HAMPTONUNIVERSITY’S
PROPOSED BIOENERGYTECHNOLOGYCENTER
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
SOUTHERN BIOENERGY INIATIVE
HamptonUniversityproposes to partner with the Southern Bioenergy Initiative byestablishing a Bioenergy TechnologyCenter (BTC). This initiative isin response to plans by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to support research on the development of non-corn-based ethanol and other potential biofuels. Faculty members in the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Physics at HamptonUniversityhave the research capabilities and interests to make such a partnership withHamptonUniversitya viable and productive one.ThisBioenergyTechnologyCenter would demonstrate how scientists from across disciplines can work cooperatively to develop efficient methods for biofuel production. This document outlines the relevant capabilities that currently exist on the HamptonUniversity campus, which should make HamptonUniversity a very attractive partner institution.
The research capabilities include plant and mammalian cellular signal transduction to genomics, bioinformatics, human genetic statistical analysis, modeling and simulation, advanced imaging, detector and sensor development, and development of alternative biofuels.
Biofuel Development
Several faculty members have expertise in the development of biofuels. Dr. Ates Akyurtlu and Dr. Jale Akyurtlu have been engaged in experimental and theoretical research on catalysis, reaction engineering, and reactor design over the last three decades. Their work concentrates on applications related to alternative energy production and prevention of air pollution at the source. Their research areas include the design and modeling of a novel annular catalytic three-phase reactor, investigation of on-board hydrogen storage systems, development of a disposable catalyst for coal gasification, sorbent development for hydrogen sulfide removal from coal gas, development of a catalyst for the simultaneous removal of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, investigation of liquid transportation fuel production from natural gas or coal gas (Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis), and fuel reforming for the production of hydrogen for fuel cell use. Their most recent activity in the area of biofuels is the proposal for a subcontract recently submitted to the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Labs (INL). If funded, as a part of the team they will be designing, building and operating a laboratory-scale setup to produce JP-8 for military use from biological resources (crop oil). This is needed because ordinary bio-diesel is not suitable for military applications. The key to the success of this effort is the catalyst that will be used to convert the vegetable oil to e.g. C16 alkene. Jale and Ates Akyurtlu have been involved with energy-related catalyst development for a long time. The reason for their selection by the INL for the biofuels project was their success in designing, building and operating the high pressure Fischer-Tropsch test setup in their research laboratory.
Dr. Kesete Ghebreyessus’ interest lies in the area of biodiesel, a renewable alternative diesel fuel, which is obtained by trans-esterification of triglyceride oils with monohydric alcohols. The feedstock sources for biodiesel production can come from edible grade vegetable oils such as soybean oil, canola, sunflower, and inedible oils such as waste cooking oils, beef tallow, poultry fat, and yellow grease. Especially, the use of non-food grade vegetable oils, which are much less expensive than pure vegetable oils, is a promising alternative to vegetable oils for biodiesel production. However, vegetable oils are complex mixtures of numerous organic compounds. Thus, they need to be purified and separated before their use. One of the major challenges for the development of vegetable oils into feedstocks for the synthesis of chemicals now derived from petroleum is the separation of the different fatty acids that comprise these oils. Because of their similar molecular weight and physical properties, it is not possible to separate them by distillation. Hence, the objectives of Dr. Ghebreyessus’ research are to develop novel heterogeneous catalytic methods for the synthesis of biodiesel and to develop an economical chemical separation method for the fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel. These separated fatty acid esters should be useful for the synthesis of bio-lubricants, and precursors for the synthesis of novel bio-polymer.
