National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

A -- PUBLIC MEETING SOL Q- POC Customer Representative 1-800-287-3863 Department of Commerce Technology Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting proposals under its focused program competition, Catalysis and Biocatalysis Technologies (95-05) and announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested parties. An estimated $15 million in ATP funding is available under this focused program competition 95-05. The ATP reserves the right to utilize for this competition more or less funding than the amount stated above, depending on the quality of the proposals received. The actual number of proposals funded will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear funding is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory program performance. Award recipients will be required to share non-proprietary information during program workshops that will be held throughout the duration of the program. The ATP operates under program procedures published at Part 295, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit (containing proposal cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions for submission of proposals) and the focused program paper entitled ''Catalysis and Biocatalysis Technologies, Supplemental Information Program Competition 95-05,'' may be obtained by phone (1-800-ATP-FUND), fax (301-926-9524), e-mail (atp@micf.nist.gov), or written request at the address shown below. Only FULL proposals are being solicited under this focused program competition 95-05. Abbreviated/pre-proposals WILL NOT be accepted. Proposals submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited in for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a list of questions to the proposer that must be addressed at the oral review. The due date for submission of full proposals is 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 26, 1995. Should the NIST facility be closed on the specified due date, ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. EST on the next business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after this deadline WILL NOT be considered. Decisions on the awards for this competition should be made within three months after full proposals are received. Send proposals to: Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Mark envelope Focused Program 95- 05. The Catalysis and Biocatalysis Technologies program will enable the catalysis-based processing industries to speed breakthroughs via systems oriented, multi-disciplinary approaches to catalytic process design. Breakthroughs in these core technologies can significantly lower operating costs associated with energy, raw materials, and environmental improvement; reduce capital costs for investment in new technologies; speed discovery of competitive and environmentally superior process chemistries; and increase use of design/modeling tools for customizing processes to meet consumer demands. TECHNICAL SCOPE: The business and technical goals should be linked to the following four catalyst systems or two process innovation areas that comprise the technical scope. Future solicitations will NOT expand the catalyst systems. Catalyst system area includes: oxidative catalysis and biocatalysis systems for oxygenated chemicals; catalysis and biocatalysis systems for monomers (polymer precursors) and polymers; catalysis and biocatalysis systems for reducing environmental impacts of hazardous catalyst systems for alkylation, acylation, and esterification (alkylate production for transportation fuels is included); and catalysis and biocatalysis systems for reducing emissions and monitoring industrial waste streams. Process innovation area includes: catalyst and biocatalyst manufacturing breakthroughs that significantly enhance catalyst performance and/or manufacturing productivity; bioreactor or catalytic reactor breakthroughs in engineering, design, modeling, and scale-up that decrease scale- up steps, improve catalyst performance, integrate reaction or separation steps, or enhance transport efficiencies. Innovative approaches to accelerate the prediction and control of catalyst structure and function for improved product and/or process performance are required. Innovative catalyst characterization techniques; and lab scale pilots to achieve project goals are included. Larger scale pre-commercial pilot plant proposals will be considered for 1) novel approaches to reactor engineering for ONLY the four catalyst systems, and 2) production of known catalytic materials, now limited for use by high technical risks to reduce manufacturing costs (this is NOT restricted to the four reaction systems). Significant pre-pilot laboratory data documenting remaining high technical risks and potential for accelerating efficiencies of future scale-up projects is required. EXCLUSIONS FROM TECHNICAL SCOPE: searches for new microorganisms or new catalytic materials; unbounded studies of catalyst manufacturing techniques that are primarily searching for new catalytic materials; development of modeling tools without a software commercialization strategy; modeling projects with low technical risk, limited industrial relevance, or primarily requests for computational costs; environmental catalysts for transportation vehicles, or waste site remediation; production of polymer composites; dehydrogenation reactions typical of, but not exclusive to, petroleum refining; oxidation reaction systems that do NOT result in chemical products and intermediates that contain oxygen; catalytic and hydrocracking of hydrocarbons typical in petroleum refining; low risk, narrow product or process applications that do not expand the technology base, yet may deliver broad economic benefits. TECHNICAL GOALS: Innovations in catalysis process chemistries and catalyst design and fabrication include: use of structure/function knowledge for routinely designing catalysts and associated processes or products; innovative catalyst design and characterization technologies; novel approaches to speed design, improve reliability and environmental impact of catalyst manufacturing techniques; innovative approaches to significantly extend catalyst yield, selectivity, life, or operational stability by more than 20% over current practice; catalysts that greatly simplify process chemistry and/or improve environmental performance beyond current trends. Innovations in catalytic process design include: novel reactor engineering designs; advanced scale-up methods; prediction of end-use product properties; enhance or maintain catalysis-based product performance through major feedstock shifts. BUSINESS GOALS: Significant benefits to the U.S. economy will require clear commercialization pathway links to high-risk technical challenges such as: reducing catalyst discovery and process development cycle time by several years; speeding development and availability of tools for computer-aided catalysis modeling for molecular design and interaction, fabrication and production techniques, and transport process mechanisms; decreasing total process costs by 50%; or reducing wastes from catalyst use and manufacture by 50-75%. Incremental catalyst improvements of low technical risk, yet potentially high economic benefit will not be considered. A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers and other interested parties will be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. EST on February 21, 1995, at the Holiday Inn, 2 Montgomery Village Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD (Interstate I-270, Exit 11). The morning session will provide general information on the ATP and hints on preparing good proposals (covering the same material presented at previous ATP Proposers' Conferences). The afternoon breakout session will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions on the scope and technical and business goals of this focused program. Attendance at this public meeting is not required. No registration fee will be charged. In case of severe weather, please call NIST's Facilities Status Line 301-975-6478, for a pre-recorded message of the status of NIST opening. IF NIST is closed, there will be no meeting, but will be rescheduled. To register for this public meeting or for further information, contact ATP, by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524; or e- mail: atp@micf.nist.gov. (0038)

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