Permafuels, Inc. is a Chapel Hill, NC based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Permafuels, Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. Although biodiesel production using supercritical alcohols is an extremely fast and clean method, it has not been economically competitive with conventional catalytic approaches. This project will optimize the supercritical process to enable cost-effective commercial production of biodiesel fuel.

American Biodiesel, dba Community Fuels, is an advanced biofuel producer. The company produces among the highest quality biomass-based diesel fuels available - which qualifies as an Advanced Biofuel through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and its own fuel standard closely mirrors the requirements of multiple major oil companies and exceeds the Federal fuel standard (ASTM Standard).

Renewable Oil International is a Florence, AL based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Renewable Oil International's business and areas of expertise. The project will produce liquid biofuels from wood biomass resources by fast pyrolysis followed by upgrading of the pyrolysis oils. This research will be a key step towards ending global warming, improving national security, and improving rural economies by reducing our dependence on petroleum feedstocks. Declining petroleum resources, combined with increased demand for petroleum by emerging economies, as well as political and environmental concerns about fossil fuels, are causing our society to search for new sources of liquid fuels. This project will develop a method for conversion of biomass into liquid fuels at a small scale called fast pyrolysis—a process whereby biomass is rapidly converted into a liquid biocrude which can be used for fuel oil or upgraded into gasoline and diesel fuels.

Central Washington Biodiesel (CWBiodiesel) is producing 100% Washington biodiesel using only Washington grown and processed vegetable oil.

Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Clean Tool. Their project, will develop a new kind of wafer cleaning tool that will be useful at every cleaning step in semiconductor processing. It will use an environmentally friendly, acoustic technology that uses only clean water and silent sound. The tool will clean a wafer by simultaneously detecting and dislodging the particulates from the wafer using UPW (ultra pure water) until all particulates have been removed. Its novelty is that this will be the first tool incorporating the endpoint determined cleaning. It will then rinse the wafer briefly and dry it in the same tool. In this streamlined sequence, a fully clean wafer will be available for the next process step much more quickly, much more economically, and in much less cleanroom space. Cleaning mechanism relies on constructively controlled acoustic microcavitation precisely brought about at the particle location to dislodge the particle; the cavitation implosion echo is simultaneously detected and cleaning kept track of. This tool will be applicable to all sub-100nm technology nodes. It will be able to detect on-wafer particulates well below 50nm. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project beyond semiconductor application will be in precision cleaning of lithography masks, mems, solar cells, flat panel displays, HDDs, and precision optics. Ultimately, the principle of constructively controlled microcavitation relies on controlling the very fundamental process of phase change, the control of nucleation -- the ability to convert a liquid into a gas in the vicinity of a solid phase. This should have much wider applications in a variety of chemical processing, e.g. in the control of the boiling processes in chemical and nuclear reactors. The study of this acoustically mediated nucleation control could form an active field/area of research and education. Rejected wafers amount to a colossal waste of prime resources including energy, material, and productivity time; it further amounts to environmental degradation through the effluents and scrap generated. The use of clean tool to prevent such wafer loss directly benefits the society at large. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase II grant for a project entitled: A Quality Monitor for Enabling Water Recycling in Semiconductor Processing - The Particle Scout. Their Project concerns Ultrapure Water (UPW), the life blood of the semiconductor industry. The proposed instrument seeks to satisfy the ITRS requirements on two counts: 1. full flow inspection, and 2. detection of sub-100nm liquid-borne particles. 1. A typical semiconductor fab uses about 3 million gallons of UPW every day, and the ITRS, in its attempt to conserve the precious resource, water, mandates that 90% of UPW be recycled/reused by 2010. The recycled UPW loop will need full flow monitoring, which the proposed Particle Scout will do. 2. The purity of UPW directly affects the chip yield, because the final operation on wafers is UPW rinse and any contaminants present in the UPW contaminate the wafers it rinses. As the industry moves to sub-100 nm nodes the ITRS particle detection requirements fall to sub-50 nm. "Particle Scout" for monitoring in real-time the particulate purity of recycled UPW for use in Semiconductor processing successfully overcomes a critical technological barrier facing the IC manufacturing industry today. Beyond IC manufacturing industry it will find applications in all enterprises where UPW is used: Power generation, Nuclear Reactors, Pharmaceutical industry, Biotechnology, Space exploration, and processing of Advanced high purity chemicals. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: A Quality Monitor for Enabling Water Recycling in Semiconductor Processing - The Particle Scout. Their project concerns Ultrapure Water (UPW), the lifeblood of the semiconductor industry. The proposed instrument seeks to satisfy the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) requirements on two counts: 1. full flow inspections, 2. detection of sub-100nm liquid-borne particles. A typical semiconductor fab uses about 3 million gallons of UPW every day. To control operating costs and ensure sustainable growth, ITRS specifies that 70% of the UPW used in 2005 be recycled or reused (90% by 2010). As a UPW quality monitor fast enough to truly be an in-line, real-time particle detector of an entire DI water stream at the ultimate (50 nm and below) level of particulate purity, the Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM) Particle Scout will enable these ITRS objectives for recycling UPW. The proposed ACIM Particle Scout is designed to meet important financial (operating costs) and quality (sub-100nm precision) needs of the Semiconductor industry. Beyond the IC manufacturing industry the Particle Scout will find applications in all UPW-intensive enterprises: nuclear reactors and other power generators, the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, space exploration, and processing of advanced high purity chemicals. This concept will enable and enhance environmental initiatives for the recycling of UPW. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase II grant for a project entitled: An Innovative Method for Removing Resist from Wafers. Their project seeks to develop an innovative, environment friendly method for removing resist from semiconductor wafers. After every lithography step, and the following processing step, e.g., etching or ion implantation, the process-hardened resist must be stripped away and the wafer cleaned. Existing photoresist removal methods (plasma ashing and wet chemical stripping) are proving too aggressive for current state-of-the-art interconnect materials-they tend to degrade and damage low-k dielectrics and corrode copper; they are also detrimental to the delicate device structures. In this project the resist stripping and wafer cleaning are accomplished in a single process step through controlled microcavitation in ultrapure water with no damage to the underlying layers and features. Resist stripping is a growing $2.64B market. The proposed resist remover and wafer cleaner successfully overcome a critical technological barrier facing the IC manufacturing industry today. Beyond the IC manufacturing industry, the microcavitation based layer removal will find applications in all areas requiring controlled thin film removal,e.g., MEMS, PCB, optics, automotive (paint removal), and aerospace. This will be an enabling technology useful in thin film processing. Microcavitation is a chemical free, environmentally friendly technology. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: An Innovative Method for Removing Resist from Wafers. Their Project seeks to develop an innovative method for removing resist from semiconductor wafers. The Microcavitation Resist Remover will help enable the low-k integration critical to the next generation of faster chips. Microcavitation will be a mechanical removal process influenced by the mechanical properties of fracture rather than the chemical constitution of the resist. Resist stripping is a growing $3.7B market. The proposed Microcavitation Resist Remover and wafer cleaner succesfully overcomes a critical technological barrier facing the IC manufacturing industry today. Beyond the IC manufacturing industy, the Microcavitation Resist Remover will be critical in all areas where thin film removal is critical e.g., MEMS, PCB, optics, automotive (paint removal), and aerospace. More broadly, it will be an enabling technology for use in thin film processing. Microcavitation is a chemical free, environmentally friendly technology. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: CMP Slurry Monitor. Their project is to develop a Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) Slurry Monitor as a fully in-line, real-time, point of use instrument that will detect and disperse large agglomerates in the nanofine slurries used in IC manufacture. The monitor will not only detect scratch inducing agglomerates but will also attempt to destroy them. Successful development of the slurry monitor will improve yields and decrease costs for the semiconductor industry. The principles of induced microcavitation may find wide applications in liquid/particle processing. By detecting and destroying agglomerates improved processes and products will be enabled. Uncopiers is a company that received a SBIR Phase II grant for a project entitled: ACIM deBonder. Their project will develop a new method of determining how strong a thin film anchors to a substrate. The ACIM deBonder(trade mark)uses controlled microcavitation to directly reveal a thin film's adhesion strength by subjecting it to controlled erosion. ACIM is a means of constructively controlling acoustic microcavitation. Substrates are not harmed. The ACIM deBonder(trade mark) will be applicable to any type of film or coating that can be eroded in a controlled manner by cavitation. It is essentially a nondestructive method that only uses small areas of films. No special sample preparation is needed and the method is capable of in situ inspection. The ACIM deBonder tool will be developed for use in microelectronic manufacture. Semiconductor chips rely on the various film layers of their constitution to bond reliably. Beyond semiconductors the deBonder could be useful in optical coatings, and all contexts involving surface modification involving films. The broaderimpacts of this project will be a new method of determining the adhesion strength of thin films; it is expected to advance the science of thin film engineering. The controlled erosion of ACIM can itself be used to create nascent surfaces in preparation for thin film deposition. Ultimately, the principle of ACIM deBonder (trade mark) relies controlled caviational erosion, in fact it relies on controlling the very fundamental process of phase change, the control of nucleation--the ability to convert a liquid into a gas in the vicinity of a solid phase. This should have much wider applications in a variety of chemical processing, e.g. in the control of the boiling processes in chemical and nuclear reactors. The study of this acoustically mediated nucleation control could form an active field/area of research and education.

Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: High Temperature Solar Thermal Biomass Gasification and Co-reduction of Iron Oxide to Produce Hydrogen. Their project applies renewable solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for biomass gasification and will develop the science required to engineer an efficient solar biomass-to-hydrogen conversion facility. Central to this innovation is the use of a reduced oxide intermediate to chemically store solar energy in a solid, allowing continuous hydrogen generation when the sun is not shining. The operating conditions necessary to achieve economically viable conversion of biomass resources to hydrogen will be determined through in-depth study "on-sun" and in the laboratory of heat transfer, reaction rates, and rate controls. The proposed project provides a bridge between solar energy and biomass to surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. The high temperatures available from solar thermal systems allow for high conversion and selectivity, maximizing utility of the valuable biomass resource and extending its ability to replace conventional fossil fuels. Use of a reduced metal oxide stretches the applicability of solar energy beyond the daylight hours. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone to provide renewable fuels for the future. Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification and Pyrolysis of Cellulose and Lignin for Renewable Fuel Production. Their research uses solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for renewable biomass conversion to energy or useful products, and develops the science required to engineer an efficient and commercial solar biomass conversion facility. Gasification and pyrolysis of representative biomass resources grown near solar regions (corn stover and sorghum) will be converted via thermogravimetry, controlled aerosol reaction, and on-sun demonstration of feasibility of this approach. Thermogravimetric experiments will determine chemical kinetics and necessary conditions for high selectivity to syngas and tar mitigation. Economic simulations will determine the main cost drivers for product price and highlight the syngas products with highest near-term scale-up potential. The broader impacts of the application of solar thermal energy to thermochemical conversion of biomass will provide a bridge between these sources of renewable energy that could surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone and will help alleviate the nation's dependence on foreign petroleum, generate economic growth, create fuels that are environmentally sustainable, and have an impact on the overall human impact of energy use.