Researchers from the University of Delaware (UD), along with collaborators from other academic institutions and industry, are working together to transform manufacturing toward zero or negative emissions by converting carbon dioxide ultimately into environmentally friendly chemicals and products with help from microorganisms.
The Carbon Utilization Redesign for Biomanufacturing-Empowered Decarbonization (CURB) Engineering Research Center, led by Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis, is funded by a five-year, $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The center will support convergent projects in research, education, commercialization, workforce development, and diversity and inclusion.
At the University of Delaware College of Engineering, where the graduate program in chemical engineering currently ranks seventh in the nation, Wilfred Chen, PhD, E. Terry Papoutsakis, PhD, Kevin Solomon, PhD, and Yushan Yan, PhD, and their teams will help to advance CURB’s research and workforce development goals, with $4.3 million of the grant coming to UD.
“Our UD team has a track record of success in sustainability, and this new center will further expand our efforts toward achieving a carbon-neutral economy,” said Chen, who is the Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering and interim associate dean for research and entrepreneurship in the college of engineering. “We will design new electrocatalysis and biological processes as part of the center’s broader goal to help U.S. manufacturing curb emissions and decrease its ecological footprint by transitioning away from petroleum-based processes and toward biomanufacturing.”
A closer look at CURB research
Through a Hybrid Electro-Bio CO2 Utilization System (HEBCUS), CURB will use electrocatalysis to turn waste carbon dioxide into intermediate substances such as ethanol, acetate, and propionate. These intermediates will be compatible with biomanufacturing systems that can more efficiently convert them into a range of products, such as platform chemicals that serve as building blocks for producing other chemicals and materials, biofertilizers containing living microbes that help promote plant health and growth, and other environmentally friendly materials, noted the scientists.
The CURB team will design and optimize two types of HEBCUS: one that uses microbial cells to convert carbon dioxide and one that uses enzymes to speed up chemical reactions. These systems are targeted to be 10 times more efficient than natural processes, such as photosynthesis, and will require fewer steps.
UD experts will contribute to the project on multiple fronts, from optimizing single-celled bacteria that are known for their ability to transform a variety of substances into valuable chemicals, including biodegradable plastics, to integrating renewable energy sources into the biomanufacturing process, and advancing education and workforce development efforts. The new technology developed by CURB is expected to generate new jobs and create new career development pathways including through workforce upskilling.
UD is one of eight universities involved in the center, which also has more than 30 corporate, innovation, and education partners.
For additional GEN articles on sustainability see: Sustainability: A Key Differentiator as Biopharma Faces Momentum Challenges, According to Global Survey by Cytiva; Sustainability Provides an Opportunity for Innovation; Early Days Regarding Sustainability Decisions; Industry Consortium to Develop Sustainability Roadmap for Biopharma.