Development of human-engineered hydrogen as an energy carrier is currently one of the most encouraging, innovative technologies of our era, and is a key countermeasure for the global greenhouse effect. Biomimetic nanostructures to carry out photocatalysitic production of hydrogen and water splitting are not well explored yet. Recently, attention has been given to the development of 1) biomimetic nanostructured photocatalysts with visible light activity to produce hydrogen by splitting water directly via solar energy, 2) biomimetic photocatalysts with visible light activity to decompose toxic gas and liquid substances and to purify the environment, and 3) new, efficient, and low cost solar cells based on visible light response biomimetic photocatalysts. For developing efficient human-engineered hydrogen, couplings of electrons and nuclear motions in ultrafast charge transfers at molecule-nanostructured materials interfaces are critical to biomimetic photocatalysis. The ultrafast charge transfer process and its influence on the efficiency of our biomimetic nanostructured photocatalytic active materials will be investigated by Dr. JaeTae Seo using existing ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopic systems. The characterization and fundamental understanding of a novel class of biomimetic photocatalysts will greatly enhance the development of efficient human-engineered hydrogen.
Research Complementary to Bioenergy
In the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Karen Kennedy-Davis has expertise in the genotyping and haplotyping cellular gene sequences, cloning of bacterial cells, fluorescent labeling of targeted cellular components, and in macroarray technology, which complements Dr. Edison Fowlks’ expertise in microarray technology. Dr. Fowlks, who has been involved with the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, also has spearheaded an initiative within the Department of Biological Sciences to view biology as an information science, and organisms as systems or interacting networks of circuits, which can indeed be manipulated for the betterment of mankind. His work with computer systems and bioinformatics will prove beneficial to the BioenergyTechnologyCenter.In order to upregulate or completely manipulate the production of potential biofuels from living experimental organisms or cellular models, cellular protein expression and enzymatic activity would need to be identified and quantified, respectively. To that end, the research focus of Dr. Mark Davis is the in vitro manipulation of protein expression and biochemical metabolite assessment delineating the extent which altered levels of protein and enzyme expression influence physiologic end-points (such as cell growth and metabolite production). This is a biochemical realm that would strongly complement the goals of the BioenergyTechnologyCenter. Likewise, Dr. Abiodun Adibi would be eager to delineate potential microbial sources of biofuel production, currently a hot-topic alternative to corn-based ethanlol. Dr. Adibi has years of experience characterizing novel microorganisms, sequencing their genomes, and tracking their metabolic production.
Computation and Modeling
Computation, modeling and simulation whether in academia or industry have become an integral part of the research enterprise. Our understanding of complex molecular systems cannot be achieved through experimentation alone. Modeling and simulation studies based on physical and chemical principles are often used to not only complement experiments but also to provide new insights into the behavior of various systems. Presently, Dr. Edmund Ndip is using computational chemistry / molecular modeling to study problems in a number of areas. He is applying these techniques to the molecular and electronic structures and properties of various materials; to theoretical investigations of organic reaction mechanisms and dynamics; and to structure activity relationships in natural products and other compounds with significant medicinal and biological activities. The Department of Chemistry just acquired a PQS 4-node Linux server equipped with some of the most used software packages to complement the existing computing facilities.
The School of Engineering and Technology was awarded a $58.9 million in-kind grant of Computer-Aided Design/Computer Aided Engineering software. The software is for educational uses, and will allow our faculty involved in biofuel research to develop courses that expose engineering students to design of individual components (such as engine parts) or larger systems (such as a refinery). The students will be able to use world-class analysis tools to experiment with different configurations and materials that biofuel use will necessitate.
Supporting Equipment and Instrumentation
The HamptonUniversityCenter for Advanced Medical Instrumentation (CAMI), under the directorship of Dr. Cynthia Keppel, while largely focused on advanced imaging for cancer diagnosis and treatment, has significant expertise of relevance to the proposed BTC. A major focus of CAMI is to develop advanced imaging instrumentation from high-end sensor design to obtain initial image data to algorithm development for final image optimization - and all steps in between. Moreover, CAMI researchers have significant experience in modeling and simulation relevant to technology design and implementation.
This is in complement to the HamptonUniversity nuclear experimental group, which has broad overlap with the CAMI efforts in all of the above mentioned issues. The nuclear experimental group and CAMI have shared facilities for imaging detector and sensor
development, both of which could be of immense use to the BTC. The shared suite currently consists of over 1,400 square feet of lab space with a fast electronic lab station, mechanical lab station, computer/graphic processing bay, and a dedicated radiation hot lab. The hot lab operation is licensed by both the State of Virginia and theNuclear Regulatory Commission. In addition tothese direct facility resources, thegroups have excellent access to additional machine shops and electronics design labs at the
nearby Jefferson Lab, where a partnership agreement is in place.
As a member of the Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation (CAMI) in the Brachytherapy R&D group, Dr. Paul Gueye is leading research on scintillating fiber based detectors for ex-vivo and in-vivo monitoring of the response of biological systems to radiation. The primary tool used is Brachytherapy-based cancer treatments. The devices built for this work have proven to have high resolution capability to the sub-millimeter level. Coupled with simulation work, we are confident of the potential of extracting information at the molecular and atomic level. Newly started research in the area of radiation biology has also allowed us to study the response of cancer cells to mono-energetic electron and photon beams. Preliminary results with incident electrons depart from the current understanding of cell behavior. Consequently, this research enables us to extract unique information on chemical or physical processes within a cell, as well as opening a doorway for novel imaging techniques.
A new research facility is currently under construction on campus to expand the above named facilities and capabilities. This new building will house laboratories dedicated to detector and sensor development, a suite equipped with computing and electronics capability dedicated to advanced image processing, and a suite with computing capability dedicated to modeling and simulation.
Information Technology at HamptonUniversity is a strategic asset and can assist the proposed BioenergyTechnologyCenter. The campus is connected to Network Virginia using a DS3 45-megabyte connection, providing a high speed Internet line to campus users. The campus has fiber optic cabling to all the buildings supporting a gigabyte transmission rate. The individual users enjoy 100 megabytes at desktop with some of our researchers having the full benefit of gigabyte transmission. This high speed services allows the University to participate in the next generation of Internet, Internet 2. In the summer of 2005, the university implemented wireless communications on campus. The wireless infrastructure consists of 440 access points, providing internet connectivity throughout the entire campus, including green spaces and water front properties.
Additional Capabilities
In addition, HamptonUniversity has capabilities in two areas that can enhance the proposed BTC – lidar and remote sensing, and environmental monitoring.
The application of aircraft lidar and hyper-spectral passive instruments for the measurement of crop areal extent, health, growth rate, and classification can be implemented using technologies and experience existing in the Center for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS). HamptonUniversity has world-class capabilities in the areas of active (lidar) and passive remote sensing. The use of lidar and hyperspectral FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) systems is a powerful combination for characterizing crops and plant growth. CAS personnel have flown lidars and FTIRs on various aircraft. Additionally, Drs. Patrick McCormick and James Russell have been Principal Investigators for spacecraft lidars and FTIRs, and have proposed FTIRs for geostationary orbit. Specifically, these remote sensing capabilities can be applied to very accurate crop inventory via lidar, and accurate crop characterization via solar and infrared spectral reflectivity and emission via hyperspectral measurements.
Current initiatives and policies on alternative energy sources are driven by the desire for energy independence, development of renewable resources, and pollution prevention.
However, many of the alternative sources of energy require processes and technologies that may potentially have a negative impact on the environment. Some of the processes may produce toxic emissions. Biomass derived liquid fuels, for example, may involve planting fats-growing plants, requiring the use of chemical agents (fertilizers) or biotechnological procedures. Therefore, these explorations must be accompanied by effective environmental protection measures that are backed by proven analytical measurement technologies.Dr. Isai Urasa proposes that it is essential that the configuration of a successful BioenergyTechnologyCenter includes an environmental component that will ensure that activities of the center are consistent with environmental laws and policies as well as serve as a tool for creating new environmental knowledge and technologies stemming from alternative energy explorations.
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