Anaerobic fermentations: A sustainable approach to everyday products by turning waste into value [S]

Everyday products like fuels, plastics, and perfumes often depend on fossil hydrocarbons. In the Environmental Biotechnology Network, we're exploring how to shift away from these finite resources by using organic waste as a sustainable feedstock. By leveraging anaerobic fermentation—a time-tested biological process used in making wine and vinegar—we can transform mixed organic waste into valuable chemicals like fatty acids and alcohols. This innovative approach not only replaces fossil-derived sources but also contributes to a more sustainable and circular economy.

The process focuses on optimising microbial performance through integrated production and removal systems. By continuously extracting fatty acids, we maintain ideal conditions for microbes, improving yields and enabling the efficient processing of challenging wet organic waste. Beyond production, advancements in gentle separation techniques allow for further bioprocessing of residues, recovering even more value while minimizing waste. These residues can even be cycled back into fermentation to enhance microbial productivity, creating a closed-loop system.

This ground-breaking research combines biology and engineering to recover resources, reduce environmental costs, and manage organic waste in cleaner, more efficient ways. It’s an essential step toward sustainable resource recovery and a greener, more resilient future for our planet.

Discover how the Environmental Biotechnology Network's scientists are revolutionising Environmental Biotechnology by harnessing the synergy between microbiology and engineering. This video series explores this relationship in a range of areas from wastewater treatment to advanced biofuels. Our ground-breaking research is paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future.

** For the version of this which does not contain subtitles, see:    • Anaerobic fermentations: A sustainabl...   **

View our complete list of animations here:    • Environmental Biotechnology Animation...  

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