SBIR Phase II: Continuous On-Line Monitor to Detect and Quantify Inorganic Contaminants in Water

Brims Ness Corporation, Millinocket ME

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the resin/quartz crystal microbalance sensor technology demonstrated in Phase I. The device revolutionizes current water monitoring methods by allowing continuous monitoring where only periodic sampling can now be performed. In the Phase II project, ultra-pure water (UPW) monitors will be fabricated and analyzed at a university test facility as well as at a nuclear power plant and semiconductor facility. The monitor will be calibrated and a computerized model characterizing the device's performance in a UPW environment will be developed. The technology consists of applying ion exchange resins to a quartz crystal microbalance sensor device. Once manufacturing repeatability is achieved, the suite of detected contaminants will be broadened to include a wide range of toxic substances of interest to the federal government. Ultimately we expect to increase the monitor's capability to include all heavy metals set forth in the Clean Water and the Safe Drinking Water Acts. Applications include the development of industrial process control monitors for ultra pure water applications such as semiconductor manufacturing, fail-safe devices to insure the continued effectiveness of drinking water filters, and continuous monitors to detect contaminants in EPA-regulated monitoring sites such as municipal water utilities and wastewater treatment plants.