Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** our application focuses on…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** our application focuses on improving energy efficiency and renewable biofuel production in the agriculture sector. At the heart of our proposal is the efficient utilization of manure, a major agricultural waste byproduct, from dairy farms to manufacture sustainable and scalable biofuels. Agriculture accounts for a staggering 10% of U.S. Greenhouse gas emissions, with livestock manure management accounting for 10% of global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Upgrading manure-derived biogas offers a highly promising route to drastically reduce these emissions while creating a renewable and economic biofuel source. However, current biogas upgrading technologies face numerous costly problems and inefficiencies that escalate operational expenses for dairy farmers. These barriers deter numerous dairy farmers from harnessing and upgrading their manure to biogas and, subsequently, to renewable natural gas (RNG). This results in missed opportunities for these farms to diversify their revenue streams and contribute to sustainable energy initiatives. More alarmingly, the high costs of current biogas upgrading technologies often drive farmers to flare biogas instead of utilize IT, inadvertently exacerbating the emission of greenhouse gases and highly toxic pollutants (e.g., NOX). On a broader scale, the exorbitant costs of RNG production from biogas via traditional technologies perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels. Our project focuses on creating a membrane technology that can overcome the limitations of existing livestock-derived biogas upgrading technologies (e.g., amine scrubbers). Our technology is of value due to the exceptional separation performance that surpass the theoretical upper limits of traditional polymer membranes. The fabrication of this technology utilizes materials that are cost-effective, ensuring that manufacturing costs do not increase substantially. Importantly, our technology maintains high stability and performance in harsh conditions and long periods of time, minimizing the need for replacing the technology. The advancements of our technology will be characterized through multiple techniques such as microscopy, gas permeation, and stability experiments. Our project's ultimate goal is to advance next-generation gas upgrading technologies, significantly cutting the energy costs and consumption associated with producing biofuels from waste. This initiative is especially crucial given the substantial greenhouse gas emissions originating from livestock manure. Beyond reducing CO2 emissions, this venture presents an invaluable opportunity for farmers to diversify their revenue streams, thereby offering a dual benefit of environmental sustainability and economic growth.