BRIGE: Formation, Characterization, and Modeling of Photosynthetic Biofilms for Biotechnological Applications

PI: Berberoglu， halil提案号：1125755 PI的总体职业目标是(i)开发创新技术，为社会提供可持续和环保的能源供应；（ii）为学生提供世界一流的可再生能源技术教育和研究经验。作为实现这一目标的一步，bridge提案的目标是(i)描述光合生物膜的形成和结构，并对这些系统中影响其生产力的光、质量和热能的传输进行建模；（ii）整合这些跨学科的研究成果，以教育和激励学生，特别是代表性不足的群体，追求科学和工程方面的职业。知识价值：藻类的培养被认为是一种很有前途的方法，可以生产用于生物燃料生产的碳中性烃原料。然而，传统技术，如开放池塘和封闭光生物反应器，由于培养浓度较低的生物量，证明在能源、经济和环境上都不可行。这就需要(i)在培养过程中使用大量的水，（ii）泵送稀释的藻类悬浮液需要大量的能量，以及（iii）对藻类进行下游处理的能源密集型脱水和浓缩过程。在我们最近的工作中，我们已经证明了通过培养藻类作为生物膜，将该过程的水强度降低了60倍。开发一种基于光合生物膜的新型藻类培养方法可以改变藻类生物燃料生产技术。在这项研究中，我们的目标是迈出了解光合作用生物膜的第一步，以开发这些系统，作为经济和可持续生产生物燃料的下一代方法。我们特别建议(a)表征细胞表面特性和相互作用，(b)光合生物膜的形成和结构，(c)测量光、质量和热能在这些生物膜上的分布，以及(d)对这些传输现象进行建模，以便更好地理解和克服这些系统在生物技术应用中的生产力和性能限制。更广泛的影响：拟议的活动将促进对光合生物膜的理解和技术应用，同时为学生提供跨学科的教育和研究机会。此外，本研究中开发的方法和获得的结果将为未来的建议提供必要的输入(i)测量和模拟生物燃料生产和废水处理应用的生物膜中光合细胞的营养消耗、生长和产物形成动力学，（ii）开发光合生物膜从废物流中去除重金属离子的吸附模型。(3)模拟能源和环境应用的生物电极系统中生物膜的传输现象和生产力。该桥梁的教育和外联部分将以妇女和少数民族参与工程为目标，并将重点放在可再生能源技术和生物燃料上。这些活动将包括(i)每年有100多名少数民族高中毕业生参加的“我的工程介绍”夏令营，（ii）每年有70名7至10岁的女孩参加的“女孩探索科学”夏令营，（iii）克罗克特高中科学研究项目为2名少数民族高中毕业生提供研究机会，鼓励她们上大学。（iv）德克萨斯研究经验（TREX）项目，招募少数族裔本科生研究人员，鼓励他们留校、读研并最终攻读工程博士学位。最后，该奖项将使PI与NASA艾姆斯研究中心建立积极的合作关系。

PI: Berberoglu, HalilProposal Number: 1125755The overall career goals of the PI are (i) developing innovative technologies to provide the society with sustainable and environmentally friendly energy supplies and (ii) providing world class education and research experience to students in renewable energy technologies. As a step towards this goal, the objectives of this BRIGE proposal are (i) characterizing the formation and structure of photosynthetic biofilms and modeling the transport of light, mass, and thermal energy in these systems that affect their productivity and (ii) integrating these interdisciplinary research efforts to educate and inspire students, in particular of underrepresented groups, to pursue careers in science and engineering.Intellectual Merit: Cultivation of algae has been considered as a promising method for producing carbon neutral hydrocarbon feedstock for biofuel production. However, conventional technologies, such as open ponds and closed photobioreactors, prove to be energetically, economically and environmentally unfeasible owing to cultivation of dilute concentration of biomass. This necessitates use of (i) large volumes of water during cultivation, (ii) large energy requirements for pumping the dilute algae suspension, and (iii) energy intensive dewatering and concentration processes for downstream processing of the algae. In our recent work, we have demonstrated the reduction of the water intensity of the process by a factor of 60 by cultivating the algae as a biofilm. Development of a novel algae cultivation method based on photosynthetic biofilms can transform the algae based biofuel production technologies.In this research, we aim to take the initial steps towards understanding photosynthetic biofilms for developing these systems as the next generation method for economically and sustainably producing biofuels. We specifically propose to (a) characterize the cell-surface properties and interactions, (b) the formation and structure of photosynthetic biofilms, (c) measure the profiles of light, mass and thermal energy across these biofilms, and (d) modeling these transport phenomena for better understanding and overcoming the productivity and performance limitations of these systems in biotechnological applications.Broader Impacts: The proposed activity will advance the understanding and technological applications of photosynthetic biofilms while providing interdisciplinary education and research opportunities for students. Moreover, the methods developed and the results obtained in this study will serve as necessary input for future proposals on (i) measuring and modeling the nutrient consumption, growth and product formation kinetics of photosynthetic cells in biofilms for biofuel production and wastewater treatment applications, (ii) developing sorption models for heavy metal ion removal from waste streams by photosynthetic biofilms, and (iii) modeling the transport phenomena and productivity of biofilms in bioelectrode systems for energy and environmental applications. The educational and outreach components of this BRIGE will target the participation of females and minorities in engineering and will focus on renewable energy technologies and biofuels. These activities will include (i) My Introduction to Engineering (MITE) summer camp reaching over 100 minority high school seniors per year, (ii) Girls Exploring Science summer camp reaching 70 girls per year between the ages of 7 and 10, (iii) the Crockett High School Science Research Program providing research opportunities for 2 minority high schools seniors encouraging their enrollment in college, and (iv) Texas Research Experience (TREX) program recruiting 4 minority undergraduate researchers for encouraging their retention, enrolment in graduate school and ultimately for seeking Ph.D. degrees in engineering. Finally, this award will enable the PI establish active collaborations with NASA Ames research center.