Upcycling Wastes to Carboxylic Acids by Integrating Fermentation and Separation

Organizations: Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, Technology Holding, CleanJoule

By harnessing cutting-edge technology, this project will convert diverse organic waste streams into high-value medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs) such as caproic and caprylic acid. These bioproducts serve as pivotal platform chemicals for a multitude of applications, including as materials, consumer products, chemicals, and fuels.  

Current methods for MCCA production from plant oils and petrochemicals pose environmental and economic hazards. Microbial synthesis from waste materials holds promise as a transformative alternative for generating products from organic wastes.  

This innovative approach applies microbial fermentation of organic waste from agriculture, dairy farms, distilleries, and other sources combined with downstream purification of MCCAs at high purity. This integrated fermentation and separation system enhances MCCA product yields and enhances sustainability, making the overall process more efficient.  

By recycling and returning unused wastes from the separation unit to the bioreactor for further generation of target products, researchers can improve productivity and lower overall manufacturing cost, thereby increasing commercial viability. Leveraging waste streams allows for biomanufacturing at different scales in low-resource environments. By overcoming key technical barriers in anaerobic waste conversion and scale-up, this integrated system holds promise for advancing efficient MCCAs production. 

Project dates: 2024 – present

Funding source: BioMADE Project Call 4.0