CAREER: Unravel the Nature behind the Smart Polymer-Induced Microalgal Biomass Enrichment and Cell Wall Disruption

微藻是研究最多的生物制造技术之一，用于燃料，化学品，食品和饲料的可持续生产。然而，生物质富集和细胞内产物回收是阻碍微藻生物精炼技术商业化的关键技术障碍和成本贡献者。该提案旨在制定一项综合研究和教育计划，重点是制造生物燃料和生物基产品的生物制造技术。长期的研究目标是建立一种具有成本效益和环境友好的细胞收获和细胞内产物回收技术，用于生产可再生生物能源和生物产品。研究结果将与针对大学，K-12和社区层面的教育和推广活动相结合。该CAREER项目的主要研究目标是开发一种新的基于温敏聚合物（TRP）的微藻细胞富集和细胞内产物回收技术，以实现具有成本效益和环境友好的藻类生物精炼。该研究的重点是：（1）建立TRP特征与藻类富集之间的关系;（2）了解TRP与藻类细胞之间相互作用的基本原理;（3）阐明TRP诱导藻类细胞破裂的机制。该项目还旨在建立聚合物的性质及其热力学和动力学相行为与藻类收获效率之间的关系。拟议的教育和推广计划促进多样性，包括吸引代表性不足的学生到STEM领域，教育公众，并在生物制造领域培训下一代科学家和工程师的计划。该项目由过程系统，反应工程，和分子热力学计划和既定的计划，以刺激竞争力的研究（EPSCoR）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Microalgae is one of the most studied biomanufacturing technologies for the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, food, and feed. However, biomass enrichment and intracellular product recovery are critical technical hurdles and cost contributors impeding the commercialization of microalgae biorefinery technologies. This proposal aims to develop an integrated research and education program that focuses on a bio-manufacturing technology for making biofuels and bio-based products. The long-term research goal is to establish a cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly cell harvesting and intracellular product recovery technology for producing renewable bioenergy and bio-products. The research results will be integrated with educational and outreach activities aimed at the university, K-12, and community levels. The main research goal of this CAREER project is to develop a new thermoresponsive polymer (TRP)-based technology for microalgal cell enrichment and intracellular product recovery to enable cost-efficient and environmentally friendly algae biorefineries. The proposed research will focus on: (1) establishing relationships between TRP features and algae enrichment; (2) understanding the fundamentals behind the interactions between TRP and algal cells; and (3) elucidating the mechanisms of TRP-induced algal cell disruption. The project will also aim at establishing the relationships between the properties of the polymers and their thermodynamic and kinetic phase behavior with algae harvesting efficiency. The proposed educational and outreach plan promotes diversity and includes plans for attracting underrepresented students to STEM fields, educating the public, and training the next generation of scientists and engineers in the field of biomanufacturing.This project is jointly funded by the Process Systems, Reaction Engineering, and Molecular Thermodynamics Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.