BRC-BIO: Bioconversion of Food Waste with Non-model Organisms

BRC-BIO：利用非模型生物对食物垃圾进行生物转化

• 批准号: 2233169
• 负责人: Joshua OHair
• 金额: $ 50.28万
• 依托单位: Tennessee State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2233169&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: BRC; BIO; Bioconversion; Food; Waste

Each year 2.86 trillion pounds of food is wasted globally. The U.S. alone wastes approximately 200 billion pounds, which accounts for $240 billion in revenue loss, equal to 30-40% of the total food supply. This waste ends up in landfills, contributing to 3.3 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce waste and greenhouse gases, this research proposes the conversion of food waste to 2,3-butanediol and other valuable end-products. Food waste will be collected from Elementary and Middle Schools within the Nashville, TN Metro Public Schools District to evaluate its potential in bioproduct production, while also increasing awareness and participation from young, underrepresented future scientists. Food waste samples collected from schools will be analyzed with regards to nutrient composition, sorting methods, and storage conditions. These results will help determine the best methods for collecting food waste in the future. To carry-out conversion of food waste to valuable compounds, heat-stable bacteria will be added to food waste to take advantage of naturally occurring microbial fermentation. Unique heat-tolerant bacteria can outcompete other contaminant microbes found in food waste when incubation temperatures are increased to approximately 50 °C. In doing so, food waste will not require sterilization, reducing the cost of conversion and the impact on the environment. Overall, this study will address the existing knowledge gap and help to provide an efficient means of converting food waste to bioproducts. The project will also provide educational and research opportunities for undergraduate students.The major goal of this project is to convert non-sterile food waste into valuable bioproducts through “open” thermophilic fermentation. One of the major concerns of using food waste for bioproduct production is the unpredictable heterogeneity and inconsistent nature. While food waste does contain high energy macromolecules for microbial fermentation, a consistent feedstock is needed to sustain a potential bioeconomy through food waste remediation. Another issue limiting the usage of food waste is the cost associated with sterilization. To remove native contaminant microorganisms, sterilization methods (e.g., high-pressure steam) must be carried out. However, to skip these processes and suppress native microbes, a novel high-heat fermentation method with Bacillus licheniformis YNP5-TSU is proposed. In addition to this approach, collections of new thermophilic microorganisms and metagenomic sequencing of hot springs, within Yellowstone National Park, will be conducted to yield novel heat stable enzymes and/or microorganisms that can be used to improve current thermophilic food waste conversion. The effectiveness of this study will impact future endeavors to use food waste as a sustainable feedstock.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.

每年2.86万亿磅的食物在全球范围内浪费。仅美国就浪费了约2000亿英镑，占收入损失的2400亿美元，等于粮食总供应的30-40％。这种废物最终以垃圾填埋场结束，造成了3.3千兆吨的温室气体排放。为了减少废物和温室气体，这项研究提出将食物浪费转换为2,3-丁二醇和其他有价值的最终产品。食品浪费将从田纳西州纳什维尔市的中学和中学收集，以评估其在生物产品生产方面的潜力，同时也提高了年轻，代表性不足的未来科学家的认识和参与。从学校收集的食物垃圾样品将在营养成分，分类方法和存储条件方面进行分析。这些结果将有助于确定将来收集食物浪费的最佳方法。为了将食物垃圾转化为有价值的化合物，将添加热稳定的细菌，以利用自然发生的微生物发酵。当孵育温度升高到大约50°C时，独特的耐热细菌可以胜过食物浪费中发现的其他污染物微生物。这样一来，食物浪费将不需要灭菌，降低转换成本和对环境的影响。总体而言，这项研究将解决现有的知识差距，并有助于提供将食物废物转化为生物产品的有效方法。该项目还将为本科生提供教育和研究机会。该项目的主要目标是通过“开放”的嗜热发酵将非肉食食品浪费转化为有价值的生物产品。将食物垃圾用于生物产品生产的主要问题之一是不可预测的异质性和不一致的性质。虽然食物垃圾确实包含用于微生物发酵的高能量大分子，但需要一致的原料来通过食物浪费的修复来维持潜在的生物经济。限制食物浪费使用的另一个问题是与灭菌相关的成本。为了去除天然污染物微生物，必须进行灭菌方法（例如，高压蒸汽）。但是，为了跳过这些过程并抑制天然微生物，提出了一种新型的高热发酵方法，该方法采用了叶片芽孢杆菌YNP5-TSU。除这种方法外，还将进行新的嗜热微生物和黄石国家公园内温泉的宏基因组测序，以产​​生可用于改善当前嗜热食品废物转化的新型热稳定酶和/或微生物。这项研究的有效性将影响未来的努力，将食物浪费用作可持续的原料。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估被认为是宝贵的支持。