Technological Analysis for the Reuse and Reduction of Nitrocellulose (NC) fines, NC waste, and NC-contaminated material

Sources Sought Notice (Market Survey) - Technological Analysis for the Reuse and Reduction of Nitrocellulose (NC) fines, NC waste, and NC-contaminated material Market Study. The U.S. Army, Army Contracting Command (ACC), New Jersey on behalf of the Office of the Project Director Joint Services (PD JS), located at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ is conducting a market survey to identify potential industries/firms for the Reuse and Reduction technologies for Nitrocellulose (NC) fines, NC waste, and NC-contaminated material at Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP). 1.0 Objective/Background 1.1 Objective The objective of this initiative is to explore the reduction, reuse, and recycle technologies and treatment alternatives available to develop an economically efficient and environmentally sustainable process for managing NC fines once they become subject to regulation, as well as other NC wastes or NC-contaminated material at RFAAP. 1.2 Background NC fine material is an in-process material that potentially can be repurposed at RFAAP. NC wastes and NC-contaminated material also has the potential for repurposing rather than disposal through the current thermal treatment methods employed at RFAAP. Due to the high cost of traditional disposal techniques such as caustic digestion and/or incineration, the US Army requires an alternative means of treatment or reuse of these materials. During the production of nitrocellulose (NC) at RFAAP in the existing NC facility, a co-product known as NC fines is generated as in-process material most of which settles in a settling tank. The existing NC facility will be decommissioned in FY 19 and residual NC fine material will no longer be characterized as in-process material and will have to be managed in accordance with applicable disposal laws and regulations. 2.0 Requirements The Army is interested in exploring reduction, reuse, recycle technologies and treatment alternatives in order to develop an economically efficient and environmentally sustainable process for managing NC fines once the material is subject to regulation, as well as other NC wastes or NC-contaminated material at RFAAP. The requirements include: 1. Conduct a characterization of NC manufacturing by-product materials. 2. Conduct a market survey of available technologies (commercial and research) for the reduction, reuse, and recycle of NC fines. 3. Conduct a market study of potential treatment technologies (traditional thermal treatment as well as non-thermal options) to comply with operational requirements, environmental compliance regulations, and to determine life cycle cost impacts. 4. Perform a market study of alternative disposal options, and evaluate the potential solution(s) to meet current and future production needs. 5. Develop a technology down-select criteria with factors including capital, operational, and associated infrastructure costs; technology maturity and implementation timeline; operational ruggedness/durability; operational availability; ability for waste treatment; and production system integration at RFAAP. 6. Score and rank identified technologies based on down-select criteria. 7. Develop a technology implementation plan including pilot process design/demonstrations of two to three of the highest scored options and final technology down-select for implementation. 3. Vendor Questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain information from firms/companies to assist in the market research of an applicable technology for reduction, reuse, recycle technologies and treatment alternatives in order to develop an economically efficient and environmentally sustainable process for managing NC fines, as well as other NC wastes or NC-contaminated material at RFAAP. Firms/companies are invited to indicate their interest and capability to satisfy the above requirements by identifying the following items: 1. Company Name 2. Company Address / Country Represented / Website 3. Company point of contact and phone number 4. Business Size (Small/Large & Number of Employees), the Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code / Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) Number. 5. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is 541715. 6. Description of capability to perform the proposed synopsis, prepare and comply with various environmental documents and permits, and capacity to execute this project with other ongoing contracts. 7. Commerciality: (a.) Our product as described above, has been sold, leased or licensed to the general public (b.) Our product as described above, has been sold in substantial quantities, on a competitive basis, to multiple state and local governments. The development of the product was done exclusively at private expense. (c.) None of the above applies. Explain. 8. Estimate of the Required Investment for capability sought 9. Location where primary work will be performed prior to on-site implementation (if more than one location, please indicate the percentage for each location). 10. Major partners or suppliers. 11. Provide minimum and maximum monthly production rates of past production of same or similar items. 12. Identify manufacturing, managing and engineering experience of like systems of equal or greater complexity. 13. Demonstrated ability to meet aggressive schedules. 14. Identify lead time, including supplier/design qualification efforts and production ramp up time, to meet full capability for production and sustainment. 15. Please provide any additional comments. This Market Survey is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an obligation on the part of the US Government. Responses to this market survey are not proposals and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This is not a guarantee of a future RFP or an award. This notice should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government. The Government does not imply an intention or opportunity to acquire funding to support current or future development efforts. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any private sector input as a result of this Market Survey. The Government is not obligated to notify respondents of the results of this survey. No award will be made as a result of this Market Survey. All information is to be submitted at no cost or obligation to the Government. The information provided will not be returned. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and must be clearly marked. Interested firms shall submit their responses to the following point of contact: US Army Contract Command, Attn: Lester Griffith, ACC-NJ-IC, Bldg 10, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000, e-mail: lester.s.griffith.civ@mail.mil Responses shall be submitted via e-mail or regular mail NO LATER THAN March 19, 2018 3:00pm. TELEPHONE INQUIREIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. The government will accept written questions via e-mail only.