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

这一小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是通过用转基因细菌以合成皮革形式分泌的纤维素替代塑料来减少温室气体（GHG）排放。这一替代努力将有助于美国实现温室气体净零排放，到2050年将节省6.6亿吨二氧化碳或二氧化碳当量气体。用细菌纤维素取代由聚氯乙烯（PVC）、聚氨酯（PU）或生皮制成的合成革将具有显著的环境效益。由于以石油为基础，PVC和PU生产产生大量温室气体排放。真正的皮革需要将皮革运输到制革厂，其中大部分不再位于美国。 此外，水密集的制革和染色过程产生有毒废物。相比之下，细菌纤维素的生长和加工几乎不产生有毒废物和温室气体排放。此外，该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具有吸引力。扩大生产规模，在全球范围内用这种可持续材料取代塑料，将减少垃圾的产生，缓解环境中的塑料废物问题。该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段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。由细菌纤维素组成，这种高性能，环保的材料将影响纺织，建筑和包装行业。该材料看起来、感觉上和性能上像真实的皮革，具有所需的性能，例如柔软性、可缝合性和高拉伸强度。最初的重点将是创造一个素食皮革替代品，由多个纤维素片结合使用专有配方。该项目将使材料的改进，以满足行业标准的耐用性（例如，耐水性、耐弯曲性、耐磨性、色牢度）和美观性（颜色和图案），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，快速生长的细菌菌株提供了扩大规模的竞争优势。该研究将为以具有竞争力的价格生产更大数量的这种纤维素基材料提供坚实的科学基础，用于其他应用，如建筑行业的绝缘材料。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。

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.