FMRG Eco: Manufacturing, repairing, and re-using biomineralized infrastructure materials through low-energy biological processes

建筑和基础设施材料的制造目前严重依赖水泥和混凝土。水泥和混凝土的大量资源需求以及有限的再利用和再循环与资源有限的未来格格不入。这一未来生态制造研究资助项目(FMRG：ECO)设想通过利用微生物的自然新陈代谢活动，实现更可持续的建筑材料生态制造。该项目的长期目标是改变这些材料的生产方式、地点和时间，以及谁可以参与它们的制造。具体目标是通过微生物生物矿化提高制造复杂承重结构的能力。该项目的成功完成将通过产生有关建造、组装、修复、再利用或回收建筑材料的微生物控制的基本知识来造福社会。通过学生教育和培训将获得更多的社会利益，包括指导蒙大拿州立大学(MSU)的3名研究生和最多15名本科生。混凝土，包括水泥以及细和粗集料，在建筑材料中普遍存在。混凝土需要越来越稀缺的材料，如优质的沙子，而水泥需要高能量、时间、劳动力和物力来制造。水泥制造业也有很高的碳足迹。这项研究通过解决限制当前生物矿化结构如何建造、修复和回收的几个关键挑战，推动了使用微生物的可持续建筑材料的生态制造。具体的研究目标是：1)通过对生物捕集微生物表面进行功能化和3D打印等策略，改善生物矿化的空间控制；2)设计生物胶水和/或生物矿化支架的逐层沉积，以组装更复杂的生物矿化结构；3)激活嵌入的生物矿化细菌、真菌或酶或外部微生物或酶的输送，以促进原位修复；以及4)探索借助微生物的材料分解或再矿化来重新利用或回收生物矿化结构。这项研究的成功完成将通过改进现场生产、重复使用和修复复杂材料结构所需的技术来改进未来的制造，特别是在资源有限的情况下。为了实现该项目的教育和劳动力目标，该团队计划开发一门生态制造课程和培训模块，以及通过现有的密歇根州立大学的现有计划和教师的现有研究经验(RET)计划，向K-12学生推广生物矿化活动。此外，一个劳动力发展计划，生态制造学生研究和培训(Eco-Start)，将通过学术和行业实验室工作经验培训最多15名本科生，为他们在生态制造领域的就业和领导能力做好准备。这个未来制造奖由技术、创新和伙伴关系局(TIP)的转化影响司(TI)、工程局(ENG)的土木工程、机械和制造业创新(CMMI)和化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统(CBET)共同资助。以及在主任办公室(OD)的综合活动办公室(OIA)设立的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)。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 manufacturing of building and infrastructure materials currently heavily relies on cement and concrete. The large resource needs and limited re-use and recycling of cement and concrete are at odds with a resource-limited future. This Future EcoManufacturing research grant (FMRG: Eco) project envisions more sustainable, eco-manufacturing of building materials through leveraging the natural metabolic activities of microorganisms. The long-term goal of this project is to transform how, where, and when these materials can be produced as well as who can participate in their manufacturing. The specific goal is to improve the ability to make complex, load-bearing structures through microbial biomineralization. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of fundamental knowledge about the control of microbes to build, assemble, repair, and reuse or recycle building materials. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of three graduate students and up to 15 undergraduate students at Montana State University (MSU).Concrete, which includes cement along with fine and coarse aggregates, is ubiquitous in building materials. Concrete requires increasingly scarce materials such as high-quality sand while cement requires high energy, time, labor, and material resources to manufacture. Cement manufacturing also has a high carbon footprint. This research advances the eco-manufacturing of sustainable building materials using microbes by addressing several key challenges that limit how current biomineralized structures are built, repaired, and recycled. The specific research objectives are to 1) improve spatial control of biomineralization through strategies including functionalizing surfaces to bio-trap microbes and 3D printing; 2) engineer biological glues and/or layer-by-layer deposition of biomineralized scaffolds to assemble more complex biomineralized structures; 3) activate an embedded biomineralizing bacteria, fungi, or enzymes or external microbial or enzyme delivery to facilitate in-situ repair; and 4) explore repurposing or recycling biomineralized structures aided by material breakdown or re-mineralization by microorganisms. The successful completion of this research will improve future manufacturing through advancing technology needed for on-site production, re-use, and repair of complex material structures, particularly in resource-limited settings. To implement the education and workforce goals of the project, the team plans to develop an eco-manufacturing course and training modules as well as biomineralization activity outreach to K-12 students through existing MSU programs and teachers through an existing Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program. Additionally, a workforce development program, Eco-Manufacturing Student Research and Train (Eco-Start), will train up to 15 undergraduate students through academic and industry laboratory work experiences to prepare them for employment and leadership in eco-manufacturing.This Future Manufacturing award was jointly funded by the Division of Translational Impacts (TI) in the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), the Divisions of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) and Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) in the Office of Integrated Activities (OIA) in the Office of the Director (OD).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.