2007 — 2009 |
Leschine, Susan (co-PI) [⬀] Henson, Michael Dhankher, Om Parkash Conner, William Huber, George |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Mri: Acquistion of Instrumentation For a Biofuels Research Laboratory @ University of Massachusetts Amherst
Proposal: 0722802 PI: George Huber Institution: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Title: MRI-- Acquisition of Instrumentation for a Biofuels Research Laboratory
This proposal seeks the acquisition of instrumentation for a state-of-the-art biofuels research laboratory including a high-throughput catalytic reactor (which can simultaneously test up to 31 catalysts), a catalytic pyrolysis reactor, a 4-reactor parallel fermentation system, and analytical equipment (HPLC and two GCs). The configuration of this instrumentation has been carefully designed around a diverse user community whose interests include heterogeneous catalysis, biological catalysis, pyrolysis, metabolic pathway analysis, agronomy, kinetic modeling, and computational chemistry. The instrumentation will be located and maintained in the Chemical Engineering Department by full-time technicians. The Chemical Engineering Department has a well-developed infrastructure for student training and instrument maintenance.
Intellectual Merit: The user community for this instrument is inherently multidisciplinary including faculty from three colleges and five departments: Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Microbiology, and Plant Soil and Insect Science. The common need of these investigators is to understand the chemistry, biology and reaction pathways involved in biofuels production. The requested equipment will be used to answer scientific questions regarding reaction chemistry, catalyst structure vs. reactivity, catalyst design at the nano-level, fermentation pathways, biomass feedstocks, and metabolic engineering strategies. Specific projects that will substantially benefit from this instrumentation include:
? Production of biofuels by aqueous-phase processing of biomass-derived feedstocks
? Aqueous-phase processing of fast pyrolysis oils
? Catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass-derived feedstocks
? Improved nanomaterials for biofuels production
? Integrated cellular and process engineering for optimal ethanol production from Saccharomyces cerevisiae
? Optimization of Clostrium phytofermentans fermentation for ethanol production
? Ethanol production in an integrated forest biorefinery
? Genetically modified plants for biofuel production: biodiesel production from Crambe
Broader Impacts: This proposed experimental facility will have a strong impact on the local environment at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst at several levels. It will serve as a focal point for several research projects and enable collaborative research that is interdisciplinary and timely. The proposed equipment will represent the cornerstone of a leading biofuel laboratory in the United States, enhancing our ability to recruit and retain superior graduate students and faculty. Graduate students from underrepresented groups will be recruited in collaboration with established outreach programs at University of Massachusetts. This facility will increase funding from the private sector, and we are currently working with several companies to commercialize a number of biofuel related technologies. The requested instruments will positively impact education in two ways. A centralized facility will be utilized by a multi-disciplinary group of faculty and students at the graduate and undergraduate levels, providing an ideal learning environment for integrating research with education. The initial estimates indicate that at least 17 graduate and undergraduate students will be heavy equipment users, with additional student researchers expected as they advertise the facility across the campus. Secondly, the catalytic reactor and fermentation equipment will be integrated into two senior-level laboratory courses offered by the Chemical Engineering Department. The team will encourage other departments to develop similar laboratory course experiments. The proposed research and teaching activities will facilitate the development of renewable liquid transportation fuels from plant biomass, thus alleviating problems (global warming, political instability, etc.) caused by national dependence on fossil fuels.
|
1.009 |
2021 |
Dhankher, Om Parkash Venkataraman, Dhandapani (co-PI) [⬀] White, Jason C Xing, Baoshan (co-PI) [⬀] |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
A Novel Strategy For Arsenic Phytoremediation @ University of Massachusetts Amherst
Project Summary: Arsenic contamination in the food chain is a global health problem and causes damage to most human organs. A significant need exists to develop approaches for addressing environmental arsenic. The long term goal is to develop a plant-based phytoremediation approach for contaminated land that is cost-effective and ecologically friendly as an alternative to conventional remediation methods. The objective of this study is to develop a genetics-based phytoremediation strategy for arsenic uptake, translocation, detoxification, and hyperaccumulation into the fast-growing, high biomass, non-food crop Crambe abyssinica. Nanosulfur will be utilized to modulate the bioavailability and phytoextraction of As from soil and to increase the storage capacity via enhanced sulfur assimilation. The engineered Crambe will be evaluated for removing arsenic from the soil in laboratory, greenhouse, and field conditions. Our central hypothesis is that organ-specific expression of genes, which control the transport, oxidation state, and binding of As, can be tuned to yield efficient extraction and hyperaccumulation into above-ground plant tissues. To test our hypothesis, we propose the following specific aims. 1) Genetically engineer Crambe abyssinica lines for co-expressing bacterial ArsC, gECS, and AtABCC1 and RNAi suppression of endogenous arsenate reductase CaACR2; 2) Evaluate the engineered Crambe lines for metal(loids) tolerance and accumulation; 3) Synthesize and apply nanosulfur to modulate the bioavailability, phytoextraction, and accumulation of toxic metal(loids); and 4) Conduct a pilot field study of engineered Crambe lines for phytoextraction on a contaminated site. After initial screening in tissue culture media supplemented with metals, the best performing quadruple gene stacked (ArcS+gECS+AtABCC1+CaACR2Ri) Crambe lines with wild type controls will be tested using contaminated soils with arsenic as well as co-contaminants in greenhouse. A pilot field-scale study will then be carried out at a site contaminated with arsenic. The soil will be extensively characterized, and analysis for metal content and arsenic speciation will be determined using ICP/MS, HPLC- ICP/MS as well as XANES (X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Spectroscopy). Last, soil amendments with engineered nanosulfur will be used to evaluate the impacts on soil structure and contaminant availability and phytoextraction. Nanosulfur will also be foliarly applied to plants to increase the metal storage capacity via enhanced sulfur assimilation. The expected outcome of this project is a mechanistic understanding of the biogeochemical and plant processes of arsenic remediation that connects key soil characteristics with the efficiency of phytoextraction and hyperaccumulation of arsenic. The results will have an immediate and important positive impact because the knowledge generated from this study will enable efficient and effective phytoremediation approaches to minimize or remove arsenic contamination in the food chain and enhance public health.
|
1.009 |