Soft Matter Laboratory Research

Complex Fluids Inside Microfluidic Devices

Nanoporous Synthesis

BioMimetics

Bioenergy

Energy Storage

Granular Materials

BioEnergy:

Bioenergy is useful, renewable energy produced from organic matter. The conversion of the complex carbohydrates in organic matter to energy. Organic matter may either be used directly as a fuel or processed into liquids and gases. We are interested in biomass conversion routes producing bio-fuels.

Project 1: Using micro-bioreactor to study methanogens

A great deal of research has been conducted on the behavior of methanogens, their response to various stimuli, their attachment to different substrates and their overall growth rates.

Methanogens are a part of the domain of life known as Archaea. Discovered in the 1970s, Archaea inhabit environments with harsh conditions, such as petroleum deposits, and the digestive tracts of cows. Archaea are genetically different from bacteria. Bacteria livearound organic matter and photosynthesis. Archaea, in contrast, can live in environments lacking organic carbon. Methanogens can exist on earth and other planets and moons; they can also generate methane from carbon dioxide and water.

Previous studies have generally been conducted in larger media bottles or reactors ranging anywhere from several milliliters to several liters in size. These reactors serve to provide a hospitable environment for the methanogens to grow and survive. However, because they cannot be placed on a microscope stage, they do not allow for any type of direct observation of methanogen behavior, growth or ability to attach to a substrate.

We are currently collaborating with professor Lars Angenent in Environmental Engineering at Washington University (supported by USDA) to study the methanogens attachment behavior in-situ by utilizing an anaerobic micro-bioreactor. The anaerobic micro-bioreactor is a portable, airtight chamber by utilizing microfluidics. Due to the airtight, transparent chamber, these microfluidic chips can then be contained in a strictly anaerobic environment on a microscope stage. Fluid networks can be generated for studying effects of shear rate, chemical gradients and selective application of stimuli, to name a few potential applications.