NSF EPSCoR: Powering the Kentucky Bioeconomy for a Sustainable Future (Escobar Scope)

This project seeks to develop new technologies for energy generation and storage in addition to new membranes that can be used in environmental remediation. Three interlinked research activities are proposed in the areas of Advanced Bio-Inspired Membrane Technologies, Chemical Biology for Advanced Materials, and Electrochemical Energy Storage. Research activities will lead to batteries that are self- repairing, lower cost and more efficient than currently available. These sustainable energy technologies can support manufacturing efforts and create employment in Kentucky. This project develops research and education activities to engage a wide number of constituents. Technical Description Kentucky EPSCoR addresses sustainable energy and power provision, a topic of national importance as greater focus is placed on transitioning energy demand from non-renewable resources (for example, coal) to renewable resources. Efforts under this project could completely re-invent engineering membranes to be selective chemical pumps and construct nano-architectures that harness the capabilities of complex bio-molecules. Also examined are biochemical lignification pathways, lignin chemistry, and deconstruction strategies to engineer biomass feedstocks and processing methods for direct conversion of lignin, with a significant focus is on diverse value added and fuel products. Energy generation and storage will be explored with a goal of creating a decreased environmental footprint. The use of novel bio-based battery materials will also be explored. Efforts are focused on inventing new material systems for self-healing electrodes and creating high area conductive nanostructures from biomass resources.