RAPID Funded Projects

This project aims to collect physical property and thermodynamics data for impactful bio-products and their separations, build thermodynamic models to represent multicomponent mixtures’ behavior, and incorporate these models into process simulation environments to allow for faster and more cost-effective scale-up of bio-separations technologies. The project work specifically targets the separation of organic acids from multicomponent mixtures typically encountered in bioprocess operations, using three distinct separation technologies: adsorption, membranes, and electrochemical techniques.

The goal of this project is to scale-up current electromagnetic (EM) reactor technology from its current TRL 4 stage to a pre-commercially relevant TRL 5-6, and to demonstrate the production of light olefins from disadvantaged carbon feedstocks (waste plastics) using pre-commercial EM (microwave and RF induction) powered reactors at relevant scales (≥100 kg/day). Project goals include (1) demonstrate the decarbonized production of light olefins by utilizing renewable electricity, (2) improved energy efficiency by optimizing the heat input into the highly endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation reaction, and (3) improve selectivity and conversion efficiency. The EM process employed results in highly efficient, ultrafast heating at the catalyst surface (sub-microsecond), and high catalytic conversion and selectivity for dehydrogenation of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Ultimately, scaling up light olefin production via EM reactors will demonstrate the ability of these new technologies to radically reduce the carbon intensity for producing critical commodity chemicals at commercially relevant scales.

Using RAPID’s well-proven approach to setting and tracking project tasks and milestones, the team will create and test a standardized framework and modular processing testbed/Center Of Excellence (COE) for accelerated development of processes to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) specialty chemical precursors. The project will immediately impact coronavirus response through creation and testing of a new accelerated methodology and modular processing COE for development of processes to manufacture API specialty chemical precursors. Tools and capabilities such as this do not currently exist in the U.S. for general use. The process development framework and national asset testbed capabilities will be made available to RAPID’s members and disseminated broadly to AIChE’s Process Development Division and Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development and Manufacturing Forum (PD2M). The team envisions that the COE will also serve as a tool to develop processes and build production capacity for on-shoring of selected specialty chemicals, API precursors, and APIs, and the COE/MATRIC (now called AVN) may serve as a production center for future coronavirus response scenarios.

The VTOTP project will baseline current technician and operator training, identify learning and development gaps, and align new training with industry needs voiced by representatives from relevant industries through the development and distribution of five eLearning courses. Through the achievement of three outcomes (roadmap, eLearning courses, and distribution to 200 learners), the project will have a national impact through access to a virtual, on-demand arsenal of courses which could be accessed from anywhere in the U.S. at any time and bring prospective workers up-to-speed quickly for industries that produce items critical to the supply chain including medications, PPE, vaccines, critical consumer goods, etc. Additionally, broad accessibility to advanced manufacturing training in a virtual environment allows equitable access to individuals in the current and future workforce pipeline, particularly those disproportionally impacted by coronaviruses.

The objective of this project is to demonstrate the electrochemical exfoliation of graphene and laboratory and pilot scales, scale the continuous production of graphene in larger volumes, and demonstrate proof-of-concept for high performance respirator masks and nano-biosensor applications. This project was awarded as part of the NIST Rapid Assistance for Coronavirus Economic Response (RACER) Grant Program.