This National Science Foundation (NSF) grant under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $360,000 to the University of Tennessee to develop innovative microbial communities capable of converting organic waste into renewable biogas through a process known as electro-methanogenesis. The key objectives are to: Build robust electro-methanogenic microbial communities by continuously switching the direction of electricity, enabling both organic-consuming and biogas-producing microorganisms to...
This $360,000 project grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to Temple University supports research to develop synthetic microbial communities capable of robust electro-methanogenesis. The goal is to improve the process of converting organic waste into renewable biogas by leveraging microorganisms that can use electricity as an energy source. The research aims to build resilient electro-methanogenic communities, quantify the drivers of...
This $1,700,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support research to develop a bioelectrochemical process to capture and recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value chemicals using microbes. The project aims to create a circular economy by transforming CO2 into acetic acid, which will then be used as a feedstock for engineered Escherichia coli strains to produce sustainable biomaterials. Key activities include developing...
This $990,754 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research at Arizona State University to advance the science and technology of converting carbon dioxide into biofuels. The key products and services to be delivered include: Developing a fundamental understanding of how nanomaterial-based photocatalysts can be used to efficiently reduce CO2 into carbon monoxide, which can then be converted into longer-chain biofuel compounds by...
This National Science Foundation Project Grant award of $382,376 supports research at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station to develop synthetic methane fixation cascades based on engineered membrane vesicles for biofuel cell applications. The three-year award under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund the creation of artificial enzyme cascades to completely oxidize methane to carbon dioxide, generating electrons that can power fuel cells. Researchers aim to conjugate...
This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $302,316 will fund research at Louisiana State University from October 2022 to September 2025 under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041). The university will investigate developing hybrid catalysts using both reducible and non-reducible metal oxides to generate highly stable and selectively catalytic materials for methane dry reforming. Researchers will use theoretical, computational, and experimental methods to design effective dry reforming of...
The National Science Foundation awarded a $716,898 Project Grant to the University of North Texas under the Biological Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.074) to develop advanced biocatalyst tools and resources to enable biogas-based biomanufacturing from August 15, 2022 to July 31, 2025. Specifically, the University of North Texas will utilize genetic engineering and metabolic modeling to advance methanotroph-based biotechnologies for the sequestration and utilization of methane and carbon...
This $185,080 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports collaborative research between the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Purdue University to develop porous bi-layer catalysts for converting carbon dioxide into valuable products like ethylene at industrially relevant rates. The researchers will engineer novel layered catalyst structures combining specific metal/metal oxide heterostructures to reduce reaction overpotential and...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $360,222 to Georgia Tech Research Corp to advance novel biological treatment strategies that leverage comammox and anammox bacteria for sustainable nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment. The research objectives include evaluating the synergy between these specialized bacteria, determining the impact of dissolved oxygen on nitrite provision for anammox bacteria, and conducting pilot-scale...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) project grant, funded under CFDA 47.041 Engineering, awards $199,954 to Louisiana Tech University to conduct research on developing catalysts for converting methane to carbon-free hydrogen and ethane. The research aims to advance the fundamental understanding of catalytic methane conversion using a novel class of catalysts known as MXenes. Key objectives include quantifying reaction-diffusion phenomena, identifying...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) awarded a $200,000 EAGER grant to Auburn University to develop and validate a novel multi-tray dry biofilm reactor that can directly capture methane (CH4) from the air. The goal is to convert the captured CH4, a potent greenhouse gas, into valuable single-cell proteins for animal feed. This research aims to advance understanding of biofilm-based conversion of atmospheric CH4 and provide a quantitative assessment of the economic feasibility and environmental impact of the proposed technology. If successful, the modular biofilm reactor design has the potential to contribute to slowing global warming by enabling sustainable capture and sequestration of atmospheric CH4 in the 500-5000 ppm range, such as around landfills, manure lagoons, or wastewater treatment plants. The award runs from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025.