Project Grant 20223361037532

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** BACKGROUND: CHEMICALS RELEASED FROM AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE ARE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO AIR AND WATER POLLUTION, BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND GLOBALLY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF AMMONIA (NH3), A COLORLESS, PUNGENT GAS THAT FORMS AS A BYPRODUCT OF AGRICULTURAL WASTE, AND IS COMMONLY FOUND IN CLEANING AGENTS USED IN COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS. AMMONIA GAS IS A SIGNIFICANT HAZARD TO HUMAN HEALTH, LIVESTOCK, AND CROPS, WITH THE SEVERITY OF HEALTH EFFECTS LARGELY DEPENDENT UPON THE DOSE, DURATION, AND EXPOSURE ROUTE. IN THE PRESENCE OF WATER, AMMONIA CAN CONVERT TO AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE WHICH IS STRONGLY CORROSIVE AND TOXIC. CONTACT WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF AMMONIA CAN CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACTS OF BOTH HUMANS AND LIVESTOCK, WHILE EXPOSURE TO LARGER AMOUNTS OF AMMONIA GAS CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS AND/OR PERMANENT LUNG DAMAGE. OSHA HAS SET A 50-PPM LIMIT FOR AMMONIA EXPOSURE OVER AN 8-HOUR WORK DAY, AND THE EPA CONSIDERS 300 PPM EXPOSURE TO BE IMMEDIATELY THREATENING TO HUMAN LIFE.NEED: TODAY, ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF AMMONIA POLLUTION ARE EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO COLLECT IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS. AS A RESULT, THE SOURCES OF AMMONIA GENERATION AND ITS SUBSEQUENT DIFFUSION BEHAVIOR ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT, AND THE TRUE OUTPUT OF AMMONIA POLLUTION IS FREQUENTLY UNDERESTIMATED. UNDERSTANDING AMMONIA POLLUTION CAN HAVE CRITICAL IMPACTS ON THE HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES. A CONSEQUENCE OF AMMONIA POISONING IN MANY FARMS IS A PERVASIVENESS OF UNHEALTHY ANIMALS WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASES, WHICH CAN RENDER THEM UNSAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, AND LOWERING FARM PROFITABILITY. IN RECENT YEARS, AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES HAVE PLACED INCREASING EMPHASIS ON REDUCING AMMONIA VAPORS TO ENSURE LIVESTOCK LIVE IN CLEAN AND HEALTHY CONDITIONS. THIS TREND IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY MANY HEALTH-CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS WILLING TO SUPPORT FARMS THAT MAINTAIN SAFE AND HEALTHY LIVING CONDITIONS FOR THEIR LIVESTOCK, TO ENSURE THE FOODTHEY CONSUME IS AT ITS HIGHEST QUALITY. THESE CONSUMERS ARE INCREASINGLY LOYAL SUPPORTERS OF CLEAN FARMS AND ARE WILLING TO PAY A PREMIUM FOR NUTRITIOUS, HIGH-QUALITY FOOD.IMPROVING THE CAPACITY TO ANALYZE AND MITIGATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS OF AMMONIA POLLUTION IN BOTH FARMS AND PROCESSING FACTORIES IS PARAMOUNT. ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS WHICH CAN QUICKLY IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT AMPLIFY OR ACCELERATE THE ACCUMULATION OF TOXIC AMMONIA VAPORS INTO THE ENVIRONMENT (I.E. IMPROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT, FERTILIZER OVERUSE, ETC.) ARE NEEDED TO DEVELOP RATIONAL MEASURES TO MINIMIZE AIR, WATER, AND SOIL POLLUTION AND TOXIC EXPOSURE. UNFORTUNATELY, TODAY'S COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AMMONIA GAS DETECTORS RELY ON EXPENSIVE, ANTIQUATED TECHNOLOGY WHICH LIMITS THEIR UTILITY. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MORE ACCURATE AMMONIA DETECTORS, SUCH AS THE BOREAL AND NONPLUS LASERS, ARE PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE (~$30-$40K) FOR MOST FARMS. ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS SUCH AS THE GG-NH3 FROM CALIBRATION TECHNOLOGIES ARE ALSO RATHER EXPENSIVE ($1,200/UNIT) AND DO NOT PERFORM WELL IN OUTDOOR SETTINGS.CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO LOW-COST, USER-FRIENDLY AMMONIA VAPOR DETECTION METHODS CAPABLE OF REMOTELY MONITORING AND REPORTING RELIABLE REAL-TIME MEASUREMENTS. MOREOVER, DESPITE THE KNOWN ADVANTAGES OF WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY, MOST AMMONIA DETECTORS LACK THE FUNCTIONALITY TO BE CONNECTED TO A MULTI-NODE WIRELESS DETECTION NETWORK. THESE LIMITATIONS INDICATE THAT THERE IS A CLEAR LACK OF AFFORDABLE AND EFFICIENT OPTIONS TO MONITOR AMMONIA POLLUTION ACROSS 3-DIMENSIONAL LANDSCAPES IN REAL-TIME. CONSEQUENTLY, COMPREHENSIVE TOPOGRAPHICAL ASSESSMENTS OF AMMONIA DIFFUSION WHICH MIGHT INFORM MITIGATION PRACTICES ARE EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO COLLECT.VALUE PROPOSITION: SEACOAST SCIENCE PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RUGGED, LIGHTWEIGHT, AMMONIA DETECTOR, THAT FILLS THE CURRENT VOID IN COMMERCIAL DETECTION CAPABILITIES BY OFFERING AN AFFORDABLE AND VERSATILE SOLUTION TO ACCURATELY MONITOR AMMONIA POLLUTION ACROSS A DIVERSE ARRAY OF AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS. SEACOAST'S PROPOSED DETECTOR WILL MONITOR AND QUANTIFY THE CONCENTRATION AND SPATIAL DIFFUSION OF GAS-PHASE AMMONIA IN REAL-TIME, MAINTAIN A RECORD OF THE CUMULATIVE VAPOR LOAD, AND WIRELESSLY TRANSMIT THIS DATA TO A PERSONAL COMPUTING DEVICE FOR ANALYSIS VIA USER-FRIENDLY SOFTWARE THAT CAN BE OPERATED WITH MINIMAL TRAINING. THE PROPOSED DETECTION TECHNOLOGY IS BASED ON THE USE OF AMMONIA-SENSITIVE LEWIS ACID TELECHELIC POLYMERS (LATPS) AS CHEMICAL TRANSDUCERS IN MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL-SYSTEMS (MEMS) CHEMICAPACITOR AND CHEMIRESISTORS. THE PROPOSED DETECTOR WILL FEATURE AN INEXPENSIVE, SEMI-DISPOSABLE SENSING ELEMENT, STRATEGICALLY DESIGNED TO BE REPLACED PERIODICALLY TO ENSURE HIGH OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE WHILE EXTENDING DEVICE LIFETIME. FURTHERMORE, THE SYSTEM'S WIRELESS CAPABILITIES WILL ENABLE EACH SENSOR TO FUNCTION AS A NODE IN AN INTEGRATED WIRELESS DETECTION NETWORK. THE PROPOSED DETECTOR IS ENGINEERED TO BE A COST-EFFECTIVE, FRONTLINE PROTECTIVE MEASURE AGAINST EXPOSURE TO AMMONIA VAPORS; WITH ADVANCED FEATURES CAPABLE OF MEETING THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR IMPROVED AIR QUALITY AND SAFETY FROM HAZARDOUS GASES.