[greenyes] EPA SBIR awards

[Amy Perlmutter <amyperl@no.address>]

From Recycling Today:

EPA Announces Seven Projects for Innovation Awards

 
7/14/2004    
 
 
EPA has funded seven new innovative projects aimed at making the Agency's
waste programs more effective. A total of $465,490 will fund a wide range of
projects that deal with helping find end markets for a portion of the waste
stream.
 
To date, EPA has selected 44 projects totaling approximately $2 million. 
 
The seven projects are:
 
·Using Auto Shredder Residue as Cement Manufacturing Feedstock ($43,000)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste. Partners in the project
include  the California Department of Toxic Substances Control; University
of California at Berkeley; Mitsubishi Cement Corp.; and Hugo Neu-Proler Co.
 
The goal of the project is to find alternatives to landfilling auto shredder
residue. The pilot project will identify the parameters and mechanical means
necessary to process ASR as a substitute for coal and mineral feedstocks in
cement kilns.
 
ASR could provide 8 percent of the cement industry energy needs as
supplemental fuel, conserving over 2 million tons of coal and minerals each
year in the United States.
 
·Improving Management of Household Prescription Medication Waste ($70,750)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1. Partners in the project include the
following: Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.; American Plastics Council; CVS
Corporation; Capital Returns, Inc.; National Expired and Unused Medication
Drive; PharmEcology Associates, LLC; Dillon Environmental Associates; Clean
Harbors, Inc.; Franklin County Solid Waste Management; District (MA);
Pemi-Baker Solid Waste District (NH); Rhode Island Resource Recovery
Corporation; Strong Pharmaceutical Services.
 
Through partnerships with private and public sector businesses and
organizations, this pilot will develop and implement collection programs for
household prescription medication waste(HPW) and bulk compounding
chemicals.  
 
At present there are no widely available solutions for proper management of
HPW.  In conjunction with retail-based, senior center, and other household
hazardous waste programs, this project will develop practical strategies for
collecting HPW and ensuring their proper end-of-life management.
Additionally, the pilot will develop best management practices for plastic
medication containers.
 
·Waste-to-Energy Geographic Planning Tool ($65,000)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 6
 
This pilot will collect data from concentrated animal feeding operations,
solid waste landfills, and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to develop
a Geographic Information System mapping tool. 
 
The GIS tool, along with the development of an internet Web site, will
enable a user to identify single/clusters of facilities that could be prime
candidates to use waste directly or indirectly to generate electricity.
 
·Design for Disassembly in the Built Environment ($69,030)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4
 
Partner: Community Housing Resource Center
 
Overview: More efficient home-design could save enough material for
construction of 2/3 of the houses built in the next 50 years. 
 
This pilot was developed to reduce waste generated from residential building
design and demolition. 
 
The pilot will extend the Design for Disassembly concept to construction of
residential housing by convening an experts group to formulate innovative
DfD principles, building a case study house, documenting research and
results, and promoting the incorporation of these principles into future
housing design.
 
·Deconstruction for Urban Revitalization ($73,600)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 3
 
Partners: Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Hamer Center at Penn State
University; City of Philadelphia Neighborhood Transformation Initiative
Overview: This pilot will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an innovative
approach to dismantle row house buildings. 
 
A mechanized and panelized approach to deconstruction will allow for the
most efficient reuse of roof and floor structural lumber, enable quicker
access to properties by redevelopers, and reduce overall costs by using a
"hybrid" of hand and mechanized labor working together.
 
·Characterizing Environmental Contamination Through Airborne Hyperspectral
Imaging ($75,000)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 7, EPA Office of Emergency Preparedness,
Prevention, and Response
 
Partners: Missouri Department of Natural Resources; University of Missouri,
Columbia
 
Overview: The goal of this pilot is to determine whether hyperspectral
imagery--a remote sensing technology--can be used to conduct large-scale
characterization of contaminants. 
 
By collecting data from known contaminated sites, the pilot will analyze and
interpret the information to create "signatures" of specific contaminants or
environmental conditions.  This project will explore hyperspectral
capabilities in the event of an environmental emergency or disaster.
 
·Reducing Production Costs and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Biodiesel
 
($69,110)
 
EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9
 
Partners: University of Nevada at Reno (UNR); Washoe County District Health
Department, NV; Applied Research Initiative; Nevada State Department of
Agriculture
 
Overview: Recognizing that biodiesel fuel provides numerous environmental
advantages over petroleum diesel, this pilot will produce a more
cost-effective biodiesel formulation that should reduce the amount of
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emitted during the biodiesel production process.  The
University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) will utilize a large-scale mobile
continuous process unit using ethanol for the production of biodiesel to
meet all of UNR's diesel energy needs.
 

Wednesday, July 14, 2004