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

主要研究者：林宏飞提案编号：1337017机构：内华达州里诺大学题目：边际环境中耐旱生物能源作物的可持续生物燃料生产木质纤维素生物燃料的可持续生产依赖于生物质原料的充足供应。 生长在干旱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，具有作为专用生物燃料原料的巨大潜力，因为它们不与粮食生产竞争，并最大限度地减少了水和肥料资源的使用。 然而，由于缺乏高效用水和具有成本效益的生物精炼工艺，阻碍了在占世界40%以上的广大干旱和半干旱地区部署生物燃料生产设施。该项目将开发一种综合途径，将干旱土地植物转化为用水效率高的先进生物燃料。 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，可以使用水和贫空气作为反应介质和金属氧化物作为无毒催化剂选择性地合成有价值的羧酸。APPO也是一种正水工艺，因为它利用湿生物质作为原料，保留储存在原始生物质中的水，并在生物质加工过程中产生额外的水。 APPO工艺产生的中水可补充生物能源作物种植的水资源。 此外，APPO产品（例如，乙酰丙酸）可以容易地升级为主要由烃组成的即插即用的运输燃料组分。简而言之，APPO是一种非常有前途的、具有成本效益的生物质解构过程，具有高水利用效率，这对于在广阔的干旱和半干旱地区商业化生产先进的生物燃料至关重要，该提案的目标是探索在APPO过程中控制生物质解构的基本物理和化学机制，并证明在美国和世界各地的干旱土地上的水的可持续性。通过在生物能源作物的转化和种植之间循环利用水，实现综合生物燃料生产工艺。 为了实现这一目标，PI将通过深入的实验和理论研究调查APPO过程的基本原理，并建立生命周期分析（LCA）模型来评估用水量。 该项目的成果将指导设计高效和耐用的APPO催化剂，以经济高效地生产先进的生物燃料，并将预测商业生物炼油厂在水资源有限的地区（如内华达州和整个美国西部）的可行性。该项目将整合化学工程，农业，环境，通过教育和推广工作，展示科学和工程的重要性。 该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/生物质期刊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生水平的课程中。 本科生和研究生将在PI下接受该项目的培训？密切指导。外联活动将包括在联合国难民事务高级专员办事处主办的年度农业实地日期间，针对选定的当地高中学生和公众的口头和海报介绍。

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.