FMRG: Bio: CAS: Distributed methane conversion into value chemicals via synthetic microbial consortia

甲烷是一种强有力的温室气体，每分子的破坏力是二氧化碳（CO2）的25倍。在地球仪周围，存在许多人为和自然来源的甲烷源。因此，现场捕获甲烷并将其转化为“更高价值”化学品的技术存在重大机会。该项目的目标是设计新的生物反应器，可以有效地将甲烷转化为有价值的化学品。该项目团队将在微生物内部设计酶，使其能够执行复杂的化学反应。工程微生物将用于在反应器内创建结构化生物膜，以大规模运行化学反应。这些生物反应器随后将在相关现场进行测试，如废水处理设施。从事该项目的跨学科团队结合了合成生物学，化学工程生物反应器设计，社会科学和潜在未来用户的专家，以实施新技术。该小组还将研究如何以对社会和环境负责的方式传播这项技术。该项目包括一个重要的外联部分，特别侧重于让代表性不足的群体参与STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）。该团队将与科学教师及其学生合作，开发和推广新颖的教育活动，使学生能够学习微生物学。新兴的厌氧、甲烷氧化微生物系统有望比现有的化学工厂或有氧生物反应器更有效、更经济地实现现场甲烷转化。该项目的主要目标是为模块化、易于扩展和可分配的厌氧和厌氧/好氧生物反应器系统奠定基础，该系统利用合成微生物财团将甲烷转化为更高价值的化学品。该项目将通过以下方式对生物制造的未来产生重大影响：（1）以更可持续的方式捕获甲烷并将其转化为有价值的化学品，（2）减少温室气体排放，（3）开发新的空间结构的合成微生物聚生体以执行这些复杂的生物合成途径，（4）设计生物反应器，从基础科学到社会经济效益的所有方面进行整体整合，以及（5）开发生物物理模型，使反应器的合理设计和优化。此外，该团队采取综合和整体的方法，在多个层面上系统地优化这项技术，从蛋白质工程到现场整合。与从生物反应器设计到社会科学家的专家以及潜在的未来用户（例如，这些项目将确保项目成功，并以负责任的方式传播成果和技术。该团队整合了教师，高中和研究生以及分子生物学，微生物学和化学工程界面的博士后研究人员的教育和跨学科培训，我们的教师培训将产生倍增效应。该项目由化学，生物工程，环境和运输系统司和土木，机械和制造业创新司在工程局，化学司在数学和物理科学局，多学科事务办公室在社会，行为和经济科学局，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。

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more damaging per molecule than carbon dioxide (CO2). Around the globe there are many methane sources of human and natural origin. Thus, there is a significant opportunity for technologies that capture and convert methane on-site into ‘higher-value’ chemicals. The goal of this project is to engineer new bioreactors that can efficiently convert methane into value chemicals. The project team will engineer enzymes inside microbes than can execute complex chemical reactions. The engineered microbes will be used to create structured biofilms inside of reactors to run chemical reactions at a large scale. These bioreactors will then be tested at relevant field sites, such as a wastewater treatment facility. The interdisciplinary team working on this project combines experts from synthetic biology, chemical engineering bioreactor design, social sciences, and potential future users to implement the new technology. The team will also study how this technology can be disseminated in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. This project includes a significant outreach component, with a particular focus on engaging underrepresented groups in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The team will work with science teachers and their students to develop and disseminate novel educational activities that enable students to learn about microbiology.Emerging anaerobic, methane-oxidizing, microbiological systems hold promise for achieving on-site methane conversion more efficiently and more economically than existing chemical plants or aerobic bioreactors. The main project goal is to lay the foundation for modular, easily scalable, and distributable, anaerobic, and anaerobic/aerobic bioreactor systems that convert methane into higher-value chemicals utilizing synthetic microbial consortia. This project will have a significant impact on the future of biomanufacturing by: (1) capturing and converting methane into valuable chemicals in a more sustainable manner, (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, (3) developing novel, spatially-structured synthetic microbial consortia to execute these complex biosynthesis pathways, (4) designing bioreactors that holistically integrate all aspects from the basic sciences to the socio-economic benefits, and (5) developing biophysical models that enable rational reactor design and optimization. Moreover, the team takes an integrated and wholistic approach to systematically optimizing this technology at multiple levels, ranging from protein engineering to field-site integration. Collaboration with experts from bioreactor design to social scientists, and with potential future users (e.g., wastewater treatment plants, indigenous communities), will ensure project success and responsible dissemination of the results and technology. The team integrates education and interdisciplinary training of teachers, high-school and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at the interface of molecular biology, microbiology, and chemical engineering, and our teacher training will have multiplier effects. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems and the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation in the Directorate for Engineering, the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the Office of Multidisciplinary Affairs in the Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.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.