CAREER: Unravel the Nature behind the Smart Polymer-Induced Microalgal Biomass Enrichment and Cell Wall Disruption

微藻是研究最多的生物制造技术之一，用于燃料、化学品、食品和饲料的可持续生产。然而，生物量浓缩和胞内产物回收是阻碍微藻生物精炼技术商业化的关键技术障碍和成本贡献者。这项提案旨在开发一项综合研究和教育计划，重点是制造生物燃料和生物产品的生物制造技术。长期的研究目标是建立一种低成本、环保的细胞收获和胞内产品回收技术，用于生产可再生生物能源和生物产品。研究成果将与针对大学、K-12和社区层面的教育和外联活动相结合。这一职业项目的主要研究目标是开发一种基于热响应聚合物(Trp)的新技术，用于微藻细胞浓缩和胞内产品回收，以实现经济高效和环境友好的藻类生物精炼。拟议的研究将集中在：(1)建立色氨酸特征与藻类富集性之间的关系；(2)了解色氨酸与藻细胞相互作用的基本原理；(3)阐明色氨酸诱导藻细胞破坏的机制。该项目还将致力于建立聚合物的性质及其热力学和动力学相行为与藻类捕获效率之间的关系。拟议的教育和推广计划促进多样性，包括吸引未被充分代表的学生进入STEM领域、教育公众以及培训生物制造领域的下一代科学家和工程师的计划。该项目由过程系统、反应工程和分子热力学计划以及既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。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。

Microalgae is one of the most studied biomanufacturing technologies for the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, food, and feed. However, biomass enrichment and intracellular product recovery are critical technical hurdles and cost contributors impeding the commercialization of microalgae biorefinery technologies. This proposal aims to develop an integrated research and education program that focuses on a bio-manufacturing technology for making biofuels and bio-based products. The long-term research goal is to establish a cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly cell harvesting and intracellular product recovery technology for producing renewable bioenergy and bio-products. The research results will be integrated with educational and outreach activities aimed at the university, K-12, and community levels. The main research goal of this CAREER project is to develop a new thermoresponsive polymer (TRP)-based technology for microalgal cell enrichment and intracellular product recovery to enable cost-efficient and environmentally friendly algae biorefineries. The proposed research will focus on: (1) establishing relationships between TRP features and algae enrichment; (2) understanding the fundamentals behind the interactions between TRP and algal cells; and (3) elucidating the mechanisms of TRP-induced algal cell disruption. The project will also aim at establishing the relationships between the properties of the polymers and their thermodynamic and kinetic phase behavior with algae harvesting efficiency. The proposed educational and outreach plan promotes diversity and includes plans for attracting underrepresented students to STEM fields, educating the public, and training the next generation of scientists and engineers in the field of biomanufacturing.This project is jointly funded by the Process Systems, Reaction Engineering, and Molecular Thermodynamics Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.