Summary

The Phase II SBIR Project converts the research team’s successful Phase I feasibility study into a prototype system for on-line, real-time monitoring of selenium in coal-fired power plant waste water. As an innovator in advanced chemical analysis, OndaVia is positioned to be the provider of choice for companies demanding fast, accurate water testing. The OndaVia analysis system consists of test kits designed for fast, easy, laboratory-grade water analysis. These kits couple with an instrument that scans the sample to determine contaminant concentrations. Results are presented simply to the user—with calibration-free analysis performed over a wide concentration range. This project represents a beach-head market opportunity for a platform technology capable of measuring a wide-range of metals in water.

The researchers are developing, evaluating, and validating their innovative technology into an online, autonomous selenium analysis platform, enabling subsequent commercial activities. During the previous phase of the project, OndaVia demonstrated the feasibility of semi-continuous selenium analysis in coal-fired power plant waste water, achieving a 2.5-ppb minimum detection limit in real-world water samples. The researchers’ auto- calibrating, modular system overcomes the challenges faced by other on-line systems using an optical method coupled with an internal standard to determine selenium concentration. With the further capability to speciate selenium, and future potential to measure arsenic and nitrate with the sample platform, OndaVia’s approach addresses the needs of industry in the years to come.