Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
reject stream is concentrated so that it can exceed discharge limits and will require
a sanitary sewer connection for discharge.
5. GFH can remove arsenic and selects As
5+
over As
3+
and requires an oxidation
step for the pretreatment to convert As
3+
to As
5+
. The oxidants that have proven
effective are chlorine, ozone, permanganate, and solid-phase manganese dioxide
media.
Since existing technology had issues with the treatment approach, waste disposal, or cost,
two funding organizations stepped to the plate to empower research and development.
• The Small Business Innovation Research (or SBIR) program is a US government
program, coordinated by the Small Business Administration, in which 2.5% of the
total extramural research budgets of all federal agencies with extramural research
budgets in excess of $100 million are reserved for contracts or grants to small
businesses.
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• The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced the establishment of the
Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability. This prize will award $1 million for a
practical technology that can prevent the slow poisoning of people throughout the
world as a result of arsenic contamination of drinking water.
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9.2.1 SBIR Program
Agencies participating in the SBIR program issue Phase I SBIR grants for research and
development (R&D) to US-based small businesses for “proof of concept.” Upon technical
success and securing the intellectual property and proof of potential commercial success,
the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a 2005 Phase II SBIR grant for $1M in a
2:1 matching fund only, of which the initial allocation was $500K and another $500K upon
landing either an investor or customer with a $1M contribution to qualify for the remain-
ing $500K in Phase II SBIR grant funds.
The SBIR program has expanded the grant funding to $150K for a Phase I and $1.5 M for
a Phase II, which provides funding for a 2-year period to expand the results achieved in a
Phase I SBIR. New R&D for arsenic removal lourished under the SBIR program and the
NAE Grainger Challenge Prize in early 2000.
9.2.2 NAE Grainger Challenge
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The NAE Grainger Challenge prizewinners are recognized for the development, in-ield
veriication, and dissemination of effective techniques for reducing arsenic levels in water.
The systems must be affordable, reliable, easy to maintain, socially acceptable, and envi-
ronmentally friendly. All of the winning systems meet or exceed the local government
guidelines for arsenic removal and require no electricity. Essentially, the winning technol-
ogy is a “rusty nail” (i.e., iron oxide) for arsenic removal.
The winners of the NAE Grainger Challenge were as follows:
• Abul Hussam, an associate professor in the department of chemistry and bio-
chemistry at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, will receive the Grainger
Challenge Gold Award of $1 million for his SONO ilter, a household water treat-
ment system.
