FMSG: GOALI: Microbial Upcycling of Petrochemical Polymer Waste into High Value Protein-Based Polymers for a Circular Economy

人类努力的可持续性将要求未来制造具有闭环生命周期的材料，而不是传统的线性提取-过程-消费者-处置范式。在这个项目中，研究人员将开发新的技术和概念框架，以实现塑料行业的再生循环生物经济。该项目计划开发新的工程微生物，这些微生物将能够在石化原料生产的塑料上生长，并生产具有适合在各种消费品中使用的特性的蛋白质聚合物。伦赛尔理工学院的研究人员将在这个项目上与康纳根公司合作。该项目将产生新的生物技术，阐明基本概念，使不可生物降解的塑料废物能够升级回收，并设计和合成蛋白质聚合物，作为石油塑料的可持续解决方案。此外，作为伦斯勒理工学院(RPI)拱门计划的一部分，研究人员将为本科生建立一个“可持续材料的生物制造”证书计划，该计划将提供从事未来循环经济制造所需的多学科技能的动手培训。这一培训计划还将把学生与校外工作经验联系起来，这将进一步提供职业机会和劳动力发展。在1)分子和细胞生物科学部的未来制造计划和2)NSF综合活动办公室的NSF 2026基金计划的支持下，RPI的研究团队将对细菌菌株进行生物工程，将石化塑料垃圾转化为从头设计的重组丝素(RSF)，这是一种结构蛋白，可能具有与各种常用塑料相似的材料特性。同时，研究人员将利用实验和计算方法，研究分子/超分子结构、加工方法和条件以及这些RSF中的热机械性能之间的关系，特别强调识别适合熔融加工成常见热塑性产品的初级序列。他们将与他们的行业合作伙伴Conagen Inc.一起，在中试规模上探索使用工程微生物进行RSF生物生产，以在实验室规模的研究努力和商业规模的生物制造之间提供关键联系。这些联合努力代表了一种多学科的方法，以解决生物制造蛋白质聚合物作为循环经济中可持续塑料的重大长期挑战。该项目涉及未来制造计划的优先事项。该项目还直接涉及NSF2026 Idea Machine获奖作品中的几个：“一个没有废物的世界”、“为未来设计生态系统”和“重新利用、回收、可再生能源”。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The sustainability of mankind’s endeavors will require future manufacturing of materials with closed-loop lifecycles, rather than the traditional linear extract-process-consumer-dispose paradigm. In this project, investigators will develop new technologies and conceptual frameworks towards enabling a regenerative circular bioeconomy for the plastics industry. The project proposes to develop new engineered microbes that will be able to grow on a plastic produced from a petrochemical feedstock, and produce protein polymers that have properties that are appropriate for use in a wide range of consumer products. The investigators at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute will partner with Conagen, Inc. on this project. The project will generate new biotechnologies and elucidate fundamental concepts that enable upcycling of nonbiodegradable plastic waste as well as design and synthesize protein-based polymers as a sustainable solution to petroleum-based plastics. Furthermore, the investigators will establish a "Biomanufacturing of Sustainable Materials" certificate program for undergraduate students as part of the Arch Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), which will provide hands-on training in the multidisciplinary skillsets required to engage in future manufacturing for a circular economy. This training program will also connect students with off-campus work experiences which will further provide career opportunities and workforce development.With support from 1) the Future Manufacturing Program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, and 2) the NSF 2026 Fund Program in the NSF Office of Integrated Activities, the team of researchers from RPI will bioengineer bacterial strains that upcycle petrochemical plastic waste into de novo designed recombinant silk fibroins (RSFs), a class of structural proteins that can potentially exhibit material properties resembling a wide range of commonly used plastics. In parallel, using experimental and computational approaches, the investigators will examine the relationships between molecular/supramolecular structure, processing methods and conditions, and thermomechanical properties in these RSFs, with particular emphasis on identifying primary sequences that are suitable for melt processing into common thermoplastic products. With their industry partner, Conagen Inc., they will explore RSF bioproduction with the engineered microbes at pilot scales to provide a key link between lab-scale research efforts and commercial-scale biomanufacturing. These combined efforts represent a multidisciplinary approach towards solving grand standing challenges in the biomanufacturing of protein-based polymers for use as sustainable plastics in a circular economy. This project addresses priorities of the Future Manufacturing Program. The project also directly addresses several of the NSF2026 Idea Machine winning entries: "a world without waste", "designing ecosystems for the future", and "repurposing, recycling, renewable energy".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.