{"id":49535,"date":"2025-07-13T20:37:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T00:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/?p=49535"},"modified":"2025-11-10T16:02:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:02:31","slug":"waste-not-want-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/impact\/waste-not-want-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Waste Not, Want Not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Impactful engineering solutions are often ones that solve multiple problems at once, such as addressing industry needs while also eliminating waste.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A team of Hopkins engineers affiliated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/energyinstitute.jhu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ralph O\u2019Connor Sustainable Energy Institute<\/a> (ROSEI) has accomplished this with a new method for converting organic waste into medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs)\u2014crucial ingredients in industrial lubricants, bioplastics, food additives, and personal care products.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their two-phase technique offers an alternative to current MCCA production methods that pose major economic challenges, focusing on innovative approaches rather than traditional extraction processes like obtaining MCCAs from palm oil.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe sorely need alternative methods,\u201d says research team member <a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/faculty\/michael-betenbaugh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michael Betenbaugh<\/a>, a professor of chemical and bio molecular engineering and a member of the study.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because their process can rely on organic waste from a variety of sources, it could be implemented in urban or rural environments, using waste from dairy farms, grocery stores, distilleries, and more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phase one of the process is overseen by <a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/faculty\/shilva-shrestha\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shilva Shrestha<\/a>, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering. It involves the microbial fermentation of organic waste, a process where microorganisms break down organic molecules and extract chemical energy. This technique works by hijacking the cells\u2019 natural microbial pathways to make liquids that contain MCCAs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phase two involves downstream separations, during which leftover liquids are further reduced until only MCCAs remain. While conventional methods for separating liquids in this way are cumbersome and time-consuming, <a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/faculty\/yayuan-liu\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/faculty\/yayuan-liu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yayuan Liu<\/a>, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and Russell Croft Faculty Scholar, proposes using electrochemical reactors to do the job instead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis method is more straightforward, and since it uses electricity, it doesn\u2019t create any excess waste,\u201d Liu says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe believe that our process will be especially valuable in low- resource environments, and we\u2019re excited to test it out at a larger scale very soon,\u201d says Betenbaugh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 WICK EISENBERG<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>illustration by Matt Twombley<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A method for converting organic waste into medium-chain carboxylic acids could be a game changer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"issue":[42],"class_list":["post-49535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","issue-spring-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - 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