Five Fall 2023 RIR Proposals Selected for University Strategic Plan Funding

The first Research & Innovation Roundtable (RIR) of the 2023-2024 academic year yielded five projects that were selected for seed funding support from the Office of the President. All RIR projects are viewed as investments in the future of Iowa State University as outlined in the 2022-2031 Strategic Plan.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) launched the RIR program in the 2022 fiscal year as a platform for bringing together many different voices across campus to share varying perspectives and areas of expertise leading to self-assembly of multidisciplinary teams competing for Strategic Plan success funding and/or Presidential Interdisciplinary Research funding.

The fall 2023 RIR focused on Energy Solutions for Iowa and Beyond. Fourteen self-assembled teams submitted proposals following the November 7, 2023, RIR; five were selected for support. All proposals were evaluated by program facilitators. Projects selected for funding had to align with the Iowa State 2022-2031 Strategic plan and the teams had to comprise members from different disciplines who employ different research approaches and methods.

“There is an enormous global need to create innovative solutions that meet society’s insatiable demand for energy but also minimize impacts on our precious natural resources and the environment,” said Vice President for Research, Peter Dorhout. “Our faculty have a great deal of insight, expertise, and creativity that they brought to bear on the overarching Energy Solutions topic during our roundtable event, and we were delighted with both the quantity and quality of proposals that we received.”

Here are overviews of each of each Energy Solutions RIR research project selected for strategic investment.

Project Title: A Framework to Develop Novel Biobased E-Fluids
Supporting Next Generation EV Technology

Principal Investigator: Sougata Roy, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering  

Co-PIs:

Proposed project summary

Throughout society there is an increasing appetite for alternatives to lessen our impact on the environment. A significant one that has emerged in recent years is electric vehicles (EVs) that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the adverse effects of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Another is replacing petroleum or mineral oil-based lubricants with bio-based lubricants derived from biological feedstocks like animal fat, vegetable oils and other environmentally friendly hydrocarbons.

A significant amount of research has been conducted to gain a better understanding of how bio-based lubricants interact with ICE vehicles. EVs, though, present different challenges. For instance, an EV’s motor runs at very high speeds, generating high temperatures. Far less research has been conducted evaluating how bio-based lubricants perform in conditions that are unique to EVs.

The focus of this project is to explore the compatibility of biobased lubricants and future electric vehicles. The process will start with novel chemical modification of biobased oil as a base stock, followed by the incorporation of indigenously developed carbon nano-onion (CNO) as an anti-wear additive. Finally, the formulated lubricants will be tested using controlled contact conditions to evaluate their performance against conventional lubricants. The project’s ultimate goal is to develop a roadmap for the development of a fully formulated biobased lubricant for EVs.

“The RIR seed funding enables me to collaborate with faculty members from complimentary areas of research expertise at Iowa State and continue working on chasing the new requirements for EVs. While our focus will be on the development of a lubricant framework, this investigation will support us for upcoming large-scale research efforts on understanding manufacturing-materials selection and lubricant developments for next-generation electric vehicles,” said PI Sougata Roy.

University Strategic Plan aspirational statement this plan advances

Potential external funding partners and opportunities

Because of the uniqueness of this research thrust, PI Roy and his colleagues foresee strong future opportunities for support among a variety of federal agencies, state and national commodity organizations and companies in the private sector. Potential targets include: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA); Department of Energy (DoE); National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET); Cargill Corporation; Lube-Tech; the Iowa Soybean Association; and the United Soybean Board (USB).

Project Title: Achieving Energy Self-sufficiency in Iowa: Community Perception; Social Acceptance; and Economic Viabilities of Solar Energy Alternatives  

Principal Investigator: Jiwnath Ghimire, assistant professor, Community and Regional Planning  

Co-PIs:

Proposed project summary

The purpose of this project is to develop a better understanding of community perceptions of sustainable energy solutions and assess the social and economic potential of solar energy in Iowa. The study will be structured to explore four overarching questions:

The final product of this study will be a self-assessment tool that will enable businesses and agencies to select energy types for self-sufficiency as identified by owners and stakeholders in the community. The tool will provide information on existing and additional resources – land, solar, finance, area, zoning, and so on. The project will also integrate solar assessment tools available from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“Translating science to action is the driving philosophy of this project. Technological solutions for renewables are abundant and have improved tremendously in recent decades, but social and economic acceptance of these innovations is not well understood. This seed funding is extremely helpful for our research to shed light on social, economic, legislative, and contextual challenges of adapting solar energy alternatives in communities across Iowa. Findings from this project will be valuable in helping our research team extend the scope of the project by tapping additional supports from state and national sources,” said PI Jiwnath Ghimire.

University Strategic Plan aspirational statement this plan advances

Potential external funding partners and opportunities

The research team believes this initial project could create a foundation for expanded research among a variety of sponsors:

Project Title: Curbing Climate Change and Improving Resilience in Rural Communities by Creating New Lifecycles for Mixed Waste Plastics and Biomass

Principal Investigator: Aaron Sadow, professor, Chemistry

Co-PIs:

Proposed project summary

In a standard linear economy, products are manufactured and distributed to consumers who use and then discard materials through their local waste management systems. In an alternative circular economy – intended to limit costs, preserve natural resources, and lessen environmental impacts – discarded materials are diverted from the primary waste stream and serve as feedstocks for manufacturing new products.

