms:
No Project Terms available.

Respirator masks are worn by workers in many industries, such as oil and gas, metal working, hazardous materials, and chemical research and manufacturing. Common organic vapor (OV) respirator masks employ periodically replaceable filter cannisters or cartridges, costing $5 to $40, depending on level of protection and manufacturer. The service life of a replaceable filter is highly variable, depending on the wearer's lung capacity, type and concentration of chemical exposure, and environmental factors, and may range from minutes to days. Currently there is no definitive means to recognize impending break-down in protection and there are no “smart” filter cartridges capable of reliably alerting the wearer to imminent breakthrough. In this SBIR, Seacoast Science, Inc. is developing embeddable detectors to create new “Smart Respirators”, guided by specifications provided by Honeywell Safety Products, Inc., to detect the end of service life (EOSL) in OV filter cartridges. Honeywell is developing a wireless interface which will interface with the sensors and provide the user with a warning before chemical breakthrough. These real-time detectors will measure concentrations of chemical vapors associated with a wide range of high-risk occupations. This is the first step to creating smart personal-protective equipment for workers in a wide range of chemical industries. Ultimately, data from smart cartridges can be wirelessly linked to an exposure/location mapping system, to help identify operational failures such as chemical leaks, so the workplace can be made safer. In Phase I, Seacoast identified chemosensitive materials applied to various capacitance- and impedance- based transducers for high-sensitivity detection of acetone, toluene and TCE. Prototypes were embedded in filters in different locations, tested in a variety of conditions as specified in the NIOSH Filter Service Life test procedure, and successfully used for real-time tracking of the filter's internal concentration. The acetone detector met all of Honeywell's requirements for size, power, weight, sensitivity, and baseline characteristic. We also investigated polymer-nanocomposites for improving detection of toluene and trichloroethylene. One nanocomposite was successful for real-time tracking of both chemicals inside filters and demonstrated that it could be scaled to meet Honeywell's needs. These sensors still require optimization of sensitivity and power. Phase II will focus on readying the chemosensitive materials and transducers for transition either through sales or licensing to a filter manufacturer. Specific Phase II aims are to (1) optimize and complete the development of the acetone, toluene, and TCE detectors; (2) deliver working prototypes to Honeywell for validation testing in their filter-test labs; (3) support Honeywell's wireless readout circuit and sensor integration development; and (4) develop a manufacturing and transition plan to support commercialization. Honeywell tested Seacoast's prototypes and our Phase I results were shared with their team. Honeywell is eager to support our Phase II to create Smart Respirators for the over 544,000 workers in the US chemical manufacturing industries.