The Navy faces the complex task of efficiently managing diverse material streams, either generated as operational byproducts or at the end of their service life. The Materials Treatment and Recovery program ensures their appropriate treatment and, where economically feasible, resource recovery. This initiative seeks cutting-edge processes and materials that can reduce sustainment, logistics, and operational overhead while enhancing operational flexibility in diverse environments. Traditional land-based methods for materials management, such as incineration, secure landfilling, and mechanical-biological treatment can be large-scale, energy-intensive, and labor-intensive requiring significant infrastructure and specialized personnel. These methods often lack the necessary portability and adaptability required for Naval operations. Because of the Navy’s unique operational requirements, including limited space and resources at sea, operational flexibility and modularity are key. Therefore, the introduction of innovative technologies is crucial to decrease operational expenses, allocate personnel for mission-critical tasks, and minimize logistical requirements by reducing the frequency and cost of material resupply.
Research Concentration Areas
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Materials and processes to enhance treatment by reducing the volume and impact of Navy-generated byproducts, including the development of novel catalysts, sorbents, and membranes.
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Materials and processes to improve recovery of critical material, including the development of selective extraction and separation techniques.
Research Challenges and Opportunities
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Development of novel materials to reduce cleaning and maintenance requirements of treatment systems, minimizing downtime and operational costs
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Development of advanced materials that improve separation processes for targeted material recovery and material purification
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Development of novel materials and processes that improve disinfection processes, ensuring effective pathogen inactivation
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Development of materials and processes that improve the efficiency and selectivity of critical materials recovery from complex material matrices
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Development of scalable and adaptable processes that enable efficient and cost-effective critical materials recovery and resource utilization onboard Naval platforms and at remote locations
How to Submit
For detailed application and submission information for this research topic, please refer to our broad agency announcement (BAA) No. N0001425SB001.
Contracts: All white papers and full proposals for contracts must be submitted through FedConnect; instructions are included in the BAA.
Grants: All white papers for grants must be submitted through FedConnect, and full proposals for grants must be submitted through grants.gov; instructions are included in the BAA.