The team behind this project will use its RIR funding support to test a process that will enable communities to convert natural and synthetic waste through a network of local production facilities without going through the costly process of sorting and purifying these waste streams. Diverting this mixed waste to a conversion process rather than a landfill is a first step in establishing a circular waste economy for underserved and rural communities.

Collaborating with rural stakeholders, this project can address quality of life, environmental impacts and promote new economic and educational opportunities for rural and underserved communities receptive to new technologies. The team’s research has the potential to result in a major technological advancement for the chemical industry, which could accelerate a move toward a circular waste management economy. The team will leverage Iowa State’s leadership in upcycling and its established reputation as a trusted source of information to broadly disseminate the results of its research.

“We are excited to use the RIR seed funding to support co-designing solutions within the emerging circular economy, by remediating waste and making useful products,” said PI Aaron Sadow.

University Strategic Plan aspirational statements this plan advances

Potential external funding partners and opportunities

The team behind this project won an internal competition to represent Iowa State in the NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC). The topical focus area of RII Track-2 FEC for FY 2023/2024 is: “advancing climate change research and resilience capacity to expand opportunities for disproportionately affected communities.” RIR funding will give the project an early start and will provide preliminary results for a resubmission if needed.

Project Title: Iron Powder as Solid Fuel for Zero-Emission, Carbon-Free, Safe-Transport Energy

Principal Investigator: Xiaoli Tan, professor, Materials Science and Engineering

Co-PIs:

Proposed project summary

Around the world, researchers are exploring carbon-free, zero-emission energy sources. One of the most intriguing is iron powder. When used as a solid fuel for combustion, iron powder releases large amounts of energy rapidly (high power density). It can be used to provide heat to residential buildings and industrial processes, or in conjunction with thermal power to generate electricity. Iron is readily abundant in the Earth’s upper crust and thus low cost. Even better, after combustion, iron oxide particles can be collected and reduced with hydrogen gas to regenerate iron powder, which means – at least in theory – a single supply of iron powder can be used for an infinite number of heat-generating cycles.

Despite iron powder’s great potential, there is a critical need for more fundamental research on its use as a combustion fuel – identifying optimum particle sizes and shapes, for instance – as well as its scale-up potential. The goals of this seed grant are: 1) Establish the experimental capability at Iowa State for iron powder combustion; 2) Characterize the composition/phase of the fuel powder before combustion and the product after combustion; 3) Analyze the combustion behavior of iron powders of different sizes and morphologies; and 4) Reveal the structure and chemistry at the iron/oxide interface at the atomic resolution of an incompletely burned particle.

“The RIR seed-funding support will help us acquire a critical instrument needed to support this effort and the project will generate preliminary data needed to pursue larger initiatives in the future,” said PI Xiaoli Tan.

University Strategic Plan aspirational statement this plan advances

Potential external funding partners and opportunities

The research team believes significant opportunities for funding exist with both NSF and DoE, in particular: NSF 21-124 – Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Climate Change; and DE-FOA-0003205, FY24 Cross-Sector Technologies Funding Opportunity Announcement from the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office. Private foundations supporting climate change-related research, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are potential sponsors as well.

Project Title: Sustainable Conversion of Biomass Feedstocks into Fuels, Chemicals, and Materials

Principal Investigator: Yan Zhao, professor, Chemistry

Co-PIs:

Proposed project summary

Biomass is a huge resource for bioenergy, biofuels and biochemicals, and the state of Iowa is blessed with an abundance – most counties fall within the region designations of highest potential supply of biomass (1,000 to 5,000 dry tons per square mile) or second highest potential supply (500 to 1,000 dry tons per square mile). Despite this abundance of lignocellulosic biomass, there are significant technological roadblocks in converting this valuable material into commodity chemicals, fuels, and value-added materials in an economically and industrially viable fashion.

This project is focused on three proof-of-concept studies to address several key bottlenecks in sustainable conversion of lignocellulosic biomass: 1) The design and synthesis of artificial enzymes to break down hemicellulose into sugar products; 2) Electrochemical upgrading of carboxylic acids derived from fermentation of sugar products; and 3) Validating the catalyst design for the conversion of carbon dioxide into formic acid/formate.

The data collected from these studies will position the team to address two key challenges in biomass conversion: 1) Creating a new platform of catalysts (e.g., artificial enzymes) for processing complex, highly functionalized biopolymers; and 2) Establishing a new platform of electrochemical processes for upgrading biomass-derived small molecules using renewable energy. New catalysts must be developed for biomass conversion because the majority have been developed by the chemical industry for processing petroleum-based hydrocarbons. Conversion of carbon dioxide into formic acid/formate is envisioned as an integral part of the whole biomass conversion, using biomass-derived sugars to reduce the carbon footprint of the overall process.

“The RIR seed funding enables our interdisciplinary team to test key design hypotheses in the catalyst design and collect preliminary data needed to position ourselves to be successful in landing larger external grants,” said PI Yan Zhao.

University Strategic Plan aspirational statements this plan advances

Potential external funding partners and opportunities

The team behind this project sees strong opportunities for funding support from federal and state-level sponsors as well as private industry. Key targets include: DoE Biological and Environmental Research (BER) and Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); the Iowa Energy Center; and companies, ADM, Cargill and Quad County Corn Processors.