Grantee Research Project Results

Combustion CVD: A Clean Alternative to Chromium Electroplating

EPA Contract Number: 68D99058
Title: Combustion CVD: A Clean Alternative to Chromium Electroplating
Investigators: Hendrick, Michelle
Small Business: MicroCoating Technologies Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 1999 through March 1, 2000
Project Amount: $70,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (1999) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Nanotechnology , SBIR - Pollution Prevention , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

Description:

The innovative, patented Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process is a clean, dry, pollution-free, open atmosphere (nonvacuum) thin film process with potential for low-cost manufacture of coatings with quality equal or superior to chromium electroplated coatings. Thus, CCVD has the potential to displace electroplating in many industrial applications, thus eliminating major sources of water pollution. In Phase I, MicroCoating Technologies (MCT) will demonstrate proof-of-concept by developing and testing sample coatings on steel substrates with anticorrosion and antiwear properties suitable for substitution for hard chrome-plated coatings. These coatings will be tested for specific applications by our industrial collaborators in the printing press and automotive industries. Research Triangle Park, an independent environmental research laboratory, will complete an environmental audit of the CCVD process to certify that it is pollution-free. The project will generate the process data, economic analyses, environmental analyses, and coating performance data needed to verify that CCVD is a cost-effective and clean manufacturing technology that can replace hard chromium electroplating. Success in Phase I will lay the solid groundwork for a Phase II effort in which the CCVD process will be scaled-up and automated.

The EPA and industry recognize the need to develop clean processes as alternatives to chromium electroplating, the number one source of water pollution nationwide. Applications include automotive components and trim, industrial rollers, plastic extrusion screws, appliances, fixtures, and aerospace parts. It is anticipated that $1 billion in markets for alternative coating technologies will emerge in the next 10 years. MCT already has one industrial partner in the printing press industry who will participate in this Phase I effort. MCT also is recruiting manufacturing partners in the automotive and aerospace industries. The proposed SBIR effort will enable MCT to develop coatings with better wear-resistance as needed for hard chrome replacement applications.

Publications and Presentations:

Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 1 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

small business, SBIR, pollution prevention, engineering, chemistry, EPA., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Toxics, Waste, Water, Sustainable Industry/Business, hexavalent chromium, National Recommended Water Quality, Chemical Engineering, cleaner production/pollution prevention, Chemistry, Technology for Sustainable Environment, New/Innovative technologies, Incineration/Combustion, Engineering, Hazardous, 33/50, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Market mechanisms, Economics & Decision Making, cost reduction, chromium & chromium compounds, clean technologies, plating bath chemistry, environmentally benign coating, combustion chemical vapor depostion (CCVD), combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD), Chromium, clean technology, electroplating, coating processes, electroless plating, pollution reduction, cost effective, pollution prevention, alternative coatings, coatings, cost effectiveness, green technology

Progress and Final Reports:

Final Report