The burning of fossil fuels adds carbon to the atmosphere, principally in the form of carbon dioxide, and the potential environmental impacts have made carbon management an international concern. There is increasing national and international interest in enhancing natural mechanisms to slow the rate of atmospheric CO2 increase, or in developing new approaches to mitigate the current atmospheric rise in CO2 levels. The U.S. Climate Change Technology Program [reference 9] calls for the development of biological approaches to remove CO2 from the atmosphere in addition to energy production strategies that reduce or eliminate CO2 emissions. A DOE report on carbon sequestration science and technology [6] describes research needs and technology requirements for sequestering carbon by aquatic and terrestrial systems, including a discussion of advanced biological processes and chemical approaches.
This topic focuses on biological mechanisms that offer the potential to slow the rate of atmospheric CO2 increase, convert carbon into relatively stable organic or inorganic forms, or increase hydrogen production as a potential “clean energy” source. For example, some terrestrial and aquatic plants might be studied for CO2 conversion to biomass; others to transform carbon into long-lived (refractory) organic compounds, thereby sequestering the CO2 and slowing the rate of atmospheric increase. Research is solicited to identify and quantify mechanisms for CO2 transformation at rates that will lead to the long term fixation and/or sequestration of large quantities of carbon (i.e., where fractions of giga tonnes or more of carbon per year transformed or fixed is considered significant) when applied to either natural (e.g., unmanaged terrestrial ecosystems) or managed aquatic systems.
Microbes also can make a significant contribution to the cycling of elements that are critical for life (including carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen) as well as to the unwanted release of gases to the atmosphere responsible for the “greenhouse effect.” Some terrestrial microbes, found both in the subsurface and on the surface, have the potential to dramatically impact carbon sequestration, either directly or through their effects on plants. Other microbes can also produce hydrogen. Therefore, this topic also is concerned with the use of microbes for sequestering atmospheric CO2 or for producing hydrogen.
Grant applications must provide for a systematic evaluation of proposed biological mechanisms for either carbon sequestration or hydrogen production systems. Estimates of the amount of CO2 transformed or hydrogen produced must be provided, and any assumptions concerning quantities and conditions for carbon fixation and sequestration or for hydrogen production must be clearly defined. Feasibility tests (analytical, bench, or field) performed in Phase I must demonstrate that the proposed approach, when scaled up, could theoretically result in a meaningful rate reduction in atmospheric CO2 concentration, significant amounts of carbon sequestered, or significant hydrogen production. Phase I should identify processes and mechanisms, and provide preliminary data on prospective rates and quantities of enhanced carbon transformation and sequestration or hydrogen production, with more comprehensive and peer-reviewed data sets developed in Phase II. Grant applications proposing only computer modeling without improvements in physical mechanisms or the enhancement of field approaches will not be considered.
The facilities and expertise of the DOE Consortium for Research on Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems (CSITE - http://csite.esd.ornl.gov/) can be made available to potential SBIR applicants to this topic. The CSITE is a consortium based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The co-directors are Robin Graham (ORNL/email: grahamrl@ornl.gov) and Blaine Metting (PNNL/email: fb_metting@pnl.gov). Applications of Biotechnology to Mitigation of Greenhouse Warming: Proceedings of the St. Michaels II Workshop, April 2003, available at: http://www.battelle.org/bclscrpt/Bookstore/booktemplate.cfm?ISBN=1-57477-141-8%20. Scientists at Texas A&M University, Colorado State University, the University of Washington, North Carolina State University, and the Joanneum Research Institute in Austria can also provide support to potential applicants. The DOE also supports carbon sequestration research at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:
a. Sequestration of Carbon by Plant-Soil and Aquatic Systems—Virtually all plant species effectively capture CO2 from the atmosphere and produce organic compounds, which sustain productivity of the Earth’s ecosystems. Some of the fixed carbon is sequestered in soils or sediments and in wood products of terrestrial ecosystems. For example, woody species sequester carbon as lignocellulose, which is a stored product for the lifetime of the tree, and the below-ground productivity of many ecosystems is transformed into organic soil matter with intrinsically long residence times. Aquatic plants produce peat or organic-rich sediments. Grant applications are sought to identify and quantify the biological pathways and mechanisms leading to increased quantities of carbon sequestration by plant, soil (including soil microorganisms), and sediment components of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Areas of particular interest include: (1) research on plant metabolic pathways or mechanisms that allow increased CO2 fixation rates, achieved through conventional molecular or traditional genetic means, and leading to overall productivity increases; (2) novel technologies for managing vegetation and soils (such as cost-effective nutrient management, forest regeneration, ecosystem modification, and aquatic cultures) to enhance carbon uptake and retention, thereby significantly increasing CO2 fixation and Carbon (C) storage; (3) techniques for increasing the fraction of recalcitrant organic compounds produced during natural microbial conversion of plant biomass in soils, resulting in increased long-term C-storage; and (4) measurement techniques that allow for the validation of technologies developed to enhance net long-term C sequestration in man-made and natural environments.
Grant applications should provide information about rates and quantities of carbon fixation or the enhancement of sequestration that the proposed technology can reasonably achieve. For terrestrial systems, proposed approaches should exhibit a capability to increase, or to measure increases of, carbon fixation or sequestration by at least 1 tonne per hectare per year. For rapidly C-fixing aquatic biosystems, the desired rate of consumption would be at least 5 grams of carbon (expressed on an atom basis) per gram cell dry weight per hour at ambient temperature (e.g., 15oC) conditions. Phase I must demonstrate the basic feasibility and efficacy of proposed sequestration mechanisms, with larger field-scale applications designed and tested in Phase II.
b. Microbe-Based Carbon Sequestration in Harsh Environments—Microbes exist in essentially every conceivable environment on Earth. In particular, the remarkable diversity and capabilities of microbes offer the possibility of developing novel microbe-based solutions for carbon sequestration in harsh environments (in contrast to the environments assumed in the previous subtopic). Therefore, grant applications are sought to demonstrate and quantify terrestrial, photosynthetic, microbe-based strategies to increase the carbon sequestration potential in harsh environments, such as deserts or brackish water. Field studies are not necessarily expected and should not be proposed without appropriate NEPA approval.
c. Microbe-Based Hydrogen Production—Biotechnology offers the promise of capitalizing on the natural capabilities found in the microbial world to produce new fuels, leading to a reduction in green house gas emissions. In particular, many microbes have the ability to produce hydrogen under particular conditions. Therefore, grant applications are sought to demonstrate and quantify: (1) microbe based hydrogen production reactors, or (2) high-throughput assays for assessing and quantifying the production of microbe-based hydrogen in experimental reactors.
References:
1. Greenhouse Gases, Global Climate Change and Energy, U.S. DOE National Energy Information Center, 2002. http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html
2. Hydrogen Production and Delivery: Photolytic, U.S. Dept of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/production/photolytic.htxl
3. Lal, R., ed., Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1998. (ISBN: 0-8493-7441-3)
4. National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council, The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs, especially pages 101-103 Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2004. (Full text available at: http://books.nap.edu/books/0309091632/html/index.html)
5. References from Technical Sessions 3C, 4C, 5C, First National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, Washington, DC, May 14-17, 2001. (Available at: http://www.netl.doe.gov) (Select “Publications” from menu on left. Scroll down and select “Conference Proceedings.” Scroll down and select “Previous Conference Proceedings.” A list of conferences in chronological order will appear, with the most recent loaded first. Scroll down and select conference title.)
6. Reichle, D., et al., Carbon Sequestration Research and Development, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy Offices of Science and Fossil Energy, 1999. (Full text available at: http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/. Using “Basic Search,” search “Title” for title, above.)
7. Rosenberg, N. J., et al., eds., “Carbon Sequestration in Soils: Science, Monitoring and Beyond,” Proceedings of the St. Michaels Workshop, St. Michaels, MD, December 1998, Columbus, OH: Battelle Press, 1999. (ISBN: 1-57477-084-5) (Available from Battelle Press. Telephone: 1-800-451-3543. Website: http://www.battelle.org/bookstore. Search by author.)
8. Rozema, J., et al., eds., CO2 and the Biosphere, Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993. (ISBN: 0792320441) (Also in Advances in Vegetation Science, Vol. 14. ISSN: 0168-8022)
9. US Climate Change Technology Program, a multi-agency federal research and development program for the development of climate change technology. http://www.climatetechnology.gov/
10. Various articles from Natural Sinks of CO2: Proceedings of the Palmas Del Mar Workshop, Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico, February 24-27, 1992, Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 64(1-2), 1992. (ISSN: 0049-6979)
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