PART 4: SIMWyPES®, ChiMES offer interesting opportunities
(EDITOR’S NOTE: John Morris, is a long-time player in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge entrepreneurial ecosystem, has been assisting Consolidated Nuclear Services, managing contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex, make prospective licensees around the Southeast aware of the organization’s available technologies. This is the fourth article in a five-part series examining those technologies. The last article posts next week.)
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
Two additional technologies that are part of the five-city “Y-12 Road Show” have unique acronyms. One is SIMWyPES®, the other is ChiMES.
SIMWyPES
SIMWyPES® refers to a technology developed for cleaning in hazardous waste areas that can also be used in respirators, dry wipes, Q-tips® or other cleaning substrates.
“Surface cleaning is an issue in commercial and residential applications,” John Morris says. The challenges include the fact that cleaners are often hazardous, industrial cleaners can’t be used in environmental/occupational health environments, and multiple cleaners are often required to adequately clean a surface.
Enter SIMWyPES®.
“It’s a piece of paper coated with a food grade component that traps particles,” Morris explains. “It is easy to use and eliminates concerns associated with particle-induced contaminants.”
More important is the fact that it is currently being produced in small quantities for pennies on the dollar, so scaling production quantities could result in additional economies of scale.
“You can use it as a wipe or in a respirator,” Morris adds.
He sees the likely commercialization approach to make the wipes in rolls of 500 and sell them through environmentally-friendly channels.
ChiMES
The acronym stands for “Chemical Identification by Magneto‑Elastic Sensing,” a technology designed to address a potential risk in certain testing procedures.
“Most sensors have to puncture a hole in a vessel to take a reading,” Morris says. “Use of wireless is not a possibility.” This creates safety issues for the analyst taking the readings.
Further complicating the process is the fact multiple materials might need to be tested,
With ChiMES, each sensor can be targeted to different materials, and all the sensors can be daisy-chained to detect multiple materials.
Morris sees opportunities in a diverse set of sectors – from chemical and biological warfare to toxic industrial chemicals, pollutants, and even illegal drugs.
“This one is not quite ready for primetime,” he says, so any licensee would need to invest further in the maturation of the technology.
Individuals interested in learning more about these technologies should contact otcp@y12.doe.gov.
