Description of need
- In environments that are too hot for polymers (eg Teflon), especially heat transfer surfaces for supercritical coal, geothermal, fusion, fission, etc., the corrosion products typically deposit on the hot surfaces. Mineral scale forms, e.g. oxides, sulfides.
- Printed circuit heat exchangers are seen as a promising way to enable much more power dense and cheaper power production. But tighter channels mean worse fouling, so the problem is even worse there. Described by Mike Short
Problem severity (1-10)
8
Who has this need
Geothermal energy Nuclear fusion Nuclear fission
Total addressable market (TAM)
Large. For example, crud in the US nuclear light water reactor industry: 500M/yr.
Solutions today, and their shortcomings
Potentially relevant capabilities
Coating for fouling resistance in heat transfer surfaces