325th Contracting Squadron, 501 Illinois Avenue, Suite 5, Tyndall AFB FL 32403-5526

A -- DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED CHEMICAL REACTOR FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT Sol TYN 96-01-XXXX. Due 052596. Contact Ginny Garner, Contract Specialist, 904-283-8667, fax 904-283-8491, Larry G. Edwards, Contracting Officer. INTRODUCTION: The Environmental Compliance Division of The Environics Directorate of the Air Force's Armstrong Laboratory (AL/EQS) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research efforts described below. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement shall reference the program research and development agreement (PRDA) number identified above. Responders will ensure that the amounts proposed will be valid for a minimum of 180 days for the date of the proposal. This announcement is open and effective until 25 May 1996. There will be no formal request for proposals or other solicitations regarding this announcement. Proposals shall be submitted with an original, plus three (3) copies, not exceeding 50 double spaced pages. Proposals shall be mailed to 325th CONS/LGCX, 501 Illinois Ave., Suite 5, Tyndall AFB, FL 32403-5526 Attn: Ginny Garner no later than 25 May 1996, 3:00 P.M. C.S.T., in order to be considered for an award. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Proposals submitted after 25 May 1996 may be reviewed and held for possible action for a period of one year from receipt of proposal at the discretion of the Air Force. Individual proposals will be evaluated as they are received. Unpriced options will not be considered for award. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: The purpose of this effort is to develop an advanced chemical reactor system (ACRS) that is capable of evaluating a broad range of hazardous waste treatment approaches. Treatment approaches will encompass the evaluation and/or integration of a plug flow tubular reactor (PFTR), a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR - that can be operated in the batch mode), and a high-temperature reactor (HTR). The PFTR will address organic, acqueous, and gaseous effluent treatment using meterogeneous catalysts. The CSTR will be used to address slurries of paint stripping wastes, composite materials, plastics, polymers, and catalysts. The HTR will evaluate NO and NOx reduction in the 500-900 degree Celsius range, using catalysts with hydrocarbons and other potential reducing agents. This ACRS must contain major sub-systems: high pressure gas and liquid feed systems, a PFT, A CST, a HTR, a nitrogen purge system, a pressure let-down system, gas and liquid product recovery/sampling systems. The general performance requirements for the core reactor system containing the PFTR and CSTR are based on a maximum operating temperature of 600 degrees Celsius and a maximum operating pressure of 1450 psig. Gas flow rates from 0.1 to 5.0 liters/min shall be controlled and monitored using electronic mass flow controller. The liquid feed system must be capable of supplying two different feed streams at the maximum system operating pressure. Feed tanks will be electronically weighed and digitally interfaced with the date acquisition system. Liquid flow rates from 50 to 500 cc/hr shall be controlled and monitored. Liquid feed pumps shall enable accurate flow control and interface with the control and data acquisition system. At least one feed system shall be designed to handle strong caustic (pH=12) and/or strongly oxidizing aqueous feeds. The PFTR will be configured to enable either up flow or down flow, packed-bed operations at the maximum system operating temperature and pressure. The reactor must be large enough to accommodate a catalyst bed up to 100 cc in volume. A CSTR shall be designed to operate at the maximum system operating pressure and temperature. The CSTR shall be an integral part of the core reactor system, which shall be configured to allow operation of either the PFTR or CSTR without hardware modification. The CSTR will have a nominal volume of 1-liter and have both static and kinetic catalyst baskets. The catalyst baskets will have a nominal volume of 100cc. A separate liquid feed and effluent pump/system may be required to enable operation with dilute slurries of up to 10% suspended solids (catalysts or reactants less than 100 microns). A nitrogen blanketing and purging system shall be designed to enable controlled, low pressure nitrogen purge of the entire reactor system and purging blanket of feed tanks. A high pressure gas and liquid separation unit shall be designed to receive the reactor effluent, separate the phases, and automatically control liquid level and gas pressure. Liquid product from the pressure let-down system will be collected in a vented product tank. The tank will be mounted on an electronic scale which is digitally interfaced with the data acquisition system. Gas product from the high pressure separator and the liquid product tank will be metered through a wet test meter. A gas sampling system will be designed to automatically collect samples in a gas bomb or divert the gas to a sample loop or on-line gas analysis module. A high temperature isothermal reactor (HTR) system will be developed and fabricated as a physically separate module that interfaces in all ways with the core ACRS. The core ACRS will provide process control, monitoring, and data acquisition and storage for this module. The HTR module will be designed for gas-phase studies to simulate catalytic treatment concepts for aircraft turbine engine exhausts. This module shall provide near isothermal temperature control up to 900 degrees Celsius by an electrically-heated, fluidized sand bath or similar system. Operating pressure will range from near ambient to 1000 psig. The system shall be designed with multiple reactors in place or the ability to quickly replace reactors. An additional low-volume (0.02-0.3 cc/min), HPLC-type liquid feed pump and tank will be required to inject water and/or liquid hydrocarbons to simulate combustion gas. Prevaporization will be accomplished by injection before the PFTR, which will function as a vaporizer/preheater. All operator interactions with the ACRS (including the HTR), as well as the safety management of the system, will be accomplished automatically and remotely through a computer control unit. However, the system control will reside in the software to enable easy re-configuration if desired. System status will be monitored visually using a monitor and various display screens. The control and data acquisition, alarms, and message generation. The core ACRS will be assembled on one or more transportable skids (with the exception of a separate control station). The footprint of the fully assembled ACRS shall not exceed 4 ft deep by 10 ft wide by 7 ft-6 inches high. The HTR module will be on a separate skid that interfaces with the ACRS as described above and can be partially disassembled to fit through a 7 ft 6 in. high by 4 ft. wide clearance. The unit will have a noise limit of 85 dB maximum (8 hr average). The utilities shall interface with the utilities available at Armstrong Laboratory, Environics Directorate at Tyndall AFB and the interfaces will be designed so that all modules can be operated separately or in any combination as needed. Operation, maintenance, and safety manual(s) shall be provided. Reliability and maintainability data may be supplied as part of the ACRS data package. After receiving written permission, the contractor will disassemble (as required), package for shipping, and ship the system to Tyndall AFB, Florida, building 1117. (2) Deliverable Items: The following deliverable items shall be proposed: (a) Program Progress Report (DI-MGMT-80555), (b) Presentation Material (DI-ADMIN-81373), as required, (c) Procedural Support Data (DI-TMSS-80065), (d) Scientific and Technical Reports (DI-MISC-80711), (Draft and Reproducible Final), (e) Computer Software End Items (DI-MCCR-80700), and (f) Concept Drawing Data Package (Contractor's Format) and Detailed Design Technical Data Package. C-ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be eight (8) months. The contractor shall also provide for and additional 4 months for processing/completion of the final report. (2) Type of Contract: Cost Plus Fixed-Fee (CPFF). (3) Government Furnished Property: None contemplated (or identify completely). (4) Size Status: For the purpose of this acquisition, the standard size is 500 employees (SIC 8731). (5) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the Air Force point cited above upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be award that restrictions may apply which could preclude their participation in this acquisition. D -- PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.215-12, Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Technical and costs proposals, submitted in an original and three (3) copies. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) Cost Proposal: The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be supplied on an SF 1411, together with supporting schedules, and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task. Copies of the above referenced forms may be obtained from the contracting office cited. (3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment, data and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal and are not included in the page limit. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical Point of Contact cited in this announcement. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 50 pages (12 pitch or large type), double spaced, single sided, 8.5 by 11 inches. The page limitation includes all information, i.e., indexes, photographs, foldouts, appendices, attachments, etc. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the government. Cost proposals have no limitations; however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 75 pages as a goal. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the Government to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal of indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. E-BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection for award will be based on an evaluation of an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be evaluated based on the following criteria which are of equal importance: (a) the offeror's understanding of the scope of the technical effort; (b) soundness of offeror's technical approach; (c) the offeror's past experience with laboratory chemical reactor development; (d) organization, clarity, and thoroughness of the proposed SOW; and (e) academic and technical credentials of program personnel. Cost is ranked as the second order of priority. No other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award of a contract or grant any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. An award decision will be based on competitive selection of proposals resulting from peer and/or scientific review. Proposals involving cooperative research arrangements are welcome. Principal funding of this PRDA and the anticipated award of a contract will start fourth quarter FY96. F-Points of Contact: (1) Technical Point of Contact: Mr. James A. Hurley, Program Manager, 904-283-6243. (2) Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Questions related to the contract/cost issues should be directed to the 325 CONS/LGCX, Attn: Ginny Garner, 501 Illinois Ave., Suite 5, Tyndall AFB, Florida 32403-5526, 904-283-8667. (121)

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