SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Chemicals released from agricultural waste are major contributors to air and water pollutionboth domestically and globally. This is especially true of ammonia (NH ) a colorless pungent gas3 that forms as an agricultural waste byproduct and is commonly found in cleaning agents used inagricultural settings. NH gas is hazardous to the health of humans livestock and crops with the3severity of health effects largely dependent upon the dose duration and exposure route. Contactwith small amounts of NH can cause damage to the eyes and respiratory tracts of both humans3and livestock while exposure to larger amounts of NH can cause blindness and/or permanent lung3 + damage. Moreover once volatilized NH remains reactive and can quickly convert to NH4 that3 nucleates particulates linked to cardiopulmonary disease; react more slowly to become NOa2 greenhouse gas almost 300x as powerful as CO or combine with NOx gases to form smog.2; Currently there are no low-cost user-friendly NH vapor detection methods capable of3 remotely monitoring and reporting reliable real-time measurements and accurate measurementsof NH pollution are exceedingly difficult to collect in agricultural environments. As a result the3 sources of NH generation and its subsequent diffusion behavior are more difficult to pinpoint and3 the true output of NH pollution is frequently underestimated. A consequence of NH pollution in3 3 many farms is a pervasiveness of unhealthy animals with respiratory diseases which can renderthem unsafe for human consumption and lowering farm profitability.In response to the stated needs of the USDA Special Research Priorities for new and improvedtechnologies to monitor air quality and reduce air pollution stemming from agricultural enterprisesSeacoast proposes the development of a rugged low-cost high-performance ammonia detector.This device will monitor and quantify the intensity and duration of gas-phase NH in real-time3 maintain a record of the cumulative vapor load and wirelessly transmit this data to a personalcomputing device for analysis via software that can be operated with minimal user training. Thewireless capabilities will also enable each sensor to be utilized as a node in a wireless NH3 detection network that can accurately capture detailed 3D information regarding the evolution anddiffusion of NH vapor across a diverse array of agricultural settings. The underlying sensing3 technology of the proposed NH3 detector is based on the integration of novel NH3 -sensitiveLewis Acid Telechelic Polymers (LATPs) measured by the proprietary Micro-Electro- Mechanical-Systems MEMS chemicapacitor & chemiresistor transducers developed at Seacoast.In Phase I Seacoast established proof-of-concept for a low-cost polymer-based NH vapor3 detector; developing novel NH -sensitive LATPs; analyzing their response to NH vs select3 3 interferents; and monitoring sensor response in controlled variable temperature and humidityenvironment to collect training data for calibration algorithms.In Phase II we will exploreopportunities to improve the LATP molecular design to enhance sensitivity performance andstability of the sensor array; perform advanced studies of NH vs. interferents and investigate aging3 behavior for detailed calibrations and compensation algorithms; explore optimal methods tointegrate the prototypes with electronics; design and build 10 prototypes with multiplexed readoutcircuitry and detection algorithms; and test the prototypes at a commercial poultry farm.Seacoast's low-cost NH detector will allow both periodic detection and continuous unattended3monitoring of NH vapor in an affordable user-friendly device that can be operated by non- 3technical staff to enhance decision support for sustainable NH mitigation and remediation efforts.3An NH detector that is sufficiently versatile to accommodate the diversity
