Grantee Research Project Results
Elimination to Toxic Effluent and Metallizing Process Waste via Jet Vapor Deposition
EPA Contract Number: 68D30068Title: Elimination to Toxic Effluent and Metallizing Process Waste via Jet Vapor Deposition
Investigators: Halpern, Bret L.
Small Business: Jet Process Corporation
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: II
Project Period: September 1, 1993 through November 1, 1995
Project Amount: $150,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase II (1993) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) is Jet Process Corporation's innovative, patented, proprietary process for manufacturing high quality coatings on substrates for diverse industrial consumer and military applications. JVD can be used to efficiently deposit many types of metal, ceramic and semiconductor coatings at low cost and high rate. The new JVD process is clean, dry, non-toxic, and pollution free. In this program of SBIR research, Jet Electroplating is a major industrial process which generates significant water pollutant nationwide. There can, therefore, be important environmental benefits is JVD is able to replace electroplating in major applications. There would be a significant reduction in generation of process waste and toxic effluent. In Phase I, Jet Process Corporation succeeded in broadening JVD's capabilities by developing jet sources for the important electroplating metals: chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, iron, tin, and silver. Jet Process Corporation tested the sample metal coatings and verified that quality was equivalent to or better than conventional coatings. They also deposited test coatings on larger substrates, and devised a reel-to-reel mechanism for JVD deposition on tapes. They investigated means to recycle JVD process gases. They analyzed the economics and projected markets for JVD processing. The latter effort involved significant communication with potential commercial customers of JVD processing service and equipment; in several cases, they supplied prototype coatings to those potential customers. They also succeeded in profitably supplying JVD production coating service to a commercial client, AT&T Bell Labs; based on this production, Jet Process Corporation have further proof of JVD's ability to compete on price and performance with electroplating. In sum, the Phase I effort succeeded in all respects, providing compelling evidence that JVD has enormous potential as a low-cost, pollution-free coating process, capable of displacing electroplating. Jet Process Corporation proposes in Phase II to build on their Phase I success and develop the JVD process further so that they may commercialize it widely in Phase III. General Electric Company (GE) has written a letter in support of this proposal; Jet Process Corporation plans to work with GE during Phase II.Supplemental Keywords:
RFA, Scientific Discipline, Waste, Sustainable Industry/Business, cleaner production/pollution prevention, Sustainable Environment, Chemistry, Technology for Sustainable Environment, New/Innovative technologies, Engineering, waste reduction, clean technologies, clean technology, semiconductor industry, metal plating industry, coating processes, electroless plating, innovative technology, semiconductor manufacturing, coatings, pollution prevention, innovative technologiesProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.