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THE PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING ATMOSPHERIC CO2 CONCENTRATION HAS CAUSED ENOUGH ALARM TO SPUR RESEARCH FOCUSED ON REDUCING GLOBAL CO2 OUTPUT. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO CREATE A NEW TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT CAN CHEAPLY AND EFFECTIVELY REMOVE CO FROM INDUSTRIAL WASTE STREAMS (I.E. SMOKESTACKS). TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, WE PROPOSE AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH ENCOMPASSING EXPERTISE IN THE FIELDS OF POLYMER CHEMISTRY, MATERIAL SCIENCE, AND ENGINEERING, AS OUTLINED IN THE FOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES BELOW. THE CORE OF THE PROPOSED MATERIALS IS NANOCELLULOSE, AN ABUNDANT, BUT CURRENTLY UNDERUTILIZED BIOMASS. OUR PROJECT REPRESENTS THE CREATION OF AN ENTIRELY NEW PROCESS TO PRODUCE VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS, NAMELY NANOCELLULOSE AEROGELS FOR CO2 CAPTURE. WHEN COMBINED WITH SIMPLE AMINO ACIDS THESE AEROGEL MATERIALS HAVE EXTRAORDINARY CO2 CAPTURE CAPACITY. THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW US TO MAKE, TEST AND BEGIN TO EXAMINE COMMERCIAL FEASIBILITY OF THESE NEW MATERIALS.THE NEXT GENERATION MATERIALS TO BE EXPLORED COMBINE ELEMENTS OF BOTH DISCOVERY AND APPLIED SCIENCE. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS THAT AID IN EFFECTIVE GAS CAPTURE CAN SUPPORT DISCOVERY OF FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS UBIQUITOUS SOLID STATE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE DEVELOPMENT. RESEARCH THAT RESULTS IN SEQUESTRATION OF CO2 AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES USING PLANT BASED PRODUCTS IS APPLIED SCIENCE THAT SUPPORTS SUSTAINABLE, COMPETITIVE, AND INNOVATIVE U.S. AND GLOBAL AGRICULTURE. ADAPTATION OF CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS AS A FEEDSTOCK IN FUTURE PRODUCTS WILL REDUCE OUR RELIANCE ON POLITICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY "CHALLENGED" MATERIALS AND BOOST US-BASED AGRICULTURE AND BIOMASS PRODUCTION. THIS WILL LEAD TO JOB RETENTION AND JOB CREATION SINCE MANY OF THE JOBS AND RESOURCES IN FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING HAVE FLED TO COUNTRIES WITH A LOWER PERCEIVED OVERHEAD. THIS EXCITING NEW NANO-CELLULOSIC TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE A ROUTE TOWARDS COMMERCIALIZATION OF AN AGRICULTURE/FORESTRY-BASED BIOPRODUCT THAT CAN PROVIDE FEDERAL AND STATE ENTITIES, INDUSTRY, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH SAFER, MORE COST EFFECTIVE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE CO2 CAPTURE MATERIALS.

$494,438FY2018National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

University Of Massachusetts, Amherst MA

Investigators

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THE PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING ATMOSPHERIC CO2 CONCENTRATION HAS CAUSED ENOUGH ALARM TO SPUR RESEARCH FOCUSED ON REDUCING GLOBAL CO2 OUTPUT. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO CREATE A NEW TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT CAN CHEAPLY AND EFFECTIVELY REMOVE CO FROM INDUSTRIAL WASTE STREAMS (I.E. SMOKESTACKS). TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, WE PROPOSE AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH ENCOMPASSING EXPERTISE IN THE FIELDS OF POLYMER CHEMISTRY, MATERIAL SCIENCE, AND ENGINEERING, AS OUTLINED IN THE FOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES BELOW. THE CORE OF THE PROPOSED MATERIALS IS NANOCELLULOSE, AN ABUNDANT, BUT CURRENTLY UNDERUTILIZED BIOMASS. OUR PROJECT REPRESENTS THE CREATION OF AN ENTIRELY NEW PROCESS TO PRODUCE VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS, NAMELY NANOCELLULOSE AEROGELS FOR CO2 CAPTURE. WHEN COMBINED WITH SIMPLE AMINO ACIDS THESE AEROGEL MATERIALS HAVE EXTRAORDINARY CO2 CAPTURE CAPACITY. THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW US TO MAKE, TEST AND BEGIN TO EXAMINE COMMERCIAL FEASIBILITY OF THESE NEW MATERIALS.THE NEXT GENERATION MATERIALS TO BE EXPLORED COMBINE ELEMENTS OF BOTH DISCOVERY AND APPLIED SCIENCE. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS THAT AID IN EFFECTIVE GAS CAPTURE CAN SUPPORT DISCOVERY OF FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS UBIQUITOUS SOLID STATE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE DEVELOPMENT. RESEARCH THAT RESULTS IN SEQUESTRATION OF CO2 AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES USING PLANT BASED PRODUCTS IS APPLIED SCIENCE THAT SUPPORTS SUSTAINABLE, COMPETITIVE, AND INNOVATIVE U.S. AND GLOBAL AGRICULTURE. ADAPTATION OF CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS AS A FEEDSTOCK IN FUTURE PRODUCTS WILL REDUCE OUR RELIANCE ON POLITICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY "CHALLENGED" MATERIALS AND BOOST US-BASED AGRICULTURE AND BIOMASS PRODUCTION. THIS WILL LEAD TO JOB RETENTION AND JOB CREATION SINCE MANY OF THE JOBS AND RESOURCES IN FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING HAVE FLED TO COUNTRIES WITH A LOWER PERCEIVED OVERHEAD. THIS EXCITING NEW NANO-CELLULOSIC TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE A ROUTE TOWARDS COMMERCIALIZATION OF AN AGRICULTURE/FORESTRY-BASED BIOPRODUCT THAT CAN PROVIDE FEDERAL AND STATE ENTITIES, INDUSTRY, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH SAFER, MORE COST EFFECTIVE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE CO2 CAPTURE MATERIALS. · GrantIndex