| NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | February 15, 2023 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 15, 2023 |
| Award Number: | 2212882 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Rajesh Mehta
rmehta@nsf.gov (703)292-2174 TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
| Start Date: | February 15, 2023 |
| End Date: | January 31, 2025 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $255,849.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $255,849.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
5321 S CHARITON AVE LOS ANGELES CA US 90056-1354 (607)262-4869 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
129 Humphreys Service Building Ithaca NY US 14853-3701 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | SBIR Phase I |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the development of a low footprint drinking water treatment plant (WTP) suited to facilitate much-needed upgrades to the nation?s water infrastructure. Today?s drinking water treatment systems are suffering from high volumes of generated waste (~100,000 tons sludge per typical plant per year) and high maintenance requirements and costs (4x/year week-long clarifier decommissioning for cleaning). The aging infrastructure of many of the nation?s water treatment plants has left millions of Americans with inadequate drinking water. This situation, paired with the aging and shrinking water operator workforce, translates into a growing threat of water supply interruptions and noncompliance. Owing to its small footprint and low energy and maintenance demands, the proposed technology would deliver an easily implementable solution that could be adopted by communities and water systems around the world, even in remote areas. Successfully developed, the WTP will offer a unique economic opportunity to meet critical global sustainable development goals and promote human health and welfare. This technology will lower the barriers to upgrading the nation?s water infrastructure, creating jobs through the introduction of long-delayed upgrades through plant implementation.
Elements of the innovation under development for the proposed water treatment plant include a self-modulating feedback/feedforward controller driving automated coagulant dosing, which is paired with a high-efficiency hydraulic flocculator that leverages turbulent flow to promote floc formation while remaining free of failure-prone moving parts; a self-cleaning clarifier fitted with settling plates and a sludge blanket system for efficient contaminant removal; a stacked sand filter that decreases the hydraulic loading rate for a given flow and bed volume, resulting in improved stability of the deposited particles (i.e., reduced shear and particle breakthrough); and a continuous sludge dewatering and treatment system that decreases the volume of produced sludge while also providing a continuous waste stream for further processing. While early efforts have established a proof-of-concept demonstrating operations at 50% less energy demand than conventional systems, continued research and development to improve system performance and autonomy are needed. In line with this effort, the Phase I effort will focus on: 1) development of an automated control system for precise coagulant dosing; 2) design modification to minimize waste stream volume; and 3) design and construction of a pilot plant with 15 gallons per minute capacity, suitable to meet the water treatment needs of communities of ~300 people.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Aging water infrastructure in the US, especially in rural areas, faces various challenges due to financial constraints, workforce shortages, and limited maintenance capacity. To address these problem, this project presents a gravity-powered, low-maintenance enhanced coagulation treatment system, suitable for decentralized or resource-limited contexts. The pilot system builds on previous work conducted at Cornell University, introducing key improvements in automation, hardware, and process efficiency.
The pilot plant operates at 10 gallons per minute (GPM) and incorporates a coagulant dosing system with: 1) a rapid-mix CSTR unit, 2) a sludge blanket clarifier with integrated sludge thickening compartment and a honeycomb settling package, and 3) a horizontal-flow sand filter with gravity backwash. The system is powered entirely by gravity and monitored through a LabVIEW-based SCADA platform, enabling wide range of automated tests.
During the Phase I project, three dosing strategies were evaluated: 1) manual (mimicking a full-scale water treatment system), 2) feedback (PID), and 3) predictive (model-based). They were followed by the tests of a combined feedback/predictive controller. Manual dosing underperformed due to insufficient coagulant levels for the specific needs of the pilot system, while feedback control responded poorly to rapid changes in the raw water quality. Predictive control offered faster response but less dosing accuracy. The hybrid controller combined the strengths of both, achieving clarified water turbidity of 1.09 NTU (median) with minimal overshoot during turbidity spikes. Across all control modes, filtered water met the US EPA turbidity limits, confirming the system’s capability of regulatory compliance.
Several design modifications significantly improved performance and minimized waste production. These included: 1) improving the geometry of the sludge drain, reducing sludge withdrawal from 9% to <1% of total throughput 2) upgrading from custom sedimentation plates to a commercial honeycomb settling package to prevent clogging, and 3) redesigning the filter to avoid media fouling using horizontal inlet/outlet manifolds. Filter media was upgraded to Turbidex, enhancing efficiency with minimal head loss.
Performance testing over 12 months showed consistent results:
- Clarified water turbidity ranged from 0.73 (5th percentile) to 3.91 NTU (95th percentile), with 1.25 NTU median, strongly influenced by raw water quality and coagulant dosing.
- Filtered water turbidity stayed below 0.3 NTU for over 95% of the time (median: 0.136 NTU).
- UV254 absorbance reduction ranged from 46–66% (avg. 55%), indicating effective removal of organic matter.
- Turbidity removal exceeded 2-log, consistent with EPA design assumptions.
- Ammonia and nitrite were both reduced across treatment stages, likely due to microbial processes in the sludge blanket and filter.
Microbiological analysis revealed active microbial communities throughout the system, raising questions about potential opportunistic pathogen proliferation. While no significant reduction in heterotrophic bacteria was observed, shifts in population composition suggest microbial contributions to treatment effectiveness. These findings warrant further evaluation of microbial safety before application to potable systems.
Overall, this pilot demonstrated that simple, modular, and energy-independent treatment systems can deliver high-quality water under variable conditions, with minimal operational burden. The integration of automated control, optimized hydraulics, and cost-effective design marks a promising step toward scalable solutions for underserved and rural communities.
Last Modified: 04/24/2025
Modified by: Marcin Sawczuk
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