This PFI:BIC project from the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering-University at Albany seeks to develop cost-effective oxygen sensors for combustion applications. Oxygen sensors are currently the most extensively used sensor in the combustion industry. These sensors are used for controlling fuel injection in gasoline-powered vehicles (cost of sensors ~ $100) and optimizing combustion in coal-fired power plants (cost of sensor ~ $5000). Currently, the dimensions of these sensor systems range from ten centimeters to meters in size and require access to ambient air, thus limiting their use in a wide range of industries. Miniaturization of existing sensor designs only will be advantageous if new designs no longer need access to ambient air. The recent discovery of an oxygen sensor by Argonne National Laboratory and The Ohio State University with unsurpassed oxygen-sensing capabilities and no need for access to outside air, provides a unique opportunity to further adapt miniaturization for designing innovative chemical gas sensors. The intellectual merit of this program is realized in filling the technology gap related to the development of microfabrication techniques for producing millimeter- sized oxygen gas sensors with the necessary technical and cost attributes required for widespread use within combustion applications. To meet this objective, manufacturing practices for macroscopic ceramic objects will be translated to the nanometer length scale, which will increase the innovation capacity of the research team.
The broader impacts of this research will be realized in the commercial impact of microfabricated oxygen sensors. Use of these miniaturized sensors will increase the combustion efficiency of energy systems in industries that include transportation, energy generation, and manufacturing. An increase of just 1% in combustion efficiency will provide energy savings of 160 TBtu with a subsequent CO2 reduction of 93 million tons, saving billions of dollars in the long run with a major impact on a cleaner environment. For the small business collaborator, Makel Engineering, Inc.( MEI), these sensors can be used immediately in low volume/high cost industrial applications. In the long term, mass-produced sensor dies will allow for a reduction in production costs that will then open up low cost/high volume chemical sensor applications. For the small business collaborator, MicroAdventure Technologies LLC (MAT), the successful completion of the MEMS oxygen sensor project will allow MAT to participate in the subsequent development phases needed to bring this sensor technology to market. Longer term, MAT intends to participate in the supply chain for this sensor by providing custom-designed and tested die to application-focused companies. For the academic members of the research team, the translation of laboratory discoveries into research initiatives aimed at building the innovation capacity of small businesses will in turn provide new educational opportunities for both the academic investigators and students. The entrepreneurial spirit of this research program will provide a unique opportunity for training of graduate and undergraduate students and the groundwork for future success in both academic and business-related opportunities.
Partners at the inception of the project are as follows: 1) Lead Institution: College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering-University at Albany-SUNY, 2) Primary Small Business Partners: MEI, Chico, CA, and MAT, Pittsford, NY, and 3) Other primary partner: The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
