NBD Nanotechnologies, Inc.

Advanced Surface Coatings for Enhanced Condensation

NBD Coatings Enhance Heat Transfer in Pure Steam Condensers Up To 200%!
NBD Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NBD) is inspired by the Namibian Desert Beetle, which harvests its own drinking water from moisture in fog. With biomimetic micro- and nano-scale coating technologies, NBD develops functional surface coatings that sustain the more-efficient dropwise condensation to improve the performance of condensers in industrial applications, such as power plants, desalination plants and heat exchangers. Dropwise condensation provides significant heat transfer enhancement compared to filmwise condensation (the default condensation mode for non-surface treated condensing surfaces). NBD technology promotes dropwise condensation and enhances pure steam external condensation heat transfer coefficients by 2-3 times compared to filmwise condensation on the non-surface treated tube. Preliminary laboratory results have shown the coatings superior durability under pure steam conditions of 500 hours with nominal performance loss. NBDs technology uses scalable coating techniques that can be easily integrated into heat exchanger manufacturing processes. NBD is committed to

Key Attributes
Demonstrated enhancement of condensation heat transfer coefficients in pure steam of up to 200% when compared to filmwise condensation. Simple, scalable fabrication process (dip coating and/or spraying) Current run time: 500+ hours
Optimized for Copper and Copper alloys

NBDs surface coating sustains dropwise condensation (left) with beaded droplets that has 2-3 times greater heat transfer coefficient than conventional filmwise condensation as shown (right) .

8 Saint Marys St. Boston, MA 02215 USA info@nbdnano.com www.nbdnano.com

ensure that our coatings are environmentally benign and durable under a variety of operating conditions. NBD combines a multidisciplinary team with expertise in surface chemistry and condensation heat transfer, as well as collaborations with world-

class researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. NBD is well-positioned to develop leapfrogging technologies for addressing energy-efficiency innovations in condensation applications.

NBD Coatings for Dropwise Condensation

Tackling the Bottlenecks of Surface Coatings
NBDs coating durability and performance is due to our innovative and proprietary techniques that ensure adhesion onto the substrate while not compromising the thermal resistance due to the coatings sub-microscale thickness. Traditional superhydrophobic surfaces, which exhibit sessile drop water contact angles exceeding 150, have been commercially demonstrated. However, superhydrophobicity does not typically guarantee dropwise condensation. Competitive superhydrophobic surfaces are typically attained by micro- and nano- structured surfaces with low surface energy coatings such as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). These coatings are not very durable and often degrade over time. Additionally, micro/nano-texturing causes condensate pinning onto the surface which results in filmwise condensation, thus reducing the heat transfer rate. NBDs superior technology has been proven on copper substrates. NBD is also exploring alternative substrates, such as copper alloys and stainless steel. NBD is currently seeking commercial opportunities to demonstrate its advanced materials technology.
Newington Station Power Plant in Newington, NH

Case Study: Condenser Efficiency in Steam Turbine Power Plant

Theoretical calculations for improving the heat transfer coefficient by 3 times with NBDs condenser pipe coating, suggest 12% increase in the condensers thermal efficiency. These heat exchanger calculations, based on the effectiveness-number of transfer units (NTU) method, compute the condensers efficiency improvements using the operating conditions* of an existing steam turbine power plant (Newington Station Power Plant). Note *The -NTU calculations use the following values: effectiveness of 0.6, condenser steam pressure of 0.982 Psia, cooling water temperature of 66F and condenser tube dimensions (650 tubes, 30ft long, 9/8 OD). The NTU is a dimensionless parameter that indicates the number of units needed for transferring the desired heat input. NTU is proportional to the heat transfer coefficient.

8 Saint Marys St. Boston, MA 02215 USA info@nbdnano.com www.nbdnano.com