Project Grant 84015301

This $600,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) funds research by the University of Michigan to develop a simulation-driven framework for modeling the biodegradation of plastic materials. The key products and services to be delivered include: Creation of a simulation-based kernel to guide the design of biodegradable materials and advance understanding of structure-property-performance relationships for plastic degradation driven by...

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 $443,477 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems will support research and education activities at Rice University from February 1, 2023 through January 31, 2028. The project aims to advance environmental microbiome engineering for wastewater treatment and resource recovery applications. Specifically, the principal investigator will develop and validate novel strategies for harnessing horizontal gene...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $949,997 Project Grant to Iowa State University of Science and Technology under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to investigate the role of environmental factors in the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in municipal wastewater treatment plants. The five-year research project, starting November 1, 2023, will conduct field, laboratory, and computational studies to determine how susceptible bacterial strains are replaced by...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $119,998 Project Grant to the University of Arizona under the Engineering federal grant program (CFDA 47.041) to develop new sorbents that can stabilize per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in sewage sludge. Approximately 55% of the 7.2 million dry metric tons of sewage sludge (biosolids) produced annually in the U.S. is applied as soil amendments and fertilizers in agriculture and land restoration. However, the increasing detection of PFAS in...

This Project Grant award of $412,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will be used by the University of Massachusetts (UMass) to investigate the use of engineered polymer microparticles to adsorb and remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from wastewater. The central hypothesis is that the adsorption of PFAS molecules will alter the interfacial properties of the microparticles, causing emulsions to destabilize and allowing for the capture...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award, under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), provides $419,906 to Rutgers, The State University to investigate the fate, conversion mechanisms, and resource recovery implications of microplastics during hydrothermal valorization of wet organic wastes. The research aims to 1) establish conversion limits of plastic resins under autocatalytic conditions, 2) evaluate microplastic conversion and mechanisms for various catalysts, and 3)...

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY), doing business as RFCUNY - Advanced Science Research Center, received a three-year, $451,681 project grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences to study the decomposition rates of microplastics in soils. This award falls under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050), which supports basic research to expand understanding of the integrated Earth system through atmospheric, earth, and ocean sciences....

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) award of $1,000,000 to the Regents of the University of Minnesota aims to design and control the formation of a robust artificial biofilm consortium composed of two bacterial species for the efficient biodegradation of polyfluorinated compounds (PFAS) known to accumulate in the environment. The project will establish the knowledge base and design principles as a framework for developing and manufacturing...

The National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) has awarded Cornell University a $478,560 Project Grant to support research on the interactions between microplastics, soil, and microorganisms. This multidisciplinary international project, jointly funded by NSF and the UK's National Environment Research Council, aims to examine how microplastics age in soils and their impact on microbial habitats and water transport. The research team from Cornell University and the University...