SBIR Phase II: High-Performance and Green Materials Based on Engineered Cellulose-Producing Bacteria

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是通过用合成皮革形式的转基因细菌分泌的纤维素代替塑料来减少温室气体（GHG）排放。这一替代努力将通过到2050年减少超过6.6亿吨二氧化碳或二氧化碳当量的气体排放，帮助美国实现温室气体净零排放。用细菌纤维素代替由聚氯乙烯（PVC）、聚氨酯（PU）或皮革制成的合成革将具有显著的环境效益。PVC和PU的生产是以石油为基础的，因此会产生大量的温室气体排放。真正的皮革需要运输皮革到制革厂，其中大多数不再位于美国。此外，用水密集的制革和染色过程会产生有毒废物。相比之下，细菌纤维素的生长和加工几乎不产生有毒废物，也很少排放温室气体。此外，这种材料是可生物降解的（不像PVC或PU），这对快速增长的纯素皮革市场的消费者很有吸引力。在全球范围内扩大生产，用这种可持续材料替代塑料，将减少垃圾的产生，缓解塑料废物在环境中的问题。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将提高现有合成革材料的性能，并将开发以低成本生产大量材料的技术。这种由细菌纤维素组成的高性能环保材料将影响纺织、建筑和包装行业。这种材料的外观、手感和性能都像真皮一样，具有柔软性、缝缝性和高拉伸强度等理想性能。最初的重点将是创造一种素食皮革替代品，由多种纤维素片结合使用专有配方组成。该项目将改进材料，使其符合耐用性（如耐水性、耐挠性、耐磨性、耐色牢度）和美观性（颜色和图案）的行业标准，并将开发以商业规模生产材料的工艺，以满足市场对数量和价格的需求。此外，快速生长的菌株为扩大规模提供了竞争优势。这项研究将为大量生产这种纤维素基材料提供坚实的科学基础，并以具有竞争力的价格用于其他应用，如建筑行业的绝缘材料。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by replacing plastics with cellulose secreted by genetically modified bacteria in the form of synthetic leather. This substitution effort will assist the USA in reaching net-zero GHG emissions by saving over 660 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) or CO2-equivalent gases by 2050. Replacing synthetic leathers made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polyurethane (PU) or hide-based leather with bacterial cellulose will have significant environmental benefits. Being petroleum-based, PVC and PU production has significant GHG emissions. Genuine leather requires transport of hides to tanneries, most of which are no longer located in the USA. Additionally, the water-intensive tanning and dyeing processes produce toxic wastes. In contrast, growth and processing of bacterial cellulose produces little to no toxic waste and few GHG emissions. Further, the material is biodegradable (unlike PVC or PU), which is appealing to consumers in the rapidly growing market for vegan leather. Scale-up of the production to replace plastics worldwide with this sustainable material will reduce trash generation and alleviate the problem of plastic waste in the environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will enhance the properties of the existing synthetic leather materials and will develop the technology to produce large quantities of the material at low cost. Composed of bacterial cellulose, this high-performance, environmentally friendly material will impact the textile, construction, and packaging industries. The material looks, feels, and performs like real leather having desirable properties such as suppleness, sew-ability, and high tensile strength. The initial focus will be on creating a vegan leather alternative consisting of multiple cellulose sheets combined using a proprietary formulation. This project will enable the refinement of the material to meet industry standards for durability (e.g., water resistance, flex resistance, abrasion resistance, colorfastness) and aesthetics (color and patterns) and will develop the processes for producing the material at a commercial scale to meet market demand for quantity and price. Further, the fast-growing bacterial strains provide a competitive advantage for scale-up. The research will provide a solid scientific foundation to produce much larger quantities of this cellulose-based material at competitive prices for other applications such as insulation for the construction industry.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.