Deadline: 2-Oct-24
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Innovative Water Technology Grant Program, is seeking applications for research to develop, test and deploy predictive models for novel adsorbents and estimate the effectiveness of these adsorbents to remove emerging micropollutants in drinking water and wastewater treatment operations.
Water treatment and distribution systems face challenges in removing contaminants for clean and safe drinking water. The development of “next-generation” adsorbents shows considerable promise for more efficient and effective removal of micropollutants, but limited information is available on their reliability and treatment performance.
Research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of novel sorbents for removing micropollutants in drinking water and wastewater. With this funding opportunity, EPA is seeking research that will help water utilities and water system engineers better predict the performance of novel adsorbents and provide scientific information for the basis of decisions on which new treatment technologies to select and deploy.
Funding Information
- It is anticipated that a total of approximately $1,000,000 will be awarded under this announcement, depending on the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.
- The EPA anticipates funding approximately one award under this funding opportunity. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $1,000,000 in federal funds per award, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. In addition, a minimum non-federal cost share/match of 35% of the total project costs which is equivalent at a minimum to 53.846% of the federal funds awarded (which may include in-kind contributions – see Section III.B. for more details), must be included. The minimum 35% non-federal cost share/match, equal to a minimum of $538,462 (assuming the applicant requests $1,000,000 in EPA funds) must be included. Including matching, total project costs can exceed $1,538,462 (if the applicant proposes more than the minimum required non-federal cost share/match), however, the federally funded portion of the budget must not exceed $1,000,000. Applications which do not demonstrate how the applicant will provide the minimum non-federal cost share/match will be deemed ineligible.
- The total project period requested in an application submitted for this funding opportunity may not exceed 4 years.
Specific Research Areas of Interest
- Research Area 1. With the goal of developing new models to predict effectiveness for at least two classes of novel adsorbents, provide a rationale for selecting the adsorbents and the modeling approaches. Applications should address the following research topics:
- Define the classes of novel adsorbents being proposed for use (at least two), provide justification for their selection and define the types and classes of micropollutants that are expected to be removed by these novel adsorbents.
- Explain the design parameters showing how the type of adsorbent, apparatus design, and how the micropollutants studied may interrelate.
- Describe the treatment contexts and practical applications (e.g., drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, environmental remediation, etc.) that are targeted in the application.
- Why are existing fixed-bed, flow-through models limited and would a new modeling approach be valuable? Provide justification for selecting the specific micropollutants to be studied within the chosen micropollutant classes and explain how these specific micropollutants will help support the steps of building a new model.
- For the novel adsorbents selected and the targeted classes of micropollutants, explain how the new model(s) will test the removal hypotheses. Describe the model(s) and associated theory being proposed that account for the unique characteristics of the targeted classes of micropollutants.
- Research Area 2. Develop, test and deploy a novel model (or models) to predict how well the selected novel adsorbents work for selected micropollutants under a variety of environmentally relevant conditions for flow-through, fixed-bed processes. The experimental data should include sufficient tests to justify the model(s). The testing should show that the proposed model(s) can be deployed and will work under environmentally relevant conditions sufficient to justify the model(s).
- For the purposes of this funding opportunity, “deploying a model” indicates a model capable of being run by utilities, engineers, and the general public that have a functional knowledge of programming and water treatment; and that the model with appropriate predictive functionality for a given adsorbent and associated data input capabilities is made publicly available in a standard programming language (e.g., Python, R, C/C++) that can be easily run and is opensource. “Environmentally relevant conditions” indicates that a model should be able to predict treatment performance in water conditions found in real-world water matrices that would be treated by the modeled sorbent and capture the impact of natural organic matter or other cooccurring species that could deleteriously or favorably impact treatment performance.
- Applications should address the following research topics:
- Describe what experimental data will be developed on adsorption of those micropollutants for the novel adsorbents chosen (at least two different classes of adsorbents), with the goal of developing a new model for a flow-through, fixed-bed process. This should address both adsorption capacity and kinetics.
- Explain how additional relevant water quality or operating conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, NOM) are included in the model.
- What are the types of flow-through, fixed-bed validation studies that would be run? Explain the validation methods to test the model. The outcomes should be mechanistic and linked to physical parameters. Models based on black box concepts or statistical correlations (e.g., machine learning, QSPR) will not be considered responsive to this funding opportunity.
- Describe how the model(s) will be able to accurately predict how the adsorbents will work for large-scale treatment under conditions relevant to the chosen contexts and/or applications. Is the proposed framework flexible enough to work at multiple sites or over a range of conditions? Explain how your proposed experiments will demonstrate this capability.
- Describe how the model(s) can be used to further develop related adsorption media with improved performance characteristics.
- The model(s) developed should be tested and deployed in real-world conditions and the results evaluated for effectiveness. The applicant should make sure that sufficient micropollutants are tested to justify the model.
Expected Outputs and Outcomes
- Outputs expected from the research funded under this funding opportunity may include, but are not limited to: predictive models for fixed-bed, flow-through treatment performance, including describing how well novel adsorbents will work for specific classes of micropollutants; demonstration, testing, and deployment of the model(s) developed and case studies; experimental data on adsorption of a specific class of micropollutants on at least two classes of novel adsorbents in flow-through, fixed-bed processes; information for drinking water utilities, wastewater treatment plant engineers and design engineers developing treatment systems; novel mechanistic models for micropollutant removal in water treatment systems; publications of research results in peer-reviewed journals, reports and presentations; and software or other simulation tools implementing the developed models. It is expected that the model development and code for these models will be made publicly available upon completion of this project.
- Potential outcomes from the research funded under this funding opportunity may include but are not limited to: reduced costs of testing and deploying innovative micropollutant removal technologies, improved public health and reduced risks to human health and ecosystems from micropollutant removal from water with demonstrated innovative water technologies.
Eligibility Criteria
- Public water systems, institutions of higher education (IHEs), research institutions or foundations, regional water organizations and certain nonprofit organizations as further described below, located in the U.S. or its territories or possessions are eligible to apply. Profitmaking firms and individuals are not eligible to apply.
- Public water system, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 300f(4), means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five individuals. Such term includes (i) any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system, and (ii) any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. Privately and publicly owned public water systems that meet the definition of a public water system in 42 U.S.C. 300f(4) are eligible to apply.
- A Regional Water Organization, for purposes of this program, is an association or similar incorporated non-profit or governmental entity that represents or coordinates the operations of public water systems in a defined geographic area under a compact, charter or binding contractual agreement.
- For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.
- Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status; such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.
- Foreign governments, international organizations, and non-governmental international organizations/institutions are not eligible to apply.
- National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. An award recipient may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research.
- Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement. Federal employees may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations through awards made under this program unless authorized by law to receive such funding.
- The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector to the extent authorized by law. Examples are purchase of satellite data, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.
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