EAGER: A Novel Multi-Tray Dry Biofilm Reactor for Methane Capture from Air

EAGER：一种新型多盘干式生物膜反应器，用于从空气中捕获甲烷

• 批准号: 2331602
• 负责人: Jin Wang
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2331602&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Novel; Multi; Tray; Dry

Recent studies have shown that methane (CH4) contributes approximately 0.5ºC of the observed 1.1ºC present-day warming relative to the Earth’s pre-industrial global surface temperature. As a result, it is now broadly accepted that abatement of CH4 emissions should be a critical focus for slowing global warming by 2050. It is predicted that removal of 300 million tons of atmospheric CH4 can reduce global warming by 0.1-0.2ºC by 2050, a magnitude that would have a positive impact on the planet’s climate. However, a decrease of this magnitude will require removal of CH4 directly from the atmosphere, a process for which no scalable technology exists. To fill this gap, the research team proposes to develop and validate a novel, proof-of-concept multi-tray biofilm reactor that can directly capture CH4 from the air in areas with local CH4 concentrations of 500-5000 ppm, such as landfills, manure lagoons, or wastewater treatment plants, and that will convert the CH4 to a valuable product: protein for animal feed. Although multiple technologies are under development for converting point-source CH4 (e.g., natural gas or biogas with 10~40% CH4), no economically feasible technology exists to capture CH4 in the 500-5000 ppm range. This research program will focus on developing a multi-tray high-reaction-surface “dry” biofilm reactor that offers a novel solution to addressing the fundamental challenges inherent to aqueous bioconversion of gas substrates that have low solubility in water. This research program will advance understanding of the capability of biofilm-based conversion of atmospheric CH4, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that currently contributes approximately 0.5ºC of the present-day warming relative to the pre-industrial global surface temperature. This research will validate, for the first time, the potential of producing single-cell proteins (SCP) using CH4 captured directly from the air and will provide a quantitative estimate of the economic feasibility and environmental impact of the proposed technology. If successful, the proposed biofilm reactor will be the first such design capable of sustainably capturing CH4 from the air with local CH4 concentration ranging from 500 to 5000 ppm and achieving longer term CH4 sequestration as SCP by incorporating it in animal or aquaculture feed, further reducing the emission of GHG. The modular design of this biofilm reactor will facilitate scale-up for sites of varying GHG production rates. If successful, the proposed technology has the potential to contribute to slow global warming, assisting in achieving the ambitious, but necessarily, goal of 300 million tons of atmospheric CH4 removal by 2050, averting 0.1-0.2°C of global warming. Additionally, this research will open doors to the biofilm-based conversion of other gas substrates (e.g., shale gas, syngas, and biogas), by circumventing the challenges associated with the bioconversion of gas substrates with low aqueous solubilities.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.

最近的研究表明，相对于工业化前的地球表面温度，当前观测到的 1.1℃ 升温中，甲烷 (CH4) 的贡献约为 0.5℃。因此，现在人们普遍认为，到 2050 年，减少 CH4 排放应该成为减缓全球变暖的关键焦点。据预测，到 2050 年，消除 3 亿吨大气中的 CH4 可以使全球变暖降低 0.1-0.2℃，这一幅度将对地球气候产生积极影响。然而，如此大幅度的减少需要直接从大气中去除甲烷，而这一过程尚不存在可扩展的技术。为了填补这一空白，研究小组建议开发并验证一种新型的概念验证多盘生物膜反应器，该反应器可以直接从当地CH4浓度为500-5000 ppm的区域（例如垃圾填埋场、粪肥泻湖或废水处理厂）捕获空气中的CH4，并将CH4转化为有价值的产品：用于动物饲料的蛋白质。尽管正在开发多种转化点源 CH4（例如含有 10~40% CH4 的天然气或沼气）的技术，但尚不存在经济可行的技术来捕获 500-5000 ppm 范围内的 CH4。该研究计划将重点开发多盘高反应表面“干”生物膜反应器，该反应器提供了一种新颖的解决方案，以解决水中溶解度低的气体底物的水生物转化所固有的基本挑战。该研究计划将加深对基于生物膜的大气 CH4 转化能力的了解，CH4 是一种温室气体 (GHG)，目前相对于工业化前的全球表面温度而言，CH4 导致当前变暖约 0.5°C。这项研究将首次验证利用直接从空气中捕获的 CH4 生产单细胞蛋白质 (SCP) 的潜力，并将对所提议技术的经济可行性和环境影响进行定量评估。如果成功，所提出的生物膜反应器将是第一个能够从空气中可持续捕获CH4的设计，当地CH4浓度范围为500至5000 ppm，并通过将其纳入动物或水产养殖饲料中，以SCP形式实现长期CH4封存，进一步减少温室气体排放。该生物膜反应器的模块化设计将有助于在不同温室气体产生率的场所进行扩大规模。如果成功，拟议的技术有可能有助于减缓全球变暖，有助于实现到 2050 年清除大气中 3 亿吨甲烷的雄心勃勃但必然的目标，从而避免全球变暖 0.1-0.2°C。此外，这项研究将为其他气体底物（例如页岩气、合成气和沼气）的生物膜转化打开大门，克服与低水溶性气体底物生物转化相关的挑战。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。