SBIR Phase II: Surface Coatings for Enhanced Efficiency of Industrial Condensers

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in demonstrating the commercial implementation of NBD Nanotechnologies, Inc.'s (NBD) Enhanced Condensation Coating. NBD's external surface coating sustains dropwise condensation on copper-based tubes, resulting in energy savings and increased efficiency for industrial condensers in steam power and thermal desalination plants. NBD's innovative and proprietary techniques ensure adhesion onto the substrate while not compromising the thermal resistance with the coating's sub-microscale thickness. NBD has validated the increased efficiency of its external surface condenser coating technology at a lab-scale and will carry out pilot tests to quantify the efficiency gain and technology durability at a system-level in industrial condensers, as requested by utility customers. NBD presents a technology that addresses the key commercial bottlenecks of durability, scalability and performance, which have stymied coatings in condensers, presenting a leapfrogging technology that addresses the water-energy nexus. Every 1% improvement in power plant efficiency results in $10MM revenue per plant per year, as stated by a partnering power generation company. Thus, any improvement in the efficiency of a steam condenser has significant impact that directly benefits both global energy and water sustainability efforts. This project contributes to R&D advancement focused on: large-scale chemical and coating processing, surface wettability, nano-and micro-scale heat transfer, condensation, and water and energy resource sustainability. The project's multidisciplinary nature reflects the dynamic aspects of condensation heat transfer phenomenon, which covers varying length scales (nano, micro, meso and macro scale) and time scales. Thus, the challenging nature of optimizing and sustaining enhanced condensation invites innovative and creative solutions to mitigate the water and energy resource management problems. During Phase I, the project demonstrated the proof of concept of the coating's condensation enhancement for both industrial condensers with pure steam (and trace amounts of non-condensable gases) and for HVAC/dehumidification systems where condensation occurs with higher concentrations of non-condensable gases. The objective of phase II proposal is to address and facilitate the required steps for scaling up and integrating NBD's condenser coating into industrial condensers' supply chain. NBD has identified industrial condensers as its primary entry market, where a greater increase in condenser system performance and savings in cost and fuel consumption can be reached. NBD has been establishing partnerships for pilot studies to perform larger scale experimental tests to validate its technology's performance, durability and system-level efficiency gains empirically.