39
Soil and
Subsurface Contaminant Sensor System Based on Self-Sensed Microcantilever
Arrays—Nevada Nanotech Systems, Inc.,
Mr. Ralph
Whitten,
Mr. Ralph
Whitten, Business Official, rwhitten@nevadanano.com
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-05ER84291
Amount: $99,949
The
widespread use of mercury (Hg) in products, along with the equally widespread
release of mercury to the environment as a result of manufacturing operations, presents
a serious health risk. Mercury
contamination is also a significant issue at several government sites, ranging
from trace contamination to extremely high contamination of soils and
sediments. There is therefore a great
need for low-cost, compact sensors for sensitive and selective Hg
detection. In this project, compact,
low-cost, low-power arrays of microcantilevers will be integrated into small
sensor packages. The sensors will be
highly sensitive and selective to mercury vapor and will be integrated into
cone penetrometers for soil and subsurface mercury detection. In Phase I, a small array of piezoelectric
self-sensing microcantilevers will be field tested to selectively detect
mercury vapor in soil. Phase II will
integrate an optimized cantilever array design into a cone penetrometer as a
single, field-testable system.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Low-cost mercury sensors and alarms, designed to perform like today’s fire alarms or carbon monoxide alarms, should find widespread use by government agencies, corporations with manufacturing operations that involve or release mercury, health and safety personnel such as hazmat teams, police and fire personnel, and corporate and academic safety officers. In addition, the sensor system should be adaptable to sensing other chemicals or chemical mixtures.