EPA Nanotechnology and the Environment ... - Mechatronics

Nanotechnology and the Environment: Applications and Implications STAR Progress Review Workshop
purity (>90%) CNT is between $100-1,000/gm, produced
mostly for academic and research and development
purposes. The industry would need tonnage quantities
of CNT and about 2 to 3 orders of magnitude
lowered price for commercial scale applications. 2 For
example, a market study from Ferro Corporation (a
Intematix’s commercial partner) suggests that elimination
of the priming step for automobile coating would
be commercially feasible if nanotube composites are
priced near $5/lb at 3 percent CNT loading, which will
translate to a target CNT price in the order of $100/lb.
After screening all of the existing methods of synthesizing
CNT, we have identified the catalytic conversion
of hydrocarbons with a pyrolytic chemical vapor
deposition reactor as the only possible approach to reach
the $100/lb target. Furthermore, the key to reach the
cost target of approximately $100/lb with this catalytic
synthesis approach is to develop highly efficient catalysts
and a scaled up “continuous” CNT production
process to dramatically increase the yield and lower the
cost of CNT. In Phase I of this EPA SBIR project,
Intematix has discovered the most efficient CNT catalyst
ever known with our established combinatorial
synthesis and high throughput screening tools. We will
develop a scaled up catalytic pyrolysis reactor and process
in Phase II to directly produce high-quality CNT
at a target cost of $100/lb, using the advanced catalysts
discovered in Phase I.
1
Miller B. (Consulting ed., from Plastics World magazine). Tiny graphite “tubes” create high-efficiency conductive
plastics. From the Web site of Hyperion Catalyst International, http:www.fibrils.com/.
2
Ajayan P, Zhou O. Application of carbon nanotubes. In: Dresselhaus M, Dresselhaus G, Avouris P (eds.). Carbon
Nanotubes, Synthesis, Structure, Properties, and Applications. Springer: 2001.
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The Office of Research and Development’s National Center for Environmental Research