Environmental
Integrated Bioprocess Systems for Low-Cost Environmental Remediation and Sustainable Biofertilizer Production
This proposal seeks to identify opportunities to integrate biological process steps for organisms that are being examined individually for their unique capabilities of bioremediation, nitrogen fixation, or biofuel production. The specific systems being considered will take advantage of low-cost bioreactors and bioprocess operation to examine technical and economic feasibility:
Watershed Protection from Agricultural Runoff. Growth of duckweed on manure with a goal of improving amino acids quality to be used as an animal feed.
Nuclear waste sequestration by Geobacter sulfurreducens grown on organic acids produced by Clostridium phytofermentans fermentation of biomass
Degradation of endocrine disruptors in wastewater by immobilized fungi grown on algae- secreted polysaccharides during algae biofuel production
Low-cost production of Azotobacter for use as a nitrogen-fixing bio-fertilizer from secreted algae carbohydrate, municipal waste water, and Clostridium–produced organic acids
Phase I will follow an instructional course effort to educate students in the complexities of energy-mass inter-conversion for diverse organisms. During Phase I, kinetic data from the literature will be supplemented with experimental measurements in the three case study topics noted above. Process models constructed from the bioreactor designs and operational kinetics will facilitate an economic feasibility analysis for implementation of a Phase II effort on the most promising system(s). The widespread production and utilization of energy and biomass products, combined with the low-cost reactor system, provides potential for implementation and economic growth in underdeveloped regions where high entry costs are prohibitive. This effort will be augmented by extensive use of data and information distribution via the web.
Meet the Environmental Team
Maia Clipsham
Ben Woolston
Amalie Tuerk
Jackie Guo
Erik Woolcott