BACKGROUND NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing services that meets or exceeds the following draft minimum specifications: The Chemical Sciences Division (CSD) provides the measurement science, standards, technology, data and chemical informatics required to support the nation’s needs in the determination of chemical composition and chemical structure of gases, organic, and inorganic species. CSD is involved in developing measurement services to support ocean carbon metrology and enhancing NIST’s existing capabilities for greenhouse gas metrology. To determine the amount fraction of carbon dioxide (CO2) in air samples and dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater, the division seeks to procure a custom designed borosilicate vacuum extraction line which will enable researchers to acidify a sample of seawater with a known mass and then quantitatively extract and purify the carbon dioxide in the seawater sample. The vacuum extraction line will be modeled after the system developed and currently used at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the Andrew Dickson seawater carbon dioxide reference material laboratory. SPECIFICATIONS The Contractor shall provide scientific glass blowing services to fabricate a custom borosilicate vacuum extraction line designed according to the specifications outlined by the CSD laboratory. The vacuum line construction is designed to minimize the adsorption of carbon dioxide onto the glass and valve surfaces and consists of four modular units on the frontside with a mirrored but nonmodular rear vacuum line. The first section of the frontside will consist of an acidification module/sample introduction system which allows for the delivery of phosphoric acid from a 3 L reservoir into an acid chamber and then to a Wong pipette designed to deliver a gravimetric sample of seawater. Following the acidification module, along the second and third sections, the liberated gases from the seawater sample must be purified through a series of low temperature traps – an ethanol slush flask, a liquid nitrogen flask, and two ethanol/liquid nitrogen traps. These sections require connections to Pirani pressure gauges (3) and a diffusion pump (1). The final section, the sample collection module will consist of a series of ports to flame seal the purified gas samples. This section must also be connected to a Pirani pressure gauge (1) and a diffusion pump (1). Preliminary schematics of the vacuum line are provided in Appendix 1. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORRMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response. Submit the response by email to Robert Singman at
[email protected] notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI). Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why. Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses. For NAICS code: 327212 - Other Pressed and Blown Glass and Glassware Manufacturing Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information. If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information. Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the services described in Background section. Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement. Please let us know if you would like to engage to get a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the services described in the Background section. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to Robert Singman. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 11, 2024. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. IMPORTANT NOTES The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate. Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!