ECO-CBET: Collaborative Research: Towards a Circular Nitrogen Bioeconomy: Tandem Bio- and Chemocatalysis for Sustainable Nitrogen Recovery and Nitrous Oxide Mitigation

ECO-CBET：合作研究：迈向循环氮生物经济：串联生物催化和化学催化实现可持续氮回收和一氧化二氮减排

基本信息

批准号：
2033822
负责人：
William Tarpeh
金额：
$ 33.78万
依托单位：
Stanford University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-11-01 至 2024-10-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2033822&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
ECO CBET Collaborative Research Towards

项目摘要

Cities and farms discharge nitrogen-rich compounds into receiving waters, resulting in pollution of the environment. Current technologies to remove nitrogen-rich compounds from water are costly and energy intensive, resulting in great economic and environmental costs to society. The difficulty in addressing this waste problem is why the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls managing the nitrogen cycle one of the “Grand Challenges” of engineering. The goal of this project is to develop new scientific knowledge about how to concentrate, separate, and transform waste nitrogen-rich compounds into animal feed and beneficial products. This outcome will be achieved through cross-disciplinary biology and chemistry research to remove nitrogen-rich compounds from waste streams and to transform them into chemicals that can be used for the production of useful products. The environmental impact and potential for new businesses based on these new technologies will be evaluated. Successful completion of this work will prevent nitrogen pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a new sustainable feedstock for chemicals. Other benefits from this project will include workforce development and educational outreach to underrepresented grade-school students. These efforts will promote increased diversity in STEM fields and improve scientific literacy of the general public.Nitrogen-rich waste streams are produced in large quantities from urban and agricultural settings and impose severe environmental burdens to human and ecological health. Conventional nitrogen management treats nitrogen-rich compounds as waste rather than as a recoverable resource. This approach is costly, energy intensive, and results in the release of large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). The goal of this research project is to develop novel technological approaches to convert nitrogen-rich waste into high-value products beyond fertilizers. This research project has the objectives to: (1) Engineer bacteria to bioconcentrate dilute waste nitrogen, which then can be used as animal feed or for bio-based chemical production; (2) Develop a microbial bioprocess for simultaneous nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide recovery for use as a green oxidant; (3) Design catalytic processes to capture and activate dilute nitrous oxide streams for the selective oxidation of methane; and (4) Identify optimal products, feedstocks, and technology combinations to satisfy diverse stakeholder needs and cost and sustainability objectives. The novelty of the approach lies in the energy-efficient recovery of nitrogen as a building block for bio-based chemicals and animal feed. This approach integrates expertise across chemical, biological, and environmental engineering disciplines. Successful completion of this research will benefit society through sustainable waste nitrogen management and the mitigation of nitrous oxide emissions. Additional benefits will result from educational and industrial outreach. Such efforts include outreach to underrepresented grade-school students in a climate action project. Integrative learning experiences with industrial partners and graduate student exchanges between research groups will enhance the development of a future workforce to address grand challenges in sustainability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

城市和农场将富含氮的化合物排放到接收水中，从而导致环境污染。当前从水中去除富含氮的化合物的技术是昂贵且能源密集的，从而给社会带来了巨大的经济和环境成本。解决这一废物问题的困难是为什么国家科学院，工程和医学学院呼吁管理氮循环是工程学的“巨大挑战”之一。该项目的目的是开发有关如何将富含废物氮的化合物集中，分离和转化为动物饲料和有益产品的新科学知识。该结果将通过跨学科生物学和化学研究实现，以去除废物流中富含氮的化合物，并将其转化为可用于生产有用产品的化学物质。基于这些新技术成功完成这项工作的新业务的环境影响和潜力将防止氮污染，减少温室气体排放，并为化学物质提供新的可持续原料。该项目的其他好处将包括为不足的成绩学生提供劳动力发展和教育宣传。这些努力将促进STEM领域的增加，并提高公众的科学素养。富含氮的废物流是从城市和农业环境中大量生产的，并对人类和生态健康施加了严重的环境伯恩斯。常规的氮管理将富含氮的化合物视为废物，而不是可回收的资源。这种方法是昂贵的，能源密集的，并导致大量有效的温室气体氧化二氮（N2O）释放。该研究项目的目的是开发新颖的技术方法，以将富含氮的废物转化为肥料以外的高价值产品。该研究项目的目标是：（1）生物浓缩稀释废物氮的工程细菌，然后可以用作动物饲料或基于生物的化学生产；（2）开发用于同时清除氮和一氧化二氮的微生物生物处理，以用作绿色氧化剂；（3）设计催化过程以捕获和激活稀氧化物流以选择性氧化甲烷；（4）确定最佳产品，原料和技术组合，以满足潜水利益相关者的需求以及成本和可持续性目标。该方法的新颖性在于氮作为基于生物的化学物质和动物饲料的基础的能源恢复。这种方法融合了跨化学品，生物学和环境工程学科的专业知识。成功完成这项研究将通过可持续的废物氮管理和缓解一氧化二氮的排放来使社会受益。教育和工业宣传将造成其他好处。这样的努力包括在气候行动项目中向代表性不足的年级学生推广。研究小组之间与工业伙伴和研究生交流的综合学习经验将增强未来劳动力的发展，以应对可持续性的巨大挑战。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估来获得的支持。