I-Corps: Microbially-derived, Precipitated Calcium Carbonates for Industrial Applications

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在环境条件下利用微生物沉淀开发沉淀碳酸钙(PCCs)。微粒(微米级)碳酸钙在造纸、热塑性塑料、密封剂和粘合剂以及涂料的制造中有许多工业用途。目前，生产多氯联苯需要烧结(加热到1,000°C)，这每年估计会向大气中排放162千吨二氧化碳(CO2)，这是一种温室气体。温室气体的人为排放对我们的星球构成了重大威胁，其气候影响将扰乱社会并破坏重要的生态系统服务。拟议的微生物工艺绕过了生产多氯联苯过程中的烧结和封存二氧化碳。这项技术代表了一个减少二氧化碳排放的新目标，而碳捕获信用可能会在一个每年价值56亿美元的市场上提高利润率。这个I-Corps项目是基于微生物代谢途径的开发，该途径利用细胞内钙离子(Ca~(2+))的动态平衡来启动来自大气二氧化碳的微米级碳酸盐的沉淀。通过了解调控这一过程的代谢途径和遗传控制，已经有可能调整微生物培养以产生各种PCCs，包括使用现有技术无法制造的PCCs。由于该系统产生的碳酸盐来自大气中的二氧化碳，这不仅代表了PCC生产的一种绿色解决方案，而且它还有可能成为一种以前未确定的碳捕获机制。此外，拟议的技术在目前的微生物沉淀碳酸钙技术中是独一无二的，因为不需要开采的石灰石，也不使用细菌尿素分解。相反，使用建议的方法生产的多氯联苯中碳酸盐的来源是大气中的二氧化碳，并进行净碳捕获。通过改变生长的化学条件，有可能产生具有多种特征(颗粒大小、颗粒形状、表面化学和表面积)的PCCs，这些特征在许多工业应用中是重要的。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 broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of precipitated calcium carbonates (PCCs) using microbial precipitation under ambient conditions. Particulate (micron scale) calcium carbonate has a number of industrial uses in the manufacture of paper, thermoplastics, sealants and adhesives, and paints. Currently, the production of PCCs requires sintering (heating to 1,000°C), which releases an estimated 162 kilotons of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere annually. The anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases represents a significant threat to our planet, with climate impacts that will disrupt societies and damage important ecosystem services. The proposed microbial processes by-passes sintering and sequesters CO2 in the production of PCCs. This technology represents a novel target to reduce CO2 emissions, while carbon capture credits may increase profit margins in a market that is worth $5.6 billion annually. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a microbial metabolic pathway that uses cellular calcium cations (Ca2+) homeostasis to initiate the precipitation of micron-scale carbonates sourced from atmospheric CO2. By understanding the metabolic pathways and genetic controls that regulate this process, it has been possible to tune the microbial cultures to produce a variety of PCCs, including PCCs that cannot be made using existing technologies. As the carbonates produced in this system are sourced from atmospheric CO2, not only does this represent a green solution to PCC production, but it also has the potential to be a previously unidentified mechanism of carbon-capture. In addition, the proposed technology is unique within current microbially-precipitated calcium carbonate technologies in that mined limestone is not required; nor is bacterial ureolysis utilized. Instead, the source of the carbonates in the PCCs produced using the proposed method is atmospheric CO2 with net carbon capture. By varying the chemical conditions for growth, it may be possible to generate PCCs with a variety of characteristics (particle size, particle shape, surface chemistry, and surface area) that are important in many industrial 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.