2343053
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
SBIR Phase II: Biobased and biodegradable polyester surfactants
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to mitigate the environmental impact of personal care products by developing cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to polymeric surfactants widely used in formulations.
A typical surfactant contains over 55% carbon content, whereas the developmental surfactants proposed in this Phase II project can have at least 20% lower carbon content than their commercial counterparts, thus significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Given that an average U.S. citizen uses between 2 and 6 personal care products daily, the majority of which contain 3% to 40% surfactants, this Phase II project's potential environmental and, hence, societal benefits are significant.
This work will enhance the design understanding of these polymeric surfactants that will be built using farm residue ingredients and programmed to biodegrade after their useful life, creating a closed-loop carbon cycle.
The market impact of these polymeric surfactants is not limited to personal care products but extends into household detergents, institutional and industrial cleaners, agriculture, oilfield chemicals, food processing, textiles, etc.
This project can revolutionize multiple industries, making it a promising commercialization opportunity.
The proposed project intends to develop and scale up the next-generation polymeric surfactants, which are safe for human use, enhance consumer experience, and are built with environmental sustainability in mind.
The development and utilization of a novel chemoselective synthesis will enable a polycondensation reaction for building polyester and polyesteramide surfactants from biobased residues.
The research objectives are to 1) demonstrate that the optimized surfactants can be scaled up using green chemistry principles, 2) demonstrate, verify, and validate their surface activity, 3) establish their safety profile, and 4) validate their biodegradability.
This research will utilize design-of-experiment studies to generate surface response curves to identify the optimized surface activity attributes by varying the molecular composition of the polymeric surfactants.
Furthermore, the safety studies for the optimized surfactants will confirm their suitability for human skin applications, while biodegradability tests will ascertain their ready biodegradability in effluent treatment plant environments.
Successful execution of the experimental design will result in the development of sustainable polymeric surfactants.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Subawards are not planned for this award.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to mitigate the environmental impact of personal care products by developing cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to polymeric surfactants widely used in formulations.
A typical surfactant contains over 55% carbon content, whereas the developmental surfactants proposed in this Phase II project can have at least 20% lower carbon content than their commercial counterparts, thus significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Given that an average U.S. citizen uses between 2 and 6 personal care products daily, the majority of which contain 3% to 40% surfactants, this Phase II project's potential environmental and, hence, societal benefits are significant.
This work will enhance the design understanding of these polymeric surfactants that will be built using farm residue ingredients and programmed to biodegrade after their useful life, creating a closed-loop carbon cycle.
The market impact of these polymeric surfactants is not limited to personal care products but extends into household detergents, institutional and industrial cleaners, agriculture, oilfield chemicals, food processing, textiles, etc.
This project can revolutionize multiple industries, making it a promising commercialization opportunity.
The proposed project intends to develop and scale up the next-generation polymeric surfactants, which are safe for human use, enhance consumer experience, and are built with environmental sustainability in mind.
The development and utilization of a novel chemoselective synthesis will enable a polycondensation reaction for building polyester and polyesteramide surfactants from biobased residues.
The research objectives are to 1) demonstrate that the optimized surfactants can be scaled up using green chemistry principles, 2) demonstrate, verify, and validate their surface activity, 3) establish their safety profile, and 4) validate their biodegradability.
This research will utilize design-of-experiment studies to generate surface response curves to identify the optimized surface activity attributes by varying the molecular composition of the polymeric surfactants.
Furthermore, the safety studies for the optimized surfactants will confirm their suitability for human skin applications, while biodegradability tests will ascertain their ready biodegradability in effluent treatment plant environments.
Successful execution of the experimental design will result in the development of sustainable polymeric surfactants.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Subawards are not planned for this award.
Awardee
Funding Goals
THE GOAL OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, "NSF SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PHASE II (SBIR)/ SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAMS PHASE II", IS IDENTIFIED IN THE LINK: HTTPS://WWW.NSF.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/PUB_SUMM.JSP?ODS_KEY=NSF23516
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Moraga,
California
94556-2556
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Biomimics was awarded
Cooperative Agreement 2343053
worth $1,000,000
from National Science Foundation in September 2024 with work to be completed primarily in Moraga California United States.
The grant
has a duration of 2 years and
was awarded through assistance program 47.084 NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II Programs (SBIR/STTR Phase II).
SBIR Details
Research Type
SBIR Phase II
Title
SBIR Phase II: Biobased and Biodegradable Polyester Surfactants
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to mitigate the environmental impact of personal care products by developing cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to polymeric surfactants widely used in formulations. A typical surfactant contains over 55% carbon content, whereas the developmental surfactants proposed in this Phase II project can have at least 20% lower carbon content than their commercial counterparts, thus significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Given that an average U.S. citizen uses between 2 and 6 personal care products daily, the majority of which contain 3% to 40% surfactants, this Phase II project's potential environmental and, hence, societal benefits are significant. This work will enhance the design understanding of these polymeric surfactants that will be built using farm residue ingredients and programmed to biodegrade after their useful life, creating a closed-loop carbon cycle. The market impact of these polymeric surfactants is not limited to personal care products but extends into household detergents, institutional and industrial cleaners, agriculture, oilfield chemicals, food processing, textiles, etc. This project can revolutionize multiple industries, making it a promising commercialization opportunity.
The proposed project intends to develop and scale up the next-generation polymeric surfactants, which are safe for human use, enhance consumer experience, and are built with environmental sustainability in mind. The development and utilization of a novel chemoselective synthesis will enables a polycondensation reaction for building polyester and polyesteramide surfactants from biobased residues. The research objectives are to 1) demonstrate that the optimized surfactants can be scaled up using green chemistry principles, 2) demonstrate, verify, and validate their surface activity, 3) establish their safety profile, and 4) validate their biodegradability. This research will utilize design-of-experiment studies to generate surface response curves to identify the optimized surface activity attributes by varying the molecular composition of the polymeric surfactants. Furthermore, the safety studies for the optimized surfactants will confirm their suitability for human skin applications, while biodegradability tests will ascertain their ready biodegradability in effluent treatment plant environments. Successful execution of the experimental design will result in the development of sustainable polymeric surfactants.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Topic Code
CT
Solicitation Number
NSF 23-516
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/17/24
Period of Performance
9/1/24
Start Date
8/31/26
End Date
Funding Split
$1.0M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$1.0M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
2343053
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Small Business
Awarding Office
491503 TRANSLATIONAL IMPACTS
Funding Office
491503 TRANSLATIONAL IMPACTS
Awardee UEI
NXEFK13H6HM7
Awardee CAGE
86Q32
Performance District
CA-10
Senators
Dianne Feinstein
Alejandro Padilla
Alejandro Padilla
Modified: 9/17/24