NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Nereid Biomaterials: Biodegradable plastics for tomorrow’s ocean

NSF 融合加速器轨道 E：Nereid 生物材料：面向未来海洋的可生物降解塑料

• 批准号: 2230641
• 负责人: Alyson Santoro
• 金额: $ 495.59万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-15 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2230641&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Convergence; Accelerator; Track; Nereid

This project’s focus is on single-use, expendable ocean instruments used by the scientific, merchant marine and defense sectors. These instruments are left to accumulate as waste long after their useful life. Instrument manufacturers are eager for purpose-built, innovative solutions that can meet the material needs of the Blue Economy, while protecting the ocean. This project involves an interdisciplinary team of material scientists, microbiologists, and oceanographers working across industry, academia, and government to develop ocean-degradable plastics, including products with embedded bacteria and enzymes that can accelerate biodegradation in seawater. The project supports a robust academic-industry internship program focused on recruitment of students from populations historically underrepresented in STEM. Nereid’s ocean-degradable materials are based on the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), sustainably produced from waste methane gas. Because PHB is a compound naturally made by bacteria, many marine bacteria have evolved to fully degrade PHB to carbon dioxide and water, without the creation of microplastics or other harmful byproducts. Through incorporation of innovative “living materials” embedded with naturally-occurring microbes, spores or enzymes, the project aims to control and trigger degradation for a wide range of instrument applications.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.

该项目的重点是科学，商人和国防部领域使用的一次性，消耗性海洋仪器。这些仪器在使用寿命很长时间后将其作为废物积累。仪器制造商渴望使用专门建造的创新解决方案，这些解决方案可以满足蓝色经济的物质需求，同时保护海洋。该项目涉及一个跨学科的材料科学家，微生物学家和海洋学家，跨越行业，学术界和政府开发可海洋降解的塑料，包括具有嵌入细菌和酶的产品，这些产品可以在海水中加速生物降解。该项目支持一项强大的学术行业实习计划，重点是招募STEM中人口不足的人群中的学生。 Nereid的海洋降解材料基于生物聚合物多羟基丁酸（PHB），该材料是由废物甲烷气体可持续产生的。 PHB是一种由细菌自然产生的化合物，许多海洋细菌已演变为完全降解PHB为二氧化碳和水，而没有产生微塑料或其他有害副产品。通过纳入具有自然存在的微生物，孢子或酶的创新“活物质”，该项目旨在控制和触发广泛的仪器应用程序的退化。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过基金会的知识优点和广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务，并通过评估诚实地进行了评估。