News Releases from Region 05

EPA Announces $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research Award for Cyclopure in Skokie

Nationwide, EPA Announces Nearly $2.5 Million in Funding to Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies

CHICAGO –Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $2,499,229 in awards to 24 U.S. small businesses to develop innovative technologies that help support EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment, including $100,000 to Cyclopure, Inc. in Skokie, Ill.

“We have the opportunity to confront our greatest environmental challenges with the strength and creativity of American entrepreneurs,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I congratulate all of the small businesses receiving EPA funding today. I look forward to working with them to harness the power of innovation to build a healthier, safer and more equitable future.”

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program established by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. The small businesses in today’s announcement are receiving Phase I awards of up to $100,000 for six months for “proof of concept” of their proposed technology. Companies that successfully complete Phase I can then submit a proposal for a Phase II award of up to $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology.

The following science and technology-based small businesses received EPA SBIR Phase I awards:

Air Quality

• Adelphi Technology, LLC. (Bowling Green, Ky.) - A compact, portable battery-powered analytical instrument for monitoring ultra-low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Firefly Photonics LLC (Coralville, Iowa) - A portable mid-infrared gas spectrometer to monitor VOC emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations.
• Nikira Labs Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) - A high-selective ethylene oxide analyzer developed using open-path, mid-infrared cavity enhanced spectrometry. 

Clean & Safe Water

• Faraday Technology, Inc. (Englewood, Ohio) - Electrochemical removal of contaminants of emerging concern using a modular water reuse system.
• FHNC Ltd. Co. (Fort Worth, Texas) - A point of source sewage treatment device to remove fats, oils, and greases from waste streams.
• Hyperion Analytical LLC (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) - An analytical system for water treatment systems to provide near-real-time measurement of N-nitrosamines which are a potential human health     concern.
• Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. (Torrance, Calif.) - An integrated sensor system to monitor contaminants in water.
• NanoSonic, Inc. (Pembroke, Va.) - Durable hydrophobic membranes with antifouling properties for water purification systems.
• Photon Systems Inc. (Covina, Calif.) - An in-situ, reagentless sensor for continuous microbial monitoring in water reuse treatment systems.
• Pure Blue Tech Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) - A membrane integrated with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducers to reduce fouling and promote efficient water reuse. 
• Triangle Environmental Health Initiative (Durham, N.C.) - A Zero-Waste wastewater treatment system to eliminate brine and produce three output streams for water and energy recovery.

Homeland Security

• Sonata Scientific LLC (Bethel, Conn.) - A long-lasting, self-disinfecting antiviral surface cover for high-touch surfaces to reduce viral transmission.
• Quick-Med Technologies Inc. (Gainesville, Fla.) - A long-term antimicrobial, antiviral disinfectant coating using hydrogen peroxide as the active agent for use on frequently touched surfaces.

Land Revitalization

• Aquagga Inc. (Juneau, Alaska) - A field-deployable hydrothermal alkaline treatment reactor for on-site disposal of PFAS-contaminated wet wastes and brines.
• Cyclopure, Inc. (Skokie, Ill.) - A novel PFAS treatment approach to remove and destroy PFAS from contaminated water. 
• Purafide, LLC (Ann Arbor, Mich.) - A novel Plasma Water Reactor for PFAS remediation in potable reuse systems.

Sustainable Materials Management

• Dunn Infinite Designs (Denver, Colo.) - A mobile, rapid freeze-drying system to prevent food waste. 
• Earth Merchant (Vancouver, Wash.) - Durable, lightweight construction bricks made from industrial hemp for architectural applications with improved thermal performance to improve energy efficiency. 
• Farm to Flame Energy Inc. (Syracuse, N.Y.) - A novel combustion process that enables biomass from construction, food processing and agricultural waste streams to be transformed into affordable, low-emission electricity. 
• OLIN (Philadelphia, Pa.) - Engineered approach that repurposes city-wide waste-stream glass into a soil product suitable for urban green spaces and landscaping.
• PKS Consulting, Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska) - A mobile Plastic Ocean Waste Recycler that produces recycled plastic lumber products from locally collected plastic ocean waste.
• Simonpietri Enterprises LLC (Kailua, Hawaii) - An integrated system to safely gasify construction and demolition wood into low-greenhouse gas transportation fuel.
• Transfoam LLC (Charlottesville, Va.) - An innovative synthetic biology approach to recycle waste plastic into biodegradable plastic.
• Verdant Structural Engineers (Berkeley, Calif.) - Carbon-storing straw structural insulated panels for residential applications in the U.S. which are less toxic and improve lifecycle impacts of building materials.

Safer Chemicals 

• NanoSonic, Inc. (Pembroke, Va.) - Clean manufacturing process to produce environmentally friendly particles for textile pigments and dyes.

To learn more about EPA’s SBIR Phase I winners, please visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/679/records_per_page/ALL

To learn more about EPA’s SBIR program, please visit: https://www.epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/sbir

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