SBIR-STTR Award

Project Summary Opportunity: Nitrate is currently the most prevalent groundwater pollutant in Northern America primarily from agricultural activities and changing nitrogen input to the land surface. In the US over 7 million Americans drink water from community water systems (CWS) that contain nitrate- (NO ) at concentrations exceeding the maximum contaminant level (MCL). The go-to 3 technologies for nitrate treatment from CWSs produce highly concentrated nitrate brine residuals and are limited by expensive brine disposal and management options. Further more than 35 million acres of sub-surface drained land exist in the US and no technology has established a significant market share that removes nitrate from agricultural drainage. Based on the scale of nitrate contamination in community water systems and the growing need to reduce nitrogen load from tile drainage the total addressable market for nitrate removal is sizable. Project Objectives: The main technical objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of a highly efficient photocatalytic unit for the sustainable removal of nitrates from waste waters at a cost lower than incumbent technologies. To achieve this goal the team will design novel particulate- type photocatalytic heterostructures that will reduce nitrates to nitrogen upon illumination while co-generating hypochlorite as a disinfectant. The team will also investigate the nitrate conversion mechanism of synthesized photocatalytic heterostructures and use the results to optimize photocatalyst formulations further. The optimized photocatalytic heterostructures will then be tested in a lab-scale fluidized bed reactor with different feed water chemistries. The final goal for this Phase I project would be to achieve nitrate removal efficiencies exceeding 75% and stability exceeding 100 hours in accelerated testing conditions. Anticipated Results. At the end of Phase I Pani Clean Inc will have a small lab-scale nitrate treatment unit with nitrate conversion efficiencies exceeding 75% no brine disposal issues and cost less than $1.2 per 1000 gallons of treated water a four-to-five-fold decrease compared to the incumbent technologies. Potential Commercial Applications. The 1706 community water systems (CWS) experiencing recent violations of nitrate levels primarily from agricultural practices represent the immediately addressable market. The near-term application would be to treat nitrates at the edge-of-field and as POU nitrate treatment systems for individual residences with nitrate-contaminated private wells.

Opportunity: Nitrate contamination has emerged as the most pervasive groundwater pollutant in North America predominantly originating from agricultural activities and shifting nitrogen inputs to land surfaces. In the United States over 7 million people rely on community water systems(CWS) with nitrate concentrations exceeding the maximum contaminant level (MCL). A rigorous peer-reviewed study by the Environmental Working Group indicates that nitrate pollution in US drinking water may contribute to up to 12500 cancer cases annually with associated healthcare costs reaching $1.5 billion. Current nitrate treatment technologies for CWSs generate highly concentrated nitrate brine residuals rendering them constrained by expensive brine disposal and management processes. Moreover with over 35 million acres of sub-surface drained land in the US no technology has yet established a significant market share for nitrate removal from agricultural drainage. Given the vast extent of nitrate contamination in community water systems and the increasing necessity to curtail nitrogen loads from tile drainage the market potential for effective nitrate removal solutions is substantial. Project Objectives: The main technical objective of this project is to demonstrate and validate a highly efficient photocatalytic denitrification unit for the sustainable removal of nitrates from wastewater at a lower cost than incumbent technologies. In Phase I the team successfully developed materials and systems that exhibit superior nitrate removal and conversion efficiencies exceeding 95%. These materials demonstrated a photon-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 2.5%and remained stable for 100 hours of operation. In Phase II the down-selected materials and systems from Phase I will undergo extensive optimization testing and operation in lab-scale and mini-scale prototypes aiming to achieve photonic efficiencies greater than 10% nitrate conversion efficiencies surpassing 95% and stability exceeding 1000 hours. To accomplish these objectives the team will refine the physical and chemical composition of the Phase I catalyst to enhance its photoactivity and stability. Furthermore they will employ operando tools developed during Phase I to investigate the catalyst's selectivity and corrosion mechanisms and assess their performance in lab-scale and mini-pilot plant-scale reactors. A comprehensive techno-economic analysis will also be conducted to identify pathways for successful commercialization. Anticipated Results. By the end of Phase II Pani Clean Inc. will have developed a small engineering-scale nitrate treatment unit that boasts nitrate conversion efficiencies and selectivity exceeding 95% eliminates brine disposal issues and costs less than $1.5 per 1000 gallons of treated water. This represents a two-to-five-fold decrease in cost compared to incumbent technologies. Potential Commercial Applications. The immediate addressable market for Pani Clean Inc.'s innovative nitrate treatment unit comprises the 1600+ community water systems (CWS) that have recently experienced violations of nitrate levels primarily due to agricultural practices. In the near term point-of-use (POU) nitrate treatment systems for individual residences with nitrate-