TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Shown is a SAMMS™, which forms effective sorbents for a wide variety of species including mercury, heavy metals, radionuclides and anions.

The award-winning Metal Contaminates Removal Technology developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory quickly and easily reduces or removes mercury without creating hazardous waste or by-products, and that can be disposed of as a non-hazardous waste. SAMMS^™, as it is known, is simple, inexpensive and easy to use. It has been licensed to Stewards Environmental Solutions LLC for treating gaseous emissions such as those that come from coal-fired power plants, and municipal incinerators. It also has been licensed to Perry Equipment Company for use in removing mercury from the water by-products of off-shore drilling and to remove mercury from crude oil. The technology received a 2006 R&D 100 Award and continues to garner international attention.

Combustion Technology developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories is an ultra-low emission combustion technology for gas turbines that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution to one-tenth that of state-of-the-art burners. The Low Swirl Injector defies conventional approaches, and has already hit the market in a product line of industrial burners sold by Maxon, Inc.

Customized Coating for Enhanced Water Sampling — Functionalized Nanoporous Thin Films (FNTF), developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a low-cost, highly-selective means for detecting heavy metals in aqueous environments. The technology is used to coat the surface of silver-dollar-sized "sampler" discs, which provides the mechanism for increasing selectivity and detecting nearly every class of heavy metal that is harmful to human health. It provides a testing means with an indefinite storage life without deterioration of the sample, enabling a reliable forensic archive. Coupled with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, this advancement gives water testers an easy-to-use technology that removes the requirement for complex chemical pre-treatment and handling of liquid samples needed for current heavy metal assay methods.

Environmentally-friendly plastics are a development from the metathesis method in organic synthesis, for which the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to an Office of Science-supported researcher. This method rearranges groups of atoms within molecules that results in a reduction in the number of hazardous byproducts in a chemical reaction, leading to clean and environmentally friendly plastics.

CO₂ Scrubber process, developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and licensed to Powerspan, captures carbon dioxide from flue gas produced at power generation systems that use coal, by using an aqueous-based scrubbing solution. This regenerable process uses an ammonia-based solution to remove acid gases, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides. As added benefit, fertilizer is produced in the process and the spent ammonia solution is regenerated and recycled to the scrubbing unit, minimizing cost. This new wet scrubbing technique provides a solution for mitigating global warming and for pollution control, while allowing cost-effective electricity generation.

A Process for Disinfecting Water developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory uses ultraviolet light to quickly, safely, and inexpensively remove the viruses and bacteria that cause cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other deadly diseases. The disinfecting unit is produced by start-up WaterHealth International, which licensed the technology. The unit, which weighs in at a manageable 15 pounds, can be powered by a car battery or a 60-watt solar cell. It can disinfect water at the rate of four gallons per minute for a cost of about 30 cents per person per year.
Story links: Water Filter Could Help Millions of Bangladeshis and UV Waterworks: Purifying Water and Saving Lives around the World

Seismic Analysis Code (SAC) developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is software designed for the study of seismic events, specifically sequential signals and time series data. SAC's emphasis is on analysis tools most desired by research seismologists for detailed analyses. IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) is a university research consortium dedicated to exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data. IRIS licensed the SAC software for their members and has distributed it to more than 2,000 scientists since 2005.
Product link: LLNL Tech Transfer Industrial Partnerships Office (IPO), Seismic Analysis Code (SAC)

The Clamshell Closure for Metal Drums technology, developed at the Savannah River National Laboratory and licensed to NucFil, LLC, a company interested in providing the technology as part of a packaging design with a stainless steel drum to transport and store nuclear materials. The technology was originally designed to address DOE requirements for improved packaging for shipment of radioactive materials.

The RadRope^™ Portable Nuclear Material Detection System, developed at the Savannah River National Laboratory, is a lightweight, portable system for rapidly detecting the presence of nuclear materials in sealed containers, without the use of harmful x-rays. It is exclusively licensed through UTEK Corporation, and their wholly owned subsidiary, Nuclear Materials Detection Technologies, Inc. It is anticipated that the technology will be used in a variety of configurations for both sea going cargo containers and airfreight. The technology was presented at World's Best Technologies Showcase in 2006 and was named one of the top 25 entries for 2006. Additionally, the technology received a Federal Laboratory Consortium, Southeast Region Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2007.

Analysis of Large Soil Samples for Actinides, developed at Savannah River National Laboratory, has been licensed to Eichrom Technologies, Inc. This technology involves a method for separating and analyzing actinides in relatively large soil samples. Eichrom is a manufacturer of laboratory research and development products, specializing in highly selective ion exchange and extraction chromatographic resins for analytical and process scale applications.

Improvements to a Rotary Microfilter System, developed at Savannah River National Laboratory, have been licensed to SpinTek Filtration, Inc., a manufacturer of waste separation, filtration, and reverse osmosis equipment. The improvements simplify the ability to clean and maintain the filter.

The Drum Plug Piercing and Sampling Device, developed at Savannah River National Laboratory, and licensed to UltraTech International, Inc., allows gas samples to be taken from 55 gallon drums without placing workers at risk or damaging the drum. UltraTech is a manufacturer of waste storage equipment, chemical refuse disposal equipment, radioactive waste equipment, and emergency repair tourniquets for leaking drums and tanks.

Pro-Tec Tear Offs^™ technology developed at Savannah River National Laboratory and licensed to Premier Technology, Inc., involves the application of multiple layers of transparent film to laboratory glove boxes and hoods to protect the surfaces from premature corrosion and wear. The technology was recognized with a 2007 Federal Laboratory Consortium, Southeast Region Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer.

Portable Liquid Collection Electrostatic Precipitator (ALPES^™), developed at Savannah River National Laboratory and licensed to Analytical Reference Materials International (ARMI), is an easy-to-operate, highly efficient, lightweight, portable device that collects airborne particles and concentrates them into a liquid sample for scientific analysis, either on site or in a laboratory. The technology received an R&D 100 Award in 2003.

Surfactant Biocatalyst for Remediation of Recalcitrant Organics and Heavy Metals (BioTiger^™) technology, developed at Savannah River National Laboratory, and licensed to Earthworks Environmental, Inc., is a biocatalyst comprised of a consortia of microbes that cleans up severely contaminated petroleum polluted sites. The technology was first used to remediate one of the three sludge lagoons on the site of the Czechowice oil refinery in Poland. BioTiger was presented at World's Best Technologies in 2006 and was selected as one of the 2008 NASA NanoTech 50 Award Winners.

Thixotropic Gel for Vadose Zone Remediation (VOS™) technology developed at Savannah River National Laboratory and licensed to EOS Remediation, LLC, Raleigh, is a new technique for remediation of the saturated zone between the land surface and the water table, known as the vadose zone. It employs sustainable green chemistry, including the use of vegetable oils. The technology can cost effectively turn land deemed unusable into productive and safe real estate. VOS fills a niche market for specialized technology for in situ anaerobic bioremediation of unsaturated soil.

Industrial Universal Electrometer, developed at Savannah River National Laboratory and licensed to Tegam, Inc., is used to measure the extremely low level current from Ion Chambers used in the SRS Tritium facilities.

ENDURE^™ SCR Catalyst, developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and licensed by Santa Fe-based CleanAIR Systems Inc., is a novel technology that virtually eliminates nitrogen oxides (NOx) from exhaust streams. CleanAIR is developing the technology for applications in stationary diesel and natural gas engines, pipeline compressors, and for on- and off-road equipment, and gas turbines.

The award-winning SEQURE™ Well-Finding Technologies developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory deploy sensitive magnetic and methane sensors on helicopters to locate abandoned and leaking wells on very large tracts of land in a time and cost effective manner. Recently, the need to find and plug wells has become critical with the advent of carbon dioxide injection into geologic formations for enhanced oil recovery or carbon sequestration. NETL teamed with Fugro Airborne Surveys, LaSen, Inc. and Apogee Scientific, Inc., and others to develop and commercialize the technology. It is the winner of a 2007 R&D 100 award.