Sustainable Biofuels Production from Drought-tolerant Bioenergy Crops in Marginal Environment

皮林，鸿飞建议编号：1337017机构：内华达大学Reno标题：边缘环境下耐旱生物能源作物的可持续生物燃料生产木质纤维生物燃料的可持续生产依赖于充足的生物质原料供应。生长在干旱的边缘土地上的耐旱生物能源作物，如龙舌兰和仙人掌，储存了大量的水和碳水化合物，作为专用生物燃料原料具有巨大的潜力，因为它们不会与粮食生产竞争，并最大限度地减少对水和肥料资源的使用。然而，缺乏高效用水和低成本的生物精炼工艺阻碍了在覆盖世界40%以上陆地表面的广大干旱和半干旱地区部署生物燃料生产设施？S。该项目将开发一条将干旱陆地植物转化为高水分利用效率的先进生物燃料的综合途径。其中的关键步骤是催化水相部分氧化(Appo)，这是一种新型的、环境友好的生物质解构过程，它可以以水和稀薄空气为反应介质，以金属氧化物为无毒催化剂，选择性地合成有价值的羧酸。APPO也是一个水积极的过程，因为它利用湿生物质作为原料，保留原始生物质中储存的水，并在生物质加工过程中产生额外的水。APPO工艺的中水可以补充种植生物能源作物的水资源。此外，APPO产品(例如，乙酰丙酸)可以很容易地升级为主要由碳氢化合物组成的即用型运输燃料组件。总之，APPO是一种前景广阔、成本效益高、水分利用效率高的生物质分解过程，对于美国和世界各地广大干旱和半干旱土地上先进生物燃料的商业化生产至关重要。本提案的目标是探索在APPO过程中控制生物质分解的潜在物理和化学机制，并通过在生物能源作物转化和种植之间回收水来证明综合生物燃料生产过程中的水的可持续性。为了实现这一目标，PIS将通过深入的实验和理论研究来研究APPO过程的基本原理，并建立一个生命周期分析(LCA)模型来评估用水情况。该项目的成果将指导高效和坚固的APPO催化剂的设计，以经济高效地生产先进的生物燃料，并将预测在内华达州和整个美国西部等水资源有限的地区进行商业生物精炼的可行性。该项目将把化学工程、农业、环境和生物燃料的研究与教育和推广工作结合起来，展示科学和工程的重要性。这项提案的结果将通过内华达州可再生能源联盟(NVREC)向广大受众传播。最新的研究成果将在UNR的生物燃料/生物质杂志俱乐部向校园内的团体以及当地社区展示。研究成果还将及时纳入当前研究生和本科水平的课程。本科生和研究生将在PIS下接受关于这个项目的培训？近距离辅导。外联活动将包括在联合国研究所主办的一年一度的农业实地日期间，针对选定的当地高中的学生和普通公众进行的口头和海报介绍。

PI: Lin, HongfeiProposal Number: 1337017Institution: University of Nevada RenoTitle: Sustainable Biofuels Production from Drought-tolerant Bioenergy Crops in Marginal EnvironmentSustainable production of lignocellulosic biofuels relies upon the sufficient supply of biomass feedstocks. Drought-tolerant bioenergy crops growing on arid, marginal lands, such as Agave and Opuntia, which store large amounts of water and carbohydrates, have enormous potential as dedicated biofuel feedstocks because they do not compete with food production and minimize the use of water and fertilizer resources. However, the lack of water-use efficient and cost-effective bio-refining processes hinders the deployment of biofuel production facilities in vast arid and semi-arid areas that cover more than 40% of the world?s land surface.This project will develop an integrated pathway to convert arid land plants into advanced biofuels with high water-use efficiency. The key step is the catalytic aqueous phase partial oxidation (APPO), a novel, environmentally benign biomass deconstruction process that can selectively synthesize valued carboxylic acids using water and lean air as the reaction media and metal oxides as non-toxic catalysts. APPO is also a water-positive process because it utilizes wet biomass as the feedstock, retaining water stored in raw biomass, and produces extra water during the processing of biomass. The reclaimed water from the APPO process can supplement water resources for cultivating bioenergy crops. Moreover, the APPO products (e.g., levulinic acid) can be upgraded readily into drop-in transportation fuel components consisting of mainly hydrocarbons. In short, APPO is a highly promising, cost-effective biomass deconstruction process with high water-use efficiency, which is critical for commercial production of advanced biofuels in vast arid and semi-arid lands in the United States and around the world.The goal of this proposal is to explore the underlying physical and chemical mechanisms that control the biomass deconstruction in the APPO process and to demonstrate the water sustainability in the integrated biofuel production process by recycling water between the conversion and cultivation of the bioenergy crops. To fulfill this goal, the PIs will investigate the fundamentals of the APPO process by in-depth experimental and theoretical studies and build a life cycle analysis (LCA) model to evaluate water usage. The outcomes of this project will guide the design of highly efficient and robust APPO catalysts for cost-effective production of advanced biofuels, and will predict the feasibility of commercial biorefineries in water-limited locations such as Nevada and the entire western United States.This project will integrate research on chemical engineering, agriculture, environment, and biofuels with educational and outreach efforts to demonstrate the importance of science and engineering. The results from this proposal will be disseminated across a wide audience through the Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium (NVREC). The newest research outcomes will be presented to groups across campus as well as the local community in the Biofuels/Biomass Journal Club at UNR. The research results will also be incorporated into the current graduate and undergraduate level courses in a timely manner. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained on this project under the PIs? close mentoring. The outreach activities will include oral and poster presentations targeted at students from selected local high schools and the general public during the annual Ag Field Day hosted by UNR.