SBIR Phase I: Sustainable Biofabrication of Next Generation Materials for High Performance Water Filtration

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the introduction of an environmentally-beneficial filtration material and corresponding high performance, and long-lasting point-of-use water filter. The competitive advantages of the product are increased treatment efficiency, longer service life, and sustainable production at a similar price point to commercial products. The biofabricated advanced media filter results in sophisticated material properties and higher consumer value at a lower overall cost. The success of this Phase I project has potential for far reaching commercial impacts beyond consumer water filtration. By demonstrating the consistency of the metal impregnated filter material, commercial applications could be extended to the fields of emissions control, energy storage, and chemical production. In each of these fields, including water filtration, the new filter material would be replacing unsustainable materials derived from coal and coconut. These existing materials have significant environmental impacts associated with their production and transportation. This SBIR Phase I project proposed to use the efficiencies of biological organisms to produce high performance, economical, and sustainable materials for premium filtration applications. To achieve this goal, a biofabrication process has been developed that involves the controlled cultivation of fungi serving as a template for the production of advanced activated carbon. This bioprocess allows for precision control over the chemical and physical properties which can be easily customized for targeted applications. Using the process of bioaccumulation and biosorption, the fungi can be functionalized simultaneously with nitrogen heteroatoms and biogenic metals/metal oxide nanoparticles. These in-situ functionalities greatly improve material performance, extension of water filtration service life (2X over state-of-the-art), whilst reducing overall energy consumption during manufacturing. While this process has been demonstrated on the gram production basis, the technical hurdles in this Phase I include scaling production to the kilogram level, providing critical material validation testing, and prototyping of a final consumer product. To execute these goals, growth conditions will be optimized in scaled bioreactors, industrial testing methodology will be employed, and a simple, yet high value water filtration device will be produced. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.