Recipient Organization
POLNOX CORPORATION
225 STEDMAN ST UNIT 23
LOWELL,MA 018512792
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The purpose of this proposal is to develop an environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and novel additive technology to replace emerging pollutant contaminants benzoyl triazoles and tolyl triazoles across multiple market sectors, including lubricants, but also extending to aircraft deicer fluids and in numerous other commercial industries where metal surfaces are exposed to corroding agents, without compromising on their performance.These additives are added to consumer products to reduce the corrosion of non-ferrous metals (such as aluminum, copper, nickel, tin, and copper alloys like brass and bronze), and notably in other industrial products, including aircraft deicing fluids (ADFs). While the USA's EPA has kept these compounds under the subject of a test rule, the Canadian government has passed a draft rule in 2021 on benzotriazole and tolyl triazole compounds included among fifteen chemicals categorized as substances of ecological risk. These varying regulations and restrictions in major economies allow us to conclude that these additives are emerging pollutants. It is more evident now that the chemical fate of emergent pollutants is not suitable for the aquatic community and the environment. It is a societal obligation to find safer corrosion inhibitor alternatives, preferably through new molecular designs based on eco-friendly and biobased routes.This proposal includes novel molecular engineering, design, optimization, and synthesis using biobased products to develop and test using industry-standard test methods to optimize and commercialize the safer products to replace the above-mentioned emerging pollutants. Industry-standard test methods include American Standards Testing Materials (ASTM) D130, ASTM D 665, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 201,202, and 203.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
This project aims to develop an environmentally friendly, performance-competitive, novel additive technology to replace emerging pollutant contaminants benzoyl triazoles and tolyl triazoles across multiple market sectors, including lubricants and airplane deicer fluids (ADFs), and numerous other commercial industries. The occurrence of previously undetected chemicals, which are termed "emerging contaminants," is now frequently reported. Examples include wastewaters, receiving waters, and consumer products such as washing detergents and bleaching agents. Corrosion inhibitors have been in consumer products for multiple decades. The corrosion inhibitors identified as emerging contaminants are benzotriazole, tolyl triazole, and derivatives. While these are added to consumer products to reduce the corrosion of non-ferrous metals (such as aluminum, copper, nickel, tin, and copper alloys like brass and bronze), these chemicals are notably in other industrial products, including aircraft deicing fluids (ADFs).Lubricants are integral for tools and equipment across all major industrial sectors. Commercial corrosion inhibitors, benzotriazole, and tolyl triazole additives (and their derivatives) used in lubricants have notable adverse effects on the environment. These harmful substances can enter the environment directly when lubricants contact water, soil, or air, via leakage or spillage from industrial equipment, ships, automobiles, engines, earth moving equipment, drilling, metalworking fluids, etc. Environmental issues like toxicityand biodegradability negatively impact corrosion inhibitors' global market growth?.Precisely, environmental risks force customers to seek more environmentally friendly products, while some products are subject to restrictions by government agencies in the USA and other countries. Thus, there is an urgent need to replace these harmful compounds with more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives without sacrificing performance. Polnox seeks to seize this opportunity by developing a new and novel compound to replace these emergent pollutants. We plan to use safer, renewably resourced, biobased biochemicals to engineer a novel, high-performing, non-toxic corrosion inhibitor additive targeted explicitly in the formulation of lubricants suitable to use in agriculture equipment and aircraft deicing fluids during phase I and Phase II period.
Project Methods
Plan to developand implement efficient, safer, scalable chemical synthetic routes during this project. This is an essential component to go from laboratory scale (~gram)- laboratory scaleup (~lb)- pilot-scale (~100lbs-200lbs)- production (~tons). The process developed needs to be simple and easily adaptable in a typical production facility. The clever aspect of this kind of work is to create a methodology with a minimal number of synthetic steps to reduce the cost of making with a high yield. This is an essential step to reduce manufacturing costs to compete with existing generic products in the market, which are low priced to start with. Price-performance needs to be optimized yet provide societal benefits of the new products and technology. This requires a systematic approach and efforts to develop and implement scalable steps starting from thevery beginning